Louise Robb Associates Case Studies
Louise Robb Associates Case Study 3
The key aims and objectives for this facilitation with a large law firm outwith the central belt was to add to the Firm’s existing successful recruitment system a behavioural element that was clearly linked with the competencies stated in the 360 feedback – core skills. The aim was also to apply this tested process for the recruitment of undergraduates for summer placements to the wider recruitment of legal trainees.
The Firm required to clarify how they could balance competencies and behaviours in terms of Emotional Intelligence, i.e. how they manage themselves and also how they manage those around them. This process gave an opportunity to clarify what they are looking for in future selection of all staff.
It was important for the Firm to show the attendees that they were giving up a day of their time to attend, but it would not be all about what the firm wanted from them - it was clearly also about what the Firm could offer them. So, DISC personality profiling was built into the day’s workshop, giving candidates the chance to complete their own profile, score it and then learn about the four main styles and how best to communicate with each in order to improve team working. Then each team was asked to deliver a short presentation demonstrating where this would be useful in their lives.
This whole contract was different in that it was also used as a way of building skills and capacity into the HR selection team of the firm so that they could take this process on without the need to engage external help. So, after the initial scoping with the HR team, the first piece of work was to train the staff involved in Disc profiling – as the assessors - and also give them a grounding in transactional analysis. We were clear that we wanted candidates who were not so much of any particular profile style, as those who could naturally operate in the “Adult mode” which Eric Berne described. The six people trained the assessors on the day along side the Louise Robb Associates team.
We designed an assessment sheet together for each candidate covering:
• their DISC personality profile style
• what we saw them do well
• what we heard them say as well as the tone
• the affect their behaviour had on others
The final stage was to meet and compare our assessments and score the candidates. We then all agreed on the 12 who would be offered placements.
The final outcome was that all of the first 12 people who were offered placements accepted, and all successfully completed their time with the firm. One of the other side benefits appears to have been that the overall profile of the firm as a good place to apply for your traineeship seems to have markedly increased as a result of the project, as candidates say “that they very much appreciate the Firm’s approach in offering them the opportunity to learn skills as well as the firm having the chance to assess them.
The Firm now handle this process themselves with coaching help from Louise Robb Associates.