In the ‘new’ recession driven world, being able to ‘ride the waves of management’ is becoming more complex and difficult as these waves themselves take on an ever-changing size and shape.

It is essential the manager has the skills, knowledge and attitude needed to:

1. Recognise these ‘waves of management’
2. Build the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed in self and others

Supporting the ‘rider of the waves’ is their surfboard, and in terms of the job this is the people who make up any support teams, plus the resources in financial and material terms that give framework to the role.

In the 1970′s to the 1980′s a team of occupational psychologists identified the core skills necessary to be an effective and efficient manager. These were to manage information, communicate effectively, and the interpersonal skills in all aspects of managing the interface with other people.

These are still vital core skills. However, over the last few challenging years with even faster changes and increased pressures, there is the need to take a fresh look at the skills, knowledge and even more critically the attitudes to build a more robust ‘surfboard’ of support to meet today’s challenges.

The ‘ocean of management’ now crashes with waves of ‘doing more with less’, the global village with its cultures and equalities, the communication and information explosion, individual choice and expectations, customer experience and perceptions, never ending competition, and not to forget the triad of balance – quality, time and costs.

To ‘manage’ the tides, current, winds and unpredictable nature of these waves, the manager will need to develop and practice the key skills of understanding and developing coping strategies, with a real appreciation of self, and then others. The manager must do this by being able to maximise the time available whilst minimising ineffective stresses and using the real power and calming effect of networks of all types.

About the Author: Dave Stent is an Associate of The McQuaig Psychometric System (brought to you by The Holst Group). To contact Dave email him at davestent@mcquaig.co.uk or find him on Linkedin.  To find out more about the McQuaig Psychometric System visit www.mcquaig.co.uk or call 0845 456 4000

How many square pegs have you interviewed when what you really need is a round one?

The McQuaig Job Survey™ enables you and your managers to produce an accurate job profile for a vacancy. The Job Survey helps to define the behavioural, rather than the practical requirements of the job, which can be very difficult to describe.

A lot of time is often spent defining the tasks and duties of a job but it is also important to establish the type of behaviour that will assist a candidate succeed in that job.

The McQuaig Psychometric System is designed to get the best out of your team. It identifies strengths and avoids situations that may not suit a person’s natural behaviour that can lead to stress. As with most companies, staff retention can be difficult especially with high-pressure roles.

That’s why it is important match the candidates to the behavioural requirements of the job prior to the interview so that you only spend time interviewing the round pegs.

We don’t employ robots. Personality has a large part to play, selecting and retaining effective people is crucial to any business. The McQuaig Psychometric System does just that. Psychometric assessment will help you get round pegs in round holes.

About the Author: Jeff Marshall-Smith is an Associate of The McQuaig Psychometric System (brought to you by The Holst Group). To contact Jeff email him at jeffmarshallsmith@mcquaig.co.uk or find him on Linkedin

To find out more about the McQuaig Psychometric System visit www.mcquaig.co.uk or call 0845 456 4000

Many people think psychometric testing only happens in FTSE 100 firms. In reality psychometric testing is simple, cost-effective and quick even for small businesses.

Culture is everything in small businesses. It defines the product & service & you will often find large corporations trying to emulate it. However, this is what gives small businesses an edge over their larger rivals.

Culture is made up of values, attitude and behaviour and in a small business even a slight change in personnel can have a lasting impact on the culture.

So how do you make sure you hire the right person? Here are three tips

1. Know what you’re looking for
2. Use ‘big business’ procedures
3. Eliminate surprises

Know what you’re looking for

You will probably build a job spec including experience and qualifications. Spend some time thinking about the natural strengths needed for the role. Do they need to be able to build client relationships easily and ‘get things done’? Or do they need an eye for detail and follow routine tasks well?

Psychometric testing can help with a job benchmark.

Use ‘big business’ procedures

As a company grows, so do its procedures and levels of complexity. As a small business you can pick and choose the bits that are right for you.

Big businesses know that a structured interview gives a much, much better result that an informal chat at the local coffee shop. Set a 1 hour structured interview that focuses on behaviours as well as skills.

Psychometric testing can help with an automated interview guide.

Eliminate surprises

Prepare for a new employee’s arrival and take time for a proper induction. Start by getting to know the new employee and the strengths they will bring to the role, team and organisation.

Remember, a new employee will have an influence on culture. The more you know about them before they start the better.

In addition, psychometric testing can provide management tips and techniques for managers.

Iain Chalmers is the Managing Director of The Holst Group (distributor of the McQuaig Psychometric System). To contact Iain email him at iainchalmers@holstgroup.co.uk or find him on Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=970060&locale=en_US&trk=tyah

To find out more about the McQuaig Psychometric System visit www.mcquaig.co.uk or call 0845 456 4000

My eldest daughter has recently graduated from University. By her own admission she never regarded herself as a straight ‘A’ student but by sheer persistence, hard work and dedication she achieved the degree level she was aiming for. The smile it brought to her face lit up the room!

In addition, she has always managed to get seasonal work to support herself and she consistently drew praise for her punctuality, hard-work and most of all her reliability.

She is now in the treadmill of looking for a job that befits her qualities. She was speaking to a Company the other day on the telephone where she had applied for a job and they asked her what level of a degree she had. She told them but it was one level down from what they were looking for so they would not invite her in for a formal interview.

Now, I can begin to understand where they were coming from but could not help but feel the approach was very short sighted. Their criteria for interview selection took absolutely no account of her temperament and attitude towards work, it was based solely on educational standard.

The Company was missing a key element of the selection process, understanding the behavioural make-up of the individual:

• Attitude

• Self-motivation

• Stability and persistence

• Maturity and judgement

• Aptitude

• Temperament

all of which can be assessed by the applicant completing a behavioural profile.

Put this together with the qualifications and experience and you will have much more accurate criteria by which to judge an individual.

My daughter’s search continues…………………….

 About the author: Richard Yelland is an Associate of The McQuaig Psychometric (distributed by The Holst Group).

To contact Richard email richardyelland@mcquaig.co.uk

To find more about how the McQuaig Psychometric System can help you call 0845 456 4000 and visit www.mcquaig.co.uk

People often wonder who benefits most from psychometric testing, is it the employer or the employee? Wrong question. I believe the question should read “Who benefits from it?” Does it really matter who benefits the most if everybody does?

It’s a given that employers pay for the tests and expect to be able to appoint better-placed people into the organisation; but surely that’s good for employees also? And not just the newbie who gets the right job and enjoys what they’re doing, and thus do it more effectively. That rubs off on colleagues and managers too, so in fact we should extend the idea of benefits, even a morale boost, to anyone with whom they interact including clients and suppliers right through to the canteen staff and the operative who sweeps the floor. Perhaps even the CEO!

Thus, everyone connected with the respondent should see something positive from the tests. But what about my family and friends? My certain view, from experience over many years is that job satisfaction certainly has positive knock-on effects socially just as a bad day at work will often impinge on an individual’s temperament away from work.

Also, a key benefit of profiling is the added attention paid to assessment and selection, all of which goes towards making a better fist of managing and retaining people who can see that these things matter to their employers. Get the right job profile and marry the right person to it and, if you’ve done the same with his or her managers and colleagues, you must thereby improve quality of people appointments and the length of time you retain them.

And this has to lead to the next question, “Does psychometric testing improve quality of life?” I think it does for there’s a saying ….”Give me a job I love and I’ll never work again” … now there’s a starter for a whole new article.

About the author: Brian Nicklin is an Associate of The McQuaig Psychometric (distributed by The Holst Group).

To contact Brian email briannicklin@mcquaig.co.uk

To find more about how the McQuaig Psychometric System can help you call 0845 456 4000 and visit www.mcquaig.co.uk

… was what I exclaimed to Emma, an undergraduate psychologist and fellow Mother, in the school car park after drop-off one morning shortly after the beginning of term. “Don’t worry,” came her rather nervous reply, “someone will.”

Not much of a vote of confidence, but then just a couple of days later on the back page of the local Henley Standard was the small lineage advert, perhaps intentionally designed for eagle eyes and within a week I had a job! Me! Yes, me. I had a job. And I think, all thanks to McQuaig.

Appear To:

I like to think I’m well-presented and articulate, of course I have days where my tongue is tied and I look like I got dressed in the dark – who doesn’t? (except maybe K-Mid perhaps).

Can Do:

Well, the job description listed, amongst other tasks, answering the telephones and light cleaning. Both I can do (especially if the emphasis is on ‘light’).

But it’s the ‘Will Do’ that is most important here. Whether I match the needs and profile of the role and that’s where McQuaig comes into its own. I don’t have a track record in this kind of job. Househunting and lease negotiation – oh yes! Give me a brief and a client and off we go, but what else will I be good for? Do I have the attitudes and behaviours that are required? Will I be motivated without continual management and can I learn new processes quickly? Not such an easy thing to determine in a twenty-minute interview.

This is where my profile and that of the Client Support Specialist need to match. And they do. And that must be why Iain Chalmers has taken a punt.

Note from The Holst Group: And we are very pleased you found us!

Catherine Hordern is a Client Support Specialist here at The Holst Group (distributors of the McQuaig Psychometric System).

To contact Catherine email info@holstgroup.co.uk

To find our more about the McQuaig Psychometric  System visit www.mcquaig.co.uk or call 0845 456 4000.

If you lead a Project or Sales team, you could do no better than to look at the methods, beliefs and philosophies of Stuart Lancaster, Head Coach of the England Rugby Union team. Here is a man from a humble farming background; never an outstanding player, who took the reins of the national team following the shambles of the 2011 World Cup, both on and off the field.

In 2 years he has turned round the team so completely they are favourites for the Grand Slam! They have beaten comprehensively the world’s best team New Zealand, and are one of the favourites for the next World Cup in 2015. How has he managed to achieve so much? Business, as in sport (perhaps more so) is about results, so if your beliefs and methods are to be taken seriously, they have to be “golden”. They must generate the results you desire.

If you manage a talented, knowledgeable team (the England team of 2011 were highly experienced) and not getting the most out of them, consider Stuart’s beliefs. He has to recruit the right players and manage them to get the best from them, particularly under pressure.

To me, there are 4 key requirements that he demonstrates in abundance:

1. Trust – don’t rely on the old guard to take the team forward, recruit young people with their careers still ahead of them. They will trust you and you must trust them.

2. Patience – a virtue. People will take time to get used to your culture and your style so allow for it. This is a vital commodity even with extreme pressure to get results.

3. No Blame – people will make mistakes. Accept it but ensure you both learn from it.

4. COLLABORATION – make it easy for people to share and make it just as easy to ask for support.

Lancaster seems comfortable to allow his players to make some mistakes, and thus potentially learn from them, even at top level. It takes bravery from the coach to be patient and allow them this room to grow, while taking the flak. How patient are you?

Interestingly, Stuart Lancaster is speaking about the need for the right levels of emotional intelligence in the current England team. He sees it as key to get the right team performance as well as individual performance, and as such is continuing the work of Clive Woodward (see my last blog). I have long been interested in the value of EI in great business leaders. For example, a high sense of self-esteem without arrogance, empathy but not too high, and adaptability.

I am indebted to David Turner, Principal Lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Hertfordshire and his student Bhavesh who have shared with me their analysis of Lancaster’s coaching beliefs. There are 29 (contact me if you would like me to send you a copy of them), but in summary – understand yourself; know your philosophy; know your values; be consistent; work hard…

If you would like guidance in turning your team around, please contact me, it’s a fascinating journey that doesn’t just deliver quantifiable results but can improve morale, make team members easier to manage, and have more fun.

About the author: Ron Knox is an Associate of the McQuaig Psychometric System (brought to you by The Holst Group). To contact Ron email ronknox@mcquaig.co.uk

To find Ron on Linkedin click here.

For more information about the McQuaig Psychometric System visit: www.mcquaig.co.uk and call 0845 456 4000

Assessing candidate’s innate behaviour should be a must for a recruiter but a person’s learned behaviours or Character is also very important to ensure a good fit to a job. These behaviours come from our parents, our teachers, our peer groups and mentors and coaches at work.

They are mainly:

Attitude – which ensures they will fit into the culture and norms of your company

Self-Esteem/Confidence – which ensures they will be strong enough to obtain that difficult sale or deliver a tough management decision

Stability – having the ability to be like a round bottomed doll and always “bounce back” whatever the failure or disappointment.

Maturity – lack of which can be the reason many managers fail to succeed. We tend to be fooled into thinking that greying hair, a mortgage and children is a sign of maturity but they are not a reliable measure. To understand the elements of maturity check for the following signs:

1. Do they accept that reward comes after effort?

2. Are they flexible enough to accept that it is not always possible to follow the plan or preferred course?

3. Are they able to give credit to others when deserved, or do they have the “I did everything” disease?

4. Can they accept the blame when it is their fault or is it always something beyond their control?

5. Are they able to recognise the possible consequences of their decisions and actions and adjust if necessary?

Careful and probing interview questions can reassure recruiters that the candidate is ready and up to the job, it is always worth taking the time!

About the author: Mike Edwards is an Associate of The McQuaig Psychometric (distributed by The Holst Group). Mike is accredited by The McQuaig Institute to train McQuaig Interpreters, present, consult and give advice on The McQuaig Psychometric System.

To contact Mike email mikeedwards@mcquaig.co.uk

Click here to find our more about our Effective Interviews and Selection workshop or call 0845 456 4000.

Getting the right person, in part, depends on having positive interview experiences with your preferred candidates. Do not underestimate the impact of a well-planned interview/interview process. The good candidates will not. Just look on the Internet at the number of pages dedicated to giving advice to the interviewee. It is just good sense to go the extra mile to ensure that the process and the final result are just what you are looking for.

1. Get it right in the first place

If the position is a new one, make sure that all stakeholders are agreed as to how the position will fit within the company’s priorities. Revisit the job description and re-examine how the skills, knowledge and abilities fit your company’s business and operating priorities. If you are sure about what you want, you are more likely to identify professionals who fit the bill.

If the position fills a vacancy, you need to ask some hard questions:

• What aspect of the job/role did the prior employee find rewarding and challenging?

• How has the job/role changed since the last appointment?

2. Use the same criteria to evaluate candidates

Before the interviews, be clear on the skills/behaviours/priorities most important for success. Then, evaluate all candidates against your checklist. When asking all candidates similar questions, you can compare their responses more precisely. Control the interview agenda.

3. Ask relevant questions

With regard to questions on your checklist, ask probing questions. Your job is to get to know each candidate as well as you can. Chances are your candidates will prepare well. They will have reviewed the Web, read your literature and have a working familiarity with your operations. Use your questions to figure out which candidates are responding in a rote fashion and which are thinking critically about the challenges you face.

4. Sell your company

You want to sell the right candidates on your company. Get them to leave feeling excited by your challenges and encouraged by your achievements.

Sometimes, by asking a few key questions, you can come up with a list of company attributes worth mentioning:

• What is your company’s most significant strength?

• Has the company been featured in the news in a positive way?

• Do you have any marketing brochures or other publicity materials you can share with candidates?

• What distinguishes your company from others in its industry?

• What career success stories has your company sponsored/developed?

• What kinds of professionals excel in your operating environment?

 5. Listen and watch carefully

Most candidates will tell you who they are. That is, if you are listening and not talking all the time. The airtime in the interview should be filled by the candidate speaking – NOT you. Listen to tone, word choice and delivery. They can often tell you more of the ‘music’ behind the message than the words. Body Language is important too. Observe what the candidate is ‘saying’ at this non-verbal level.

6. Follow up with good candidates who don’t get the job offer

When you have run an effective and well-planned recruitment drive, you will have identified a number of talented potential employees. Keep in touch with all of them. Send them brief updates from time-to-time. Keep them in the loop. You never know when you may need to contact them again.

7. Keep the time between interviews and offer short

Have an effective and well-planned offer-and-acceptance process in place. That way, you can minimise delays in getting the ‘right’ person into place quickly.

 8. Treat your new employee with respect

Once a candidate accepts an offer, keep in touch. From the moment they say ‘YES’ to the job offer they must feel part of the company –and should be treated as such. Ensure an effective ‘Welcome to the company’ process in place – and I do not mean just all of the usual ‘mechanisms’ of the job. But also the emotional and cultural aspects need to be managed or else they will go as quickly as they arrived.

About the author: Dave Stent is an Associate of the McQuaig Psychometric System (distributed by The Holst Group). Dave is also a Chartered Member of the CIPD. To contact Dave email davestent@mcquaig.co.uk

Click here http://www.mcquaig.co.uk/mcquaig_training/effective-interviews-and-selection/ to find our more about our Effective Interviews and Selection workshop.

In a recent television programme there was a fascinating discussion on successful teams between Woodward who was a World Cup winning coach with the 2003 England Rugby Union team, and Roy Hodgson the current England Football manager.

Woodward has gained a well-deserved reputation for clear sightedness and strategic acumen that saw him appointed to the elite performing Team GB Olympic squad. Hodgson is a decent guy but with a relatively moderate coaching career and struggling to meet expectations to a very demanding footballing public.

Sir Clive was very clear that for 2003 he wanted a team not a collection of the most talented individuals. To win an England place you had to buy in to the team ethic, be part of the culture and understand clearly the job you had to do. So everybody who had the skills to do the job was assessed thoroughly to ensure they put team first and not themselves. This he considers the most vital part of any successful team, and spent 2 years prior to the World Cup bonding the team together. It is easy to see the England football team having nothing like this attribute.

An interesting observation why is the view that in Rugby Union reaching the England team is the pinnacle of your career, whereas international football is seen by many players as a distraction, and the European Champions League is now the pinnacle. So desire and motivation may be a big issue – how often do we see this in business?

Another interesting Woodward comment was that all teams need their “go to man”. Someone who the rest of the team trust will get the points, or clinch the deal. In 2003 this was Jonny Wilkinson, a man who was trusted implicitly by his team mates to get the points, and indeed kicked the winning drop goal in extra time in the final. The England football team do not have a “go to man” – Rooney? Gerrard?  Hardly with the record they have! Who is your “go to man” in your team?

He emphasised he did not want 15 Jonny Wilkinsons, that would be a recipe for conflict and confusion. He wanted a team and thought there is room for just one mercurial individual with the flair and creativity to do things other players can’t do, and in 2003 that was Jason Robinson.

So you must have a team, a go-to-man and a mercurial individual. Interestingly 2013 is the year of the Rugby League World Cup and England are thought to have their best chance for many years against the powerful Australian and New Zealand teams because they have team that’s been together for the last 2 or 3 years, a Wilkinson in a guy called Kevin Sinfield, and a mercurial individual called Sam Tomkins. Until these golden rules are covered well in the England football team, it will continue to struggle. How well do your teams fit this successful pattern?

After discussing teams, there was a reflection on what attributes do the most successful performers have?

He identified 4:

1. All are self starters who know their purpose

2. They are teachable and are hungry to learn new things to add formidable knowledge

3. Prepared to work as hard as it takes, but rarely does it feel like work

4. Enthusiastic and passionate about what they do.

To me the interesting thing is that he never mentions talent, even in a sporting context. There are many talented performers who show their talent all too briefly. The key is attitude, it’s all about attitude.

The analogies with business are so clear. I use the McQuaig Psychometric System in all my team analysis and assessment of individuals. It will give you great insight when looking at teams that don’t perform as they should, which individuals to bring into a team, and how to get the most from what you’ve got.

Ron Knox talks about how psychometric testing helps companies create successful teams.

About the author: Ron Knox is an Associate of the McQuaig Psychometric System (brought to you by The Holst Group). To contact Ron email ronknox@mcquaig.co.uk. To find Ron on Linkedin click here.

For more information about the McQuaig Psychometric System visit: www.mcquaig.co.uk and call 0845 456 4000.