Executive Recruitment and Assessment Tools

Did you Know?

15% – The success rate of finding top performers with hiring practices based on resumes and interviews alone.
50% – The average professional recruitment success rate in finding a top performer.
95% – Decision Associates’ track record of hiring a top performer for an organization likes yours!

The Art to Finding a Top Performer
Have you ever hired someone who you thought would be an outstanding employee only to find you made a serious mistake? It’s a common affliction! You can easily find 20 seemingly qualified people for management and executive roles through the use of job boards on the Internet. Each of them may have the perceived skill sets and experience to be considered good candidates for your open position. But how can you be confident that they will succeed?

At Decision Associates, WE CAN. Our proven methodology is designed to ensure that the candidate fits the organization, fits the management team and has the characteristics, attributes, skills and growth potential to make the impact you want.

Our Process:
We work with you and your team to identify the personal characteristics and critical dimensions of the position. We look at a number of key areas to develop the perfect fit for your company. Among them are:

• Thinking and Learning Style
• Behavioral Traits
• Occupational Interests
• Analytical Ability
• Decision Making
• Industry Characteristics
• Judgment
• Leadership Skills
• Tenacity
• Communication Style

This is a critical component of the selection process as we develop the “fit” for the opening at your organization.

How is this Accomplished?
From these data points we create customized Behavioral Interview Guides to thoroughly investigate the Critical Dimensions of the job. Additional, we use Profiles International Assessment tools to establish a High Performance Model or Job Match Pattern that describes the ideal candidate. As we move along the process, the top candidates will take this assessment tool. Unlike DiSC or Myers-Briggs, which are personality tests, the Profile XT style of assessment is a job-related assessment instrument. This allows for more insight into a candidate’s behavioral characteristics to get a true sense of how they will perform in your organization.

Organization and Culture
Every business has its own corporate culture that fits into the dynamics of the industry and nature of the business they are in. Individuals who find the right fit not only perform well, they excel. We look closely at your organization, your management team, management style, and your board’s governance style to understand and define the culture. All these are part of the critical dimensions as we develop the characteristics of your ideal candidate. We also develop a Managerial Fit using the results of the Profile Assessments to enable you to fully understand the dynamics between the new individual and the person to whom he/she will report.

Conduct a Team Analysis
We value the staff that you’ve developed and their ability to perform. In our search methodology, we look to analyze your current team to see what motivates their behaviors and drives them. We use this analysis in the interview process to ensure a higher level of acceptance from your current staff of this new leader in the organization.

Define Outcomes as a Job Match Expectation
While most recruiters focus their search efforts solely based on the position description, we put a strong emphasis on “Outcomes.” In other words, what do you expect that this executive will accomplish over the course of 5 years? How will the organization be better? We then look for similar past performance indicators in the candidate’s background.

Screening Interviews
Most interviews focus on skills and a candidate’s history that lead to hiring decisions that are based on a “gut feel.” Decision Associates’ Screening Interviews use a Behavioral/Evidence-Based process to evaluate a candidate on all of the following dimensions:

• Job Match Pattern
• Critical Dimensions
• Organization and Cultural Fit
• Expected Outcomes

By asking probing questions in our interviews, we cause the candidate to show how they did it, not how they could do it. We challenge the candidates to prove past successes that we can translate into meeting the needs of your organization.

The In-Depth Interview
People usually hire candidates they like or people who are like them. They will conduct interviews that are primarily conversational, but lack the proper structure to make the most informed decision. This is a common mistake that we correct. Decision Associates trains the selection team for the interviews, whether it’s a group or single owner. We review the critical skills, the personal attributes and the success factors associated with the job and create a customized interview guide for the interview team. The interview is structured with a unique interview guide created for the job and the organization! We also join the interviews to help ensure that they are consistent.

Final Selection
While the final selection decision lies with you and your team, you can be assured that each of the final candidates will be able to perform the responsibilities of the position at a high level. We will be pleased to be involved in the ranking and discussion of the skills, capabilities, characteristics and “fit” that each brings to the job. We are your partner in this critical decision.

Executive Search
Decision Associates uses a formal, tested, successful and sophisticated process to help select the right executive for your executive job opportunity. We employ this process to define the job, identify Critical Dimensions, establish search criteria, source candidates, determine job match, assess skills and behavioral traits and make solid recommendations to management.

Recruitment and Selection
Decision Associates recognizes that the wrong choices made in the workforce selection process can have serious and costly repercussions. We will assess your current process and make appropriate recommendations for new and innovative strategies to find the right people for the right job. Once on board, retention becomes key to protecting your investment in your human resource. Decision Associates will help you create and develop an environment that will encourage people to stay.

Contact us for more information on recruiting your next employee!