NOTE: The following case study about employment testing is a composite of multiple individuals. Any resemblance to an actual person or organization is coincidental.
Three years of substantial growth and expansion for the ABC company had led to job openings in senior management. One position in particular, a vice president to report to the COO, was needed to help manage aspects of the growth. The senior management team identified twelve internal directors and senior managers as potential candidates for the position. The twelve candidates were sent through several rounds of interviews with senior management and an HR review of their personnel files before the final three candidates were selected. By all accounts, the three final candidates were equally qualified to fill the position. However, the senior management team was split about which candidate to promote. Therefore, the three remaining candidates were referred to my office for psychological assessment as part of the final selection process.
I met with each member of the senior management team involved with the promotion process. Following our meetings, I reviewed their competency model and job analysis to choose the appropriate psychological tests for this senior management position. Several skills were consistently identified as areas to evaluate by both the management team members and the competency and job analysis data. In general, the areas were: extensive intellectual capacity, strong reasoning skills, excellent interpersonal skills (e.g., emotional intelligence), a good team player, and capable of managing ambiguity. I administered, interpreted, and integrated the information and provided feedback to the management team for the identified skills for each candidate. I informed the team that my findings were to be used as one part of the selection process. We also agreed to make the results available to each candidate for development purposes. The team used the information I provided to help them make their final decision.
Eight months after the new VP started in her position, the senior management team reported that her job performance consistently exceeded expectations and that operations were running smoother than ever. They also informed me that both management and the candidates saw the promotion process as fair. As a result of the perceived fairness, they were able to retain all but one of the original twelve candidates. The VP was promoted to EVP three years later.