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HDA OVERVIEW
HDA Case Studies

 

Succession Assessment and Development

For Multinational Public Transport Services Organisation

Background

This highly successful organisation identified that although there was a talented team of people already working for the organisation who would welcome the opportunity to take on a strategic role to become part of its future, they didn’t necessarily know who all those people were. They also wanted to ensure that once they had identified this top talent, they engaged with them and developed them to provide them with the skills and tools required to optimise their potential.

The first step in this program was to identify who was in the talent pool through conducting an in-depth assessment of each individual using a self and referred application process, psychometrics and the measurement of leadership behaviours though an Assessment Centre.

The purpose of the Assessing for Development Centre is to enable existing employees who have the desire and potential to develop into future strategic roles, to demonstrate their current competency against an agreed framework, so that their existing, potential, and future development needs can be objectively assessed and planned for.

Objectives:

1. To identify the top talent who have the desire and the potential to develop into strategic roles for succession purposes
2. To provide all employees with the opportunity to be considered and evaluated
3. To allow the chosen individuals the chance to demonstrate their strengths against an established framework
4. To give the individuals feedback on their strengths and development areas
5. To inform the development undertaken for this group of individuals to ensure coherence and future success

Key Activities undertaken by HDA

• The organisation chose the pre-selection methodology and psychometrics and established a list of individuals to attend the behavioural assessment.
• HDA conducted stakeholder interviews with senior stakeholders to ensure an in depth understanding of the current and future strategic issues facing the business. Particularly to understand the skill set required from the high potential group and ‘what good looks like’.
• HDA designed a sophisticated business simulation which echoed the transport industry issues and finances as a platform for a range of assessment centre exercises

• The assessment centre exercises were designed to elicit relevant leadership competencies through a presentation to a key stakeholder from the business, a competency based interview, a strategy paper, a coaching role play and a team exercise
• Each individual was assessed against a competency framework and given a rating for each exercise. These ratings were collated and key messages discussed with the individuals, resulting in a development report outlining strengths, development areas and precise steps for individual development.
• The results from several assessment centres were collated and reported back to the organisation, outlining key areas of strength within the team and also areas of concern. Suggestions for addressing the areas and developing all the individuals, whether identified as top talent or not were presented.
• HDA project managed and ran 6 assessment centres, 3 for UK based employees, 2 for those from the European mainland and 1 for senior directors within the organisation. 4 different versions of the assessment centre were used to ensure an exact match for the individuals attending.
• HDA made recommendations to the client for next stage actions.

Outcomes

The identification of the top talent pool within the business enabled some assumptions about ‘natural successors’ to be challenged, bringing to the foreground some individuals who had not previously had the opportunity to shine. This boosts everyone’s confidence and engagement and as difficult as it is not to be selected to participate in the assessments centre due to strict criteria of entry, it also establishes and raises the value placed on the process.

The senior stakeholders within the organisation are all very committed to this process as providing invaluable information and see it as an ongoing activity. This not only helps identify talent but provides a stretching and exciting challenge to participate in which is very motivating and engaging for employees.

The timing of the succession project came just as the organisation had been acquired by a very large European company. The cultural differences between the organisations were likely to cause some challenges, however establishing a shared understanding of what good looks like through the leadership behaviours was a useful starting point.

HDA had made recommendations about the development interventions required to support the organisation as it develops its employees and looks forward to working with them to deliver this in the future. In addition, all the individuals received a tailored development report to use as a basis for their personal and professional development.

A positive by-product was the co-operation between different parts of the business to ensure consistency and a joined up approach, with the senior director assessment centre involving 4 different parts of the business.

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