Case Study

How sustainable aluminium solutions provider Multi Metals identified the right leader to take the business forward

Multi Metals

Employees

11-50

Industry

Manufacturing

Country

United Kingdom

The Challenge

As a Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), sustainable aluminium solutions provider Multi Metals is a tightly knit team. When the need to augment its existing leadership arose, the firm’s Non-Executive Director, Organisational Development, Isabel Howson explains that it was “critical to get the right type of leader”. She continues, “We were looking for a transformation and needed someone who could fit in with a small business mentality and work alongside the Managing Director.”

With a qualification from the British Psychological Society, Isabel understands the value that psychometrics can add in a leadership recruitment scenario. She says that due to Thomas International’s accreditation with the British Psychological Society, “It didn’t take long to decide” on Thomas as Multi Metals’ supplier of choice. “I knew the company’s reputation and we introduced Thomas assessments to help us hire into and assess our leadership team’s style and drivers. This is helping us to deliver our strategy.”

The Solution

Accessing Thomas’ suite of psychometric tools via the Thomas portal, Multi Metals was able to support its targeted recruitment drive with psychometric insights. Isabel explains; “As a small business, at this stage of the talent acquisition process was critical for us to use as many tools as we could in the recruitment process and subsequent strategy discussions.”

Having selected the right new leaders, Multi Metals went on to use Thomas assessments to interview the next layer of leaders. The assessment reports supply interview questions that Isabel says “provide a good indication of where candidates’ strengths and development areas are.”

“We can home in on areas which were not evident in the CV. The assessments facilitate broad discussions and enable us to provide candidates with feedback on their own behavioural style which they really enjoy”. Psychometric insights also supported subsequent employee onboarding and critical strategy discussions at Multi Metals.

The Results

Multi Metals’ leaders are invested in using psychometric insight as a tool to support business development. Isabel explains that during strategy discussions, psychometrics enhance the senior team’s ability to “interpret others’ body language, their presentation of their opinions and choices. We know each other better.”

Multi Metals used psychometrics to establish the management strengths and behavioural styles of the existing leadership team, and to establish the degree of fit between the team and prospective candidates. Psychometrics have facilitated “dialogue about each other’s preferred styles” among the leadership team, who have “taken this information on board” to enhance team performance.

In summary, Isabel says “psychometrics have helped to evolve our culture. At Thomas the people I've dealt with have understood that it’s not ‘one size fits all’ and helped me to identify and implement the right solution for us."