Client Case Study

Handling complex assessments successfully

When a prestigious pan-European scientific organization* needed a partner to assist in recruiting top managers from around the world, it turned to Mercuri Urval.

Mercuri Urval’s assessment techniques enable an organization well versed in recruitment on the basis of scientific achievement to give more weight to managerial capabilities – both in terms of soft skills and leadership qualities.

Rising to the challenge  

The client – a publicly funded institution – offers a unique opportunity to work in a culturally diverse environment at the cutting edge of scientific development. Most candidates for senior management roles have an outstanding scientific background. The selection challenge is to make sure they not only have excellent credentials as scientists or project managers, but that they also have the right personality to be leaders.
 
Candidates come from varied academic, cultural and geographical backgrounds. Mercuri Urval was able to assist the client in the selection of internal and external applicants from across Europe and sometimes from further afield. And just to add to the logistical complexity, the client organization’s staff is spread out over several operating centers in a number of countries.

Streamlined procedures

Mercuri Urval’s own pan-European presence and extensive experience means that we can readily handle such complex requirements.

Before meeting Mercuri Urval’s consultants, the candidates participate in our highly regarded online personality inventory. This test can be taken virtually anywhere in the world, and gives us the ability to monitor candidates to ensure that the test is carried out correctly.

The candidates then meet one of our senior consultants face-to-face for a further assessment in a convenient location. We assess their personality and managerial capabilities, identify their strengths and bring out points that may have a bearing on their professional development. The assessment is conducted according to a capability model agreed with the client.

Our consultants pass on their findings for consideration by the client’s selection committee. The organization’s directors then make the final selection, based on the candidates’ professional qualifications and Mercuri Urval’s assessment reports.

Mercuri Urval’s assessments mainly cover top management positions in the organization, but our skills have also come in useful in other areas. Advertisements to fill one set of positions in the organization attracted several thousand applications. Our assessment software was able to reduce these to less than a thousand people, who then went forward for further tests.
 
A comprehensive assessment model

We assess candidates according to a competence model based on the client’s values and appropriate strategic issues. Our assessments focus on:    

  • Decision Making and Goals. Candidates need to understand the client’s strategic objectives and to be able to work in the complex and sensitive environment of a large, multinational organization. They must also be prepared to take tough decisions, which may meet resistance from colleagues.
  • Leadership, People and Communication. Leadership skills are regarded as crucial, as is teamwork and cross-cultural sensitivity. 
  • Implementation and Performance. The ability to implement decisions and to drive change and innovation are seen as key qualities.

We regard leadership and decision-making abilities as vital if new recruits are to progress and contribute successfully to the development of any organization. 

A positive experience

The scientific organization has now adopted a leadership-oriented culture, with staff taking a much more proactive role in decision-making.

Partnership with Mercuri Urval over several years has helped shape this new framework because:

  • Our consultants brought new capabilities to the client. Our rich experience and armory of psychological and behavioral assessment tools determine how people will fit in with their colleagues and show leadership.
  • Our long-standing international presence means Mercuri Urval is the ideal partner for the implementation of a uniform assessment model across many diverse European cultures with the minimum of fuss.
  • We consult with internal job candidates, providing “neutral” feedback on their potential to complement the advice of those they work for and with.
  • Our input is valued because we are able to give clear, well-informed advice to the client.
  • Mercuri Urval’s highly experienced senior consultants have worked with a wide variety of clients, making them ideal partners for an organization with a complex structure.


*For confidentiality reasons, Mercuri Urval cannot reveal the client’s identity.

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The Key Challenges

  • Working with an organization with a large staff located in several European locations
  • Selecting candidates from varied backgrounds from across the world.
  • Satisfying the requirements of an organization publicly funded by a number of different countries.
  • Ensuring new recruits and existing employees were well equipped to develop their roles in a unique organization.

Mercuri Urval’s Solution

  • We work closely with the client’s own human resources department to deliver the candidates the organization needs.
  • We use our own international network and contacts to work with the client in many different countries to ensure candidate selection procedures run smoothly.
  • We help the organization to ensure employees have the vital soft skills needed to thrive as part of a team in a complex work environment, complementing their academic experience. A high priority has been placed on the ability of candidates to drive change and to innovate.
  • Mercuri Urval’s highly regarded software and computer technology enables candidate selection to be carried out virtually anywhere.