We evaluate the effectiveness of hiring processes and development programmes. We also develop new psychometric tests and investigate new approaches.

Evaluation

We evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of hiring processes by comparing follow-up on post-hire performance with assessment scores. We measure the effectiveness of development programmes using a methodology based on Kirkpatrick's four levels of training evaluation plus return-on-investment. Six months after a development programme we send a short questionnaire to the participating manager and their boss. We ask the participant to provide feedback about:
Satisfaction with the quality of the programme.
The extent to which they have learned from the programme.
The extent to which they have changed their behaviour as a result of participating.
The business impact as a result of participating.
Return on investment - an attempt to measure the financial pay-off in comparison to the costs.

New Psychometric Tests

We are currently working on new flash-based tests to assess executive decision making, situational judgement tests for specific job roles and the use of the semantic web for competency-based job matching.

Social Network Analysis

Social Network Analysis is an immensely powerful tool for uncovering and understanding the 'hidden architecture' in your organization.

The days of the hierarchical, command-and-control organization are fast disappearing. Today's progressive companies are knowledge-based, geographically dispersed, structured by virtual teams and informal networks. Many decisions are made on the basis of personal expertise and influence rather than positional power. The organization chart does not represent what really happens in an organization: it is little more than an idealised abstraction.

How are decisions really made?
Who are the lynchpins that people consult before making a decision?
Who are the key opinion formers?
Who is trusted?
How effective are the relationships between people?
Where are interactions and decision making distorted by politics, physical proximity, cliques or prejudices?
Where is innovation happening, or not?

This is where social network diagnosis can provide a powerful tool to diagnose your business. The hidden relationships can be represented visually as a network, with people as nodes and relationships as links. The relationships can be anything from 'effectiveness of relationshipships' to 'provides me with information upon which to base decisions'. The links can be associated with 'weight', such as the extent of the quality of the relationships, or the frequency of contact. Data is normally collected using a brief electronic survey.

The diagram above shows a network for a department, showing the 'consults' relationship. Beth is the department head, yet the diagram makes it clear that most people speak to Bob first. Bob is an information hub, a central connector. Such people may be self-effacing and hidden from view put play an important role in the effectiveness of the organization. Agnes, on the other hand, is also consulted, but less frequently, on specialist subjects. She is a peripheral specialist.

In the diagram below, there are three separate groups in which Jenny, Jack and John play the role of boundary spanners, acting as informal information conduits.

Networks can take many forms from stars (the hub-and-spoke network is essentially a hierarchy), to long thin networks (which are generally associated with chains of approval workflows), to richly interconnected heterarchies.

Network analysis has been used to track post-merger integration, team building, information flow, collaboration patterns.