To further strengthen people management processes, one of our clients – among the world’s largest logistics companies – introduced a new level of operational leadership. A key challenge of the project was to establish a standardised assessment procedure in order to make decision-making and appointment processes for the newly created team leader roles across the company’s branches more objective.
For this purpose, a tailored online-based assessment tool was developed. In addition, a testing process had to be implemented that met the conceptual requirements of the new role and was able to accommodate the expected volume of approximately 12,000 internal applicants.
Our approach comprised 5 project phases:
- Clarification of requirements for the selection process and the assessment instrument
- Development of the test content concept
- Design of the assessment and technical implementation of the web-based tool
- Execution of a representative pilot project and standardisation of results
- Rollout of the assessment
The core elements of the project were the construction of the assessment itself and its technical implementation on our IT platform. Based on the competencies defined in the role profile, the assessment consists of two parts.
In the first part, applicants are required to make typical operational decisions based on realistic work situations drawn from the everyday responsibilities of a team leader. These responses allow conclusions to be drawn regarding candidates’ general attitude towards the role and their leadership understanding.
In the second part, a differentiated set of tasks is used to diagnose cognitive abilities. This includes competencies such as numerical reasoning, drawing conclusions, as well as planning and organisational skills. In addition, a resilience index is calculated based on processing speed and solution quality.
The results have been highly convincing in every respect. All branches of the client organisation apply the online assessment and integrate the test outcomes into their selection decisions. In addition, each participant receives an individual feedback report, which is discussed with the respective manager in line with a defined follow-up process. Beyond the diagnostic insights, the procedure has therefore also generated positive effects on the dialogue culture between employees and leaders.
This web-based assessment for operational employees transitioning into their first disciplinary leadership role represents a unique project of its kind in Germany in terms of scope and target group. More important than the large-scale volume, however, is the qualitative outcome: the assessment procedure enjoys an exceptionally high level of acceptance not only among decision-makers, but also among participants.
