I have widely covered how data and analytics are changing the
recruitment landscape. So far, most of the focus has been on filling low
and mid-tier vacancies – such as Xerox and their work to find the best
candidates for call centre positions. But what about filling the most
senior vacancies – the “C-suite” of CEOs, CFOs, CMOs and other chiefs in
your organization?
These are the people who are going to guide the direction of the
business. They carry a large amount of responsibility and in return
often take home a sizeable chunk of a business’s earnings. When mistakes
are made appointing people at this level, disaster is a distinct and
clear likelihood. So of course it makes sense that filling these
vacancies should be done with as little guesswork as possible.
Big Data Headhunters
In this post, I look at Corporate head-hunters Korn Ferry which have
taken steps to ensure c-level recruitment is firmly rooted in data and
analytics. The firm has specialized in finding candidates for the
highest level jobs for almost 50 years. In recent years it has started
to apply Big Data analytics to the wealth of data it has acquired, in
order to find the best people for the best jobs.
This has allowed the firm to draw up detailed profiles of the
competencies, traits and experiences needed to succeed at the top level.
In partnership with data scientists at the University of Southern
California the company began to build its analytics-based people
placement platform (which they refer to it as the Korn Ferry 4
Dimensions of Leadership and Talent – or KF4D for short.)
Dana Landis, Korn Ferry’s vice president of global talent assessment
and analytics, told me: “The biggest discovery was that there are some
real universals playing out – more than we expected would be the case.”
The data revealed some strong patterns about the importance of traits
and qualities required for C-level positions, including being a lifelong
learner, higher levels of emotional intelligence (for example,
empathy), communication skills and a tolerance for risk.
How Relevant Is Experience?
Along with traits and competencies, experience is obviously a core
necessity for success in many roles. This can be covered with Big Data
analytics too. Comparative analytics can show what skills a person has
picked up in previous positions, and which of those they will likely
need to carry with them as they move up the career ladder.
Although Korn Ferry has almost 50 years of data gleaned from
assessing candidates for high level positions, in order to continue
gathering truly Big Data it was necessary to automate the process of
data collection, to make gathering the required sample size viable.
This means compressing a complex assessment process often carried out
over several days, under controlled conditions, into a 45-minute online
test which can be completed anywhere in the world with internet access.
Landis told me: “When you’re talking about Big Data you’re talking
about assessing millions of people all over the world, so you need
self-assessment.”
With self-assessment of course come worries that candidates might try
to “game the system”, providing the answers they think top hirers will
see as desirable. But this is mitigated against by the psychological
nature of the questioning – asking candidates to prioritize a number of
seemingly equally valuable qualities they might possess.
Are You A Good Fit?
Another key element which the system is designed to assess is how
well the candidate will fit within the culture of the organization. Mike
Distefano, chief marketing officer and president of Korn Ferry’s
research and analytics arm, the Korn Ferry Institute, told me “One thing
I always say is that people get hired for what they know and fired for
who they are. So we have spent a lot of time making sure we can check
that the person is a good cultural fit.”
Clients looking to fill positions have the ability to choose whether
they are happy with their organizational culture – in which case the
system will find someone who is likely to fit in – or are looking to
change it. If this is the case, then candidates will be suggested who
are likely to be agents of change.
But is there one quality – or attribute – that stands out above all
others as essential for leadership? Yes, according to Distefano. “If I
had to pick one individual indicator of success, then it would be
agility.” The data analysis has shown that candidates who score highly
for agility also tend to deliver well on delivering increased
profitability. His advice is therefore to, “hire the agile, but check
for fit.”
This analytical approach to c-suite recruitment wouldn’t be possible
without the predictive modelling and statistical analytics, backed up
with huge datasets, that we call Big Data. Korn Ferry uses Amazon Web
Services Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3) for
distributed storage and processing. Algorithms are created in-house
using open source technology such as R and Python.
Appointing a new CEO is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges a
business will ever face. Most companies wouldn’t make decisions about
which products or services to offer without solid data analysis. Is it
now time to bring the same in-depth, analytical approach to hiring for
top level positions? The claim is that by making the move to evaluating
top talent on quantifiable data, backed by comparative analysis,
companies can make sure their leadership positions are filled by the
people most likely to take the business – and everyone inside it –
onward to bigger and better things.
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