Integrating Testing Into Your Talent Strategy: Leveraging Testing in a Down Economy

© Development Dimensions Int’l, Inc., MMVIII. All rights reserved.1

DDI Canada Webinar Series

Part I: Leveraging Testing Tools in a Down EconomyJuly 9th, 2009


Packard’s Law: No company can grow revenues consistently faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a great company.


Today’s Speaker

Ryan Heinl, Senior ConsultantDDI CanadaToronto, Ontario Office

Talent Management Execution

• Hiring and Promoting the Best

• Developing Leaders

• Succession Management


Agenda and Purpose

• The Opportunity• The Business Case• The Tools• What to Expect/Not Expect• Summary• Next Webinar


The Opportunity


The Opportunity:New Realities of Business Normal

• More candidates than jobs

• Average turnover as low as 1.6%

• Cost pressure• Reductions/freezes

are prevalent• Acknowledgement of

Talent as Critical


The Opportunity:Focused Hiring Rules the Day

• Key positions?• Replacement hiring• Hiring in areas with growth• Invest in the long term


The Opportunity: The Candidates

• More of them• More aggressive• More variety• % of talent is the

same


30%

The Opportunity: Your Competitors


The Business Case


20% development

80% selection80% selection

Selection trumps development


The Business Case… The 3 Hiring ‘Profit’ Factors

1. Hiring Process2. Ramp-Up3. Productivity

Costs are triggered by • Growth• Turnover


Sizing Up the Opportunity

Average sales consultant 1 yr goal $1 million

Time to Productivity• 9 months X $83,000 = $750,000• Reduce to 5 months = Cost savings $335,000

Productivity Level• High performing sales consultant = $1.4 million• 10 more than last year = $4 million

How do we do this?


• Top as Compared to Low SII Scorers:– Total Sales Revenue 48% Higher– Sales Goal Achievement 15% to 29% Higher– Gross Production 28% Higher– Closed 18% to 22% more New Sales– 42% Lower Turnover Rate (18% vs. 31%)– Made 21% more Sales Calls– Customer Satisfaction Rates 8% Higher– Met 8% More of their Deadlines

What if you had a testing tool that did this?


The Tools


Screening vs. TestingScreening• Short and basic• Focused on experiences• Technical knowledge• Minimum requirements• No comparison to other

candidates

Testing• More in depth• Level of capability evaluation• Comparison to other

candidates• Expected relationship between

test score and performance

Depth of Evaluation and Certainty of Decision

SCREEN TEST INTERVIEW WORK SAMPLE

ASSESSMENT CENTER


Everyone’s Question

What’s the best test?


Know What You Are MeasuringAND the Best Tool for It

What people know

Technical and/or professional information needed to successfully perform job activities

What people have done

Educational and work achievements needed to successfully perform job activities

What people can do

A cluster of behaviors performed on a job

Who people are

Personal dispositions and motivations that relate to job satisfaction, job success or failure


What Do they Have in Common?


Selection Funnel:Test Earlier than Later


Design System: Screening and Testing

SalesTeam

MemberCustomer Service

Professional Leader

Sales Insight Inventory

Team Member Career Battery

Customer Service Career Battery

Professional Career Battery

Leadership Insight Inventory

Sales Career Battery

High Fidelity Production Simulation

Leader Career Battery

Sales Readiness Assessment

Leadership Readiness Assessment

Technical testing including computer skills, accounting knowledge, technology knowledge, typing, reading and writing ability (over 800 technical testing options)

Sales Production Service Professional Leaders


SII Measurement Areas

What Is Measured?What is Predicted?Sales Skills

Sales Judgment(Thinking and Reasoning)

Sales Disposition(Personality)

Effective Approaches(Past Experience)

Sales Situational JudgmentConsultative Sales JudgmentSales Ability/Persuasiveness

Retains FocusDrives Toward SuccessEngages PeopleSustains Positive OutlookShows DisciplineTakes a Creative Approach

Demonstrated InitiativeConsultative Approach

• Devising Sales Approaches and Solutions

• Expanding & Exploring Opportunities• Assignment Management• Active Learning

• Compelling Communication• Sustaining Customer Satisfaction• Sales Disposition• Demonstrating Business Value

•Building Trusting Relationships•Demonstrating Business Value•Compelling Communication

SII Measurement and Prediction


Keep It Simple


Keep It Simple


Keep It Simple


Keep It Simple


Simple, Valued, Report


SII Predicted Outcomes

Motivation

• Adaptability

• Initiative

• Integrity

• High Standards

• Sales Disposition

• Stress Tolerance

Ability

• Learning Ability

• Sales Approaches

• Supporting Sale Implementation

Interpersonal

• Building Customer Loyalty

• Building networks

• Compelling Communication

• Sales Call Facilitation

Bottom Line

• Quota Achievement

• Prospecting

• Account Expansion

• Sales Activity

• Customer Sat


LII Measurement Areas

What Is Measured? What is Predicted?

Leadership Judgment(Thinking and Reasoning)

Leadership Disposition(Personality)

Effective Approaches(Past Experience)

Leadership Situation JudgmentCoaching JudgmentDelegation Judgment

Drives toward successEngages peopleInspires confidenceLearning agilityShows disciplineSustains a positive outlook

Coaching experiencePast demonstrated initiativePast demonstrated leadership

• Devising Sales Approaches and Solutions

• Expanding & Exploring Opportunities• Assignment Management• Active Learning

• Compelling Communication• Sustaining Customer Satisfaction• Sales Disposition• Demonstrating Business Value

•Building Trusting Relationships•Demonstrating Business Value•Compelling Communication

Build Your BenchHire/Select for the Future


Build Your BenchHire/Select for the Future

50 times

24 times


Quality of Hire Balanced Scorecard – Pivotal Roles

Average Time to Hire Reduction

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

march april may june july

Average Time to Productivity

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00


Productivity Levels

0

1

2

3

4

5

6


Attendance

Safety Incidents

Defect Rates

Production Rate

Turnover - First Six Months

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

march april may june

Actual

Target


What you should and should not expect from tests


Shine As Many Lights As You Can


You Should Expect

• Efficiency• Consistency• Diversity and Fairness• Quality of Interviews• Time to Hire• Wasted Interview Time


You Should Expect

• Integration with other steps• Identification of MORE HiPos• Measurement of less developables• Faster ramp up times• Higher than average performance


You Should NOT Expect

• The perfect assessment• In depth feedback for development• Deep understanding of strengths and

weaknesses• Sudden improvements in test

performance• Test customization• Regulation of test vendors• To set it and forget it


Summary & Next Webinar in Series


Summary and Next

• Great competitive opportunity NOW• Tests produce real results• Tests have clear limitations

Next Webinar: Overcoming Testing Implementation challenges

Chris Boag, Team Leader Recruiting and Selection

Integrating Testing Into Your Talent Strategy: Leveraging Testing in a Down Economy

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