Fair and transparent assessment

The challenge

A recent internal promotion created a vacancy for the role of Regional Sales Manager for the North within B. Braun Medical Limited, a leading global health-care company. B. Braun Medical has a strong foundation and culture which is supportive of internal personal development and recruiting from within. “We knew we had talented sales people in the team, but were any of them ready to take on management responsibility?” said Bob Brook, National Sales Manager.

To support B. Braun Medical in their search process for the right candidate for this pivotal role, they contacted GFB, experts in the assessment and development of people at work, in order to assess the 4 internal applicants who had expressed an interest in the position. B. Braun wanted to ensure a thorough and rigorous assessment centre was conducted to identify whether any of the 4 internal applicants would be capable of fulfilling this key role. It was crucial that the motivation remained high within the team throughout the process and that any unsuccessful applicants would have a fantastic development platform to support their strong performance in their respective roles, as such and going forward B. Braun wanted to offer each candidate the opportunity to receive in depth feedback and development support following the assessment centre process.

It was evident that B. Braun Medical couldn’t be without this critical role for long and therefore it was essential that the assessment process was conducted in the shortest timescales. GFB and B. Braun had just one week to plan, prepare for and run the selection process.

The solution

GFB proposed to assess all applicants during a one day assessment centre where candidates would be measured using a series of exercises throughout the event. This would be followed up the next day with one to one feedback and development planning sessions with each candidate.

In advance of attending the assessment centre each candidate completed a series of psychometric tests measuring verbal and numerical ability and personality traits.

Candidates were invited to attend the assessment centre hosted at B. Braun Medical’s Sheffield HQ. During the assessment centre candidates underwent a series of rigorous assessments including a behavioural event interview and individual and group tasks using a business simulation based around a fictitious company. The business simulation provided rich background information which built up over the course of the day giving candidates opportunities to make decisions, solve problems and show their ability to get the best from others. This allowed candidates to demonstrate their capability to manage and deliver exactly as they would in the role.

Throughout the day each candidate was assessed by an observer and rated against the Schroder high performance competency model, a competency framework proven to lead to high performance in managers and leaders. Performance was also compared to the ideal profile which GFB had developed from the job description and competency framework for the role.

At the end of the day, having gone through the rigorous assessment centre process which consisted of being interviewed, presenting at a team meeting, running a one to one meeting, producing a written paper and interacting in a group setting, the candidates were free to leave. Once the GFB assessors had scored each candidate and written up feedback, the assessors and the B. Braun Medical recruiting team gathered to review feedback and discuss the strengths and development areas of each candidate.

On the second day the candidates all had a further interview with the B. Braun Medical panel and received one to one feedback and a development report from a GFB consultant.

“GFB met all of our expectations” says Sean Sagar, Senior HR Advisor. “Their ability to turn the assessment centre around in the time they did and to the standard it was delivered was first class”.

The outcome

The process allowed the B. Braun Medical team to see each applicant perform in an unfamiliar setting in some very challenging situations. By doing so the assessment centre process gave the recruiting team an appreciation and confirmation for who would be capable of stepping up to the role of Regional Sales Manager. Furthermore, the rigour of the process and the detailed feedback gave the candidates a clear understanding of what behaviours would be required to operate at a managerial level.

The process was completed successfully with an appointment to the vacant post, however, all the candidates involved in the process received in depth one to one feedback and personal development reports to work on in order to be ready for the next managerial opportunity that becomes available.

“All the candidates’ feedback indicated that whilst the process was tough it was enjoyed by them all and will lead to some excellent development plans for them all to work towards in the future” says Sean.

“The assessment centre was highly successful and we would definitely use GFB again in similar situations” added Bob.