Employers Archives - Developmental Associates

National Attention for NC’s African American, Female Police Chiefs

pwsadmin — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 07:37:51 +0000

NC-based Developmental Associates proudly helped the communities of Durham, Fayetteville, Winston-Salem and Morrisville hire their police chiefs. Excellence and diversity in action!

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Using Assessment Centers to Measure Leadership Skills

pwsadmin — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 07:30:41 +0000

We evaluate leader skills for Government, Nonprofit and Educational positions.

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Deficiencies of Traditional Headhunting Techniques

Developmental Associates — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 09:21:17 +0000

www.developmentalassociates.com

The Benefits of Developmental Associates’ Talent Identification Program

COMPARISON OF RECRUITMENT METHODS

TRADITIONAL APPROACH

DEVELOPMENTAL ASSOCIATES APPROACH

•Recruitment is conducted by placing ads, developing brochures, and targeting individual managers.
•The search firm promises that they have a stockpile of candidates who would not otherwise apply.

•In addition to placing ads, developing brochures, and targeting national and state contacts, Developmental Associates (DA) uses NEOGOV, the number one HR application for governments nationwide. This service posts the jobs on governmentjobs.com, reaching qualified government managers across the country.
•DA also uses list serves to contact managers throughout NC.
•DA has operated in NC for over 25 years and knows NC managers like no other firm.Moreover, we have well-established national contacts.
•DA develops engaging and customized position announcements that go beyond simply a listing of job responsibilities.

COMPARISON OF INITIAL SCREENING METHODS

TRADITIONAL APPROACH	DEVELOPMENTAL ASSOCIATES APPROACH
•Applicants may submit cover letters and resumes in whatever form they choose. •Candidates often still provide this information in hard copy. •Their resumes are difficult to compare (“apples to oranges”) because they are structured differently. Some resumes are chronological; others reflect career achievements. Most do not provide critical information necessary for accurate evaluation.	•Using NEOGOV, electronic application forms with supplemental questionnaires are designed specific to the needs of the client and the position •Candidates may still submit cover letters and resumes. However, a customized electronic application enables an “apples to apples” comparison across all candidates. •Candidates demonstrate their motivation by having to complete an application and questionnaire online rather than simply changing the name on the front of their cover letter. •DA analyzes each application and scores them on the basis of their fit with the needs of the client.
•Traditional search firms typically make decisions for you by conducting the initial screen of candidates to winnow down the number of candidates to a manageable number.	•Ideally, DA is the facilitator of user-friendly information and you decide among the qualified candidates, who will move through each step in the process. This allows you to pay attention only to those who meet minimum qualifications and you exercise maximum control over the process. While DA can also conduct the initial screen for you, we prefer to involve you in those decisions. •DA can provide you with comprehensive information on ALL candidates, including their answers on the application form, resumes, and cover letters.

COMPARISON OF SECONDARY SCREENING METHODS

TRADITIONAL APPROACH

DEVELOPMENTAL ASSOCIATES APPROACH

•The lead consultant assesses each of the candidates through telephone or on-site interviews and reference checks.
•The consultant considers a smaller number of candidates – usually fewer than 10.
•In rare cases, a psychological or personality inventory is administered. Often that inventory, such as the Myers-Briggs, or DiSC is not valid for employment purposes creating potential liability for the employer.

•DA uses three independent methods to assess the candidates. A different member of our team conducts each of these screening methods. We keep a “firewall” among them, giving you three independent evaluations of the candidates.
•We contract with a subject matter expert to conduct and score a structured telephone interview of each candidate.
•Another team member evaluates candidate written responses to questions that require candidates to provide evidence of their accomplishments.
•One of our psychologists administers the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EQi 2.0), which is validated for employment.
•You receive comprehensive information and ratings of each candidate. You decide whom to move forward in the process.

COMPARISON OF CANDIDATE ASSESSSMENT METHODS

TRADITIONAL APPROACH

DEVELOPMENTAL ASSOCIATES APPROACH

•The employer conducts interviews of the candidates and the search firm facilitates the process.
•The search typically firm provides little guidance on the interview other than to perhaps encourage structured questions.
•You will rely on interviews or presentations to assess candidates.
•Research indicates that interviews – even when properly conducted – predict no more than 40% of executive performance. Unstructured interviews predict less than 20% of job performance.
•Typically, no answer key is provided. If it is provided, it is typically vague. You must infer candidate competencies.

•DA recognizes that only three competencies can be directly assessed through an interview – oral communication, knowledge, and judgment. These are important competencies but they are inadequate for predicting executive performance.
•DA structures assessment simulation exercises, such as budget presentations, staff coaching sessions, written plans, and meeting facilitation. These methods are tailored to your organization’s needs and current issues, providing direct assessment of managerial and technical competencies. They also enable fair and objective comparisons of internal candidates with external ones.
•We integrate the results on the assessment exercises along with the results on the EQi. Having multiple data points that provide similar results, gives you more confidence in the information you have on each candidate.
•You conduct final interviews after the assessment. However, you do so knowing the competencies of those finalists, therefore questions are more targeted, yielding richer responses from applicants.
•DA can help you design interview questions and work with you to best structure, conduct and objectively score a sound interview.

COMPARISON OF SUPPORT FOR THE NEW MANAGER

TRADITIONAL APPROACH	DEVELOPMENTAL ASSOCIATES APPROACH
•Rarely offered at all but if so, limited to following up with the employer or applicant to ask how things are going.	•DA takes the extra step to enable the new executive to be successful. •We provide him/her with intensive feedback on the assessment exercises and the EQi. •We help the new executive to develop a plan for ensuring their success in facing new challenges.

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Myths and Realities of Selection

Developmental Associates — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 09:02:43 +0000

Myth	Reality
#1: Hire a search firm	Search Firms, sometimes known as “headhunters,” focus on recruitment – not hiring. Most counties and municipalities need more help with evaluating candidates than with recruitment. Search firms are expensive (typically charging 20-30% of annual salary) given the return. Given the Internet and professional associations that provide excellent recruitment methods, there is less and less reason to rely on search firms to make contact with quality candidates. Currently, leading search firms are located out of NC and do not have as strong a pipeline to potential managers from within the state. There is certainly nothing wrong with considering candidates outside of NC, but it is not effective to focus primarily out of state.
#2: Get public input in determining whom to hire	The public should be highly involved, but primarily on the front end of the selection process, to determine the desired characteristics of the ideal candidate, not on the back end in deciding whom to hire. Through structured focus groups, the public can be helpful in identifying the community challenges facing the new manager. These challenges should be incorporated into the hiring process to ensure that candidates can meet them. By being involved, the public will be more supportive of the overall process and of the hiring choice. The hiring decision should not be based on the reactions of large groups of citizens based on interviews or presentations by the candidates. This type of exercise does not provide a valid or reliable assessment of the candidates’ ability to perform the essential functions of the job. This is not the type of decision process a sound business would use nor is it consistent with a representative democracy.
#3: Candidates can be adequately assessed through interviews alone	Interviews are necessary but not sufficient for evaluating candidates. Management candidates are often highly skilled at handling interviews. Their answers may not reflect their subsequent job performance. Interviews have the capacity to measure a few skills, but not many essential ones, such as developing proposals, analyzing the budget, conflict resolution, and leadership. Interviews are helpful for identifying the philosophy, vision, and knowledge of the candidates. Once the most competent candidates have been identified, interviews are also helpful in assessing “chemistry” in working together Conducting multiple interviews with different groups does not substantially improve the limitations of the interview. There would be greater statistical accuracy flipping a coin over who to hire than the way interviews are typically conducted for hiring executives. Assessment exercises based on a thorough analysis of the job provide the best predictors of candidate performance. Examples of such exercises might include presentations, meetings, press conferences, written plans, role plays, and community meetings. Through such exercises, expert raters can evaluate the ability of the candidates to perform the actual job.
#4: Intellect and technical skills alone predict managerial success	Intellect and technical skills are both vital. Nevertheless, given a sound level of both, the more successful managers exhibit Emotional Intelligence (EI). EI measures the candidates’ ability to deal with others, understand their own feelings and attitudes, manage stress, and solve problems. These capacities are essential for influencing the community, managing staff performance, and dealing with the complex problems that emerge on the job. EI can be measured through a variety of means including interviews, role-plays, and instrumentation.

www.developmentalassociates.com

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