Objective Evidence Improves Hiring Decisions
The Predictive Talent Assessment predicts sales results for technology company.
The Client & Business Challenge
The client, a San Francisco based technology company, provides IT systems and solutions for companies to retain a competitive edge in the global, digital business environment. Their products and services include data centers, applications, networks, and other solutions for helping remote offices work better.
Company leaders recognized that in the rapidly changing business environment, workforce skills and capabilities had to remain competitive. Towards that end, the sales leadership team sought to shift the roles of sales professionals towards consultative selling as part of an organizational change initiative. In 2014, the client engaged Advantus Business Consulting to support their transformation.
We have proof that sales increase when these assessments are used. The results are tangible. We’re reaching or exceeding our sales quotas and accomplishing our goals faster and faster.
Chief Sales Officer
Project Objectives
The main objectives of the initiative were to:
- Determine the effectiveness of previously implemented skills assessment tools
- Understand whether the skills of ‘high performing’ sales professionals reflected the critical skills in defined job profiles
- Compare the performance of new hires to experienced sales professionals and determine the correlation with job profiles
- Improve or increase bench strength to ensure that the capabilities and talents of current sales professionals are aligned with those of the redefined role profile
- Maximize the effectiveness of sales professionals through the application of ‘best practices’
Leveraging the Predictive Talent Assessment
The Predictive Talent Assessment was central to addressing the firm’s questions and challenges. Chally has been an industry-leader in sales research and measurement for more than 45 years. Chally’s database of hundreds of thousands of respondents across hundreds of organizations allows clients to identify the attributes that reliably predict performance in their sales and customer-facing roles.
Implementation
The Advantus/Chally team partnered with the technology company to implement a four-step process that was specifically customized to reflect the unique needs of the business:
- Conducted an analysis of 16 different sales, sales management, and sales support roles.
- Create role profiles that were both predictive and specific to the firm.
- Provided training for managers on how to utilize the Predictive Talent Assessment results in conjunction with custom interview guides to enhance the emphasis on using objective evidence in the selection process.
The initial steps were implemented quickly. Then, building on initial success, refinements were put in place during the next few years.
Impact Analysis
In 2017, Advantus and Chally conducted an in-depth research study to analyze the long-term outcomes and results realized from using the Chally Assessment for selection. The study focused on the skills and job performance of 700 sales employees in twelve different positions.
Researchers compared the degree to which each individual’s skills matched their role profile as well as the correlation to their job performance. They then compared new and seasoned employees over a multiyear timeframe, using revenue generation as the key measure of job performance.
The analysis demonstrated that new employees whose assessment indicated a high likelihood of job performance, did in fact, perform better than those with less predicted job fit. Individuals with high job fit were shown to attain 59% greater job performance.
In addition, new employees with the right job fit attained sales quotas faster than expected, thereby increasing revenue generation.
Bottom-Line Results
The client’s Chief Sales Officer states “We have proof that sales increase when these assessments are used. The results are tangible. We’re reaching or exceeding our sales quotas and accomplishing our goals faster and faster.”
The Power of Partnership
These stellar results are a testament to the power of the Advantus/Chally partnership. By combining their consulting expertise with the Chally Assessment and talent analytics capabilities, Advantus enables clients to maximize revenue, select high performing sales professionals, accelerate time to productivity, and maximize revenue.