Executive/Managerial Selection

Profitable and high-performing organizations have strong teams of executives and managers at their core, and this is not by chance. Instead, high performing organizations take the necessary steps to ensure that they are promoting the correct people from within to fill these roles, and they also take steps to ensure that outside hires are similarly qualified.

While various models and paradigms of successful leaders exist – from leaders with “emotional intelligence” or “strategic agility” or “Level 5 Leaders”, it is generally agreed that leaders must [a] get others to set aside personal agendas and focus on group goals, [b] must interact with others in a way that commands respect and builds team spirit, [c] have the intellectual capacity to make correct business decisions, and [d] must model the ethics and values of the organization that they represent. PDP can assist your organization in identifying these types of leaders and managers.

PDP’s offerings in the Executive and Managerial Selection domain range from assisting with the sourcing of appropriate candidates, through the assessment and selection of candidates to their on-boarding and transition into your organization.

While each Executive and Managerial Selection project is customized to the needs of the hiring organization, a typical project in this area would be comprised of the following steps:

• A review of your organization’s current core values, competency framework, strategic objectives, etc. to ensure alignment and agreement on the executive or managerial role that is being filled
• Advice and guidance on sourcing strategies for finding qualified candidates, including a review of third party recruiters and other external sources of candidates
• The design of an assessment process that measures both the core competencies of the organization and the leadership abilities of the candidate — this assessment process is likely to include a battery of standardized tests, a structured interview process that is designed to further investigate trends observed in the testing process, and a work sample exercise
• PDP will assist your organization in synthesizing the information obtained from the above steps, and will help your organization decide on finalists candidates and the overall candidate selection
• PDP will provide on-boarding coaching for the newly hired executive or manager, including a debrief of the assessment process, the creation of a development plan that incorporates both the strengths and weaknesses identified in the assessment process, and the establishment of a coaching relationship to ensure a smooth transition of the new hire into the organization
• The assessment protocols and methods used by PDP meet all legal and scientific guidelines established for test use (as covered by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures and the Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures) – contact PDP for more information on legal issues surrounding test use.

Staffing/Retention Strategies

Successful organizations are continually refining the processes used to hire the right people, and then retain the key talent that has been hired. PDP can help your organization develop systems to more effectively hire the right people, place them appropriately within the organization, and then retain them as longer-term employees.

It is estimated that many of today’s workers will have 10-12 jobs by their 35th birthday. While a certain amount of “functional” turnover can result in an influx of new hires with fresh perspectives and different backgrounds, it can also be costly for organizations to lose experienced talent – for some organizations, losing such institutional knowledge can place a company at a true strategic disadvantage. In addition, all new hires require additional training time and seasoning within the organization to become truly productive. Therefore, losing talent from within the organization is a true business cost.

One consistent research trend is that the #1 predictor of turnover for lower-level positions is the relationship that an individual employee has with their immediate supervisor. As such, ensuring that supervisors have the necessary skills to effective lead subordinates (and effectively interact with subordinates) should be a primary concern of all organizations. This is also an important part of the staffing equation.

One frequently neglected aspect of the employment process is the placement of the individual within the organization. While most new hires are placed in a specific job opening, successful organizations realize that the key to retaining long-term talent involves ensuring that employees are in jobs that match-up well with their interests, aptitudes, and talents. PDP can assist with strategies in this area.

While each organization’s Staffing and Retention Strategies will vary depending upon manpower and business needs, the following steps are usually part of most staffing and retention projects:

• Conducting a “Workforce Audit” that identifies key HR metrics (such as number of job openings anticipated, overall retention/attrition rates, anticipated openings in critical positions, etc.)
• Review and refinement of current sourcing strategies (i.e., specific advertising venues used to post job openings, a review of outside recruiting firms used to source candidates, etc.)
• Review and refinement of current systems for screening and evaluating job applicants (i.e., candidate interview protocols, pre-employment assessment tools, methods for placing new hires in specific job roles, etc.)
• Review and refinement of the existing performance management systems, recognition and rewards systems, compensation systems, and other critical human resource systems to ensure internal alignment and the incorporation of industry “best practices”
• Assessing the existing corporate culture (including supervisory and management practices) to ensure that the culture is one that enhances the retention of employees and allows growth opportunities for employees

Talent Evaluation Services

Who are the high potential and emerging leaders within your organization? PDP can help you identify these potential leaders, and also help you develop and retain these leaders within your organization.

What skills will your leaders and employees need to possess to meet future business challenges? PDP can assist your organization in outlining these future challenges, and developing talent management strategies to meet your human resource needs.

While PDP will develop a customized Talent Evaluation Strategy for your organization, most projects in this area involve the following steps:

• Analyzing the current jobs (and job families) that currently exist in your organization
• Documenting the critical skills, competencies, knowledge, and experience requirements of these positions
• Determining how these skills, competencies, and types of knowledge will change in the future
• Evaluating your current workforce in terms of how they match-up with both the current and the future requirements outlined above
• Developing and implementing plans to remedy any skill or ability deficiencies
• Developing and implementing plans to prepare your workforce for future challenges
• Identifying the high potential employees in your workforce who are likely candidates for leadership positions
• Determining which positions will require the acquisition of talent from outside of the organization