Case studies

How TailorMinds measures the preferred behaviour of engineers through assessments

Since 2011, TailorMinds has been an employment mediator for engineers and clients in technically complex sectors. Arjan van Dijk’s four-person team supplies candidates for temporary projects and permanent contracts for clients in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, among others.

Characteristically in the current labor market, it has been a challenge for HR managers and recruiters to find suitable candidates. This certainly applies to engineers. Arjan van Dijk, director and founder of TailorMinds says: “Together with my team, I want to contribute to solving the scarcity problem for our clients. That is why we shifted our recruitment focus a few years ago to candidates both within and outside the Netherlands. At the moment, we have mediated candidates from 22 different countries to our clients. Countries number 23 and 24 will follow soon.”

Download the case study

TailorMinds

Employees

11-50

Industry

Professional Services

Country

Netherlands

Solution

Behaviour (PPA)

Personality (HPTI)

Emotional Intelligence (TEIQue)

The Challenge

From his own experience, Arjan knows that it is difficult to fill specific engineering positions. “It’s a matter of finding a candidate who has the right education and work experience. But matching the right personality to the prevailing corporate culture is just as important. And when we talk about a candidate who is not from the Netherlands, it is also important that someone feels at home in our culture.” For this reason, TailorMinds pays a lot of attention to the recruitment process, to get the best possible overview of the candidate and to determine whether a candidate will fit into a client’s organisation based on interviews.

The Solution

Candidates apply directly on the TailorMinds website, are recommended by someone from their network, or are selected and approached via LinkedIn.

An introductory interview follows, with the aim of getting a better picture of a candidate’s knowledge and skills. Arjan says: “We are convinced that someone comes into their own best in a position that gives them energy and where ambitions can be achieved.” In the market in which TailorMinds operates, knowledge and experience in specific functions and industries largely determines the suitability of the candidate.

If the interview goes well for both parties, all conditions have been discussed and the introduction to the client has gone well, the candidate will formally start with the client. TailorMinds facilitates a smooth transition to the Netherlands for employees from abroad, whereby official documents, accommodation, full onboarding and, if needed, work for a partner are arranged.

When employees have been onboarded into their new role, an assessment, the Personal Profile Analysis of Thomas International, follows after about three months. The result of the assessment is discussed with the employee in a personal meeting, in which recognition and validation of the result is also an important part. The test measures the candidate’s preferred behavior and provides insight into motivators, communication styles and behaviour under pressure.

Because the job requirements for engineers are so specific, TailorMinds chooses to start the assessment three months after the new hire’s contract begins. The employee then usually feels at home in their new role. This is even more effective for people from abroad; at first they are often somewhat unsure about how to behave in an unfamiliar environment. Arjan and his team can see from the PPA graphs whether someone is a good behavioural fit for the new role. This serves as a starting point for a conversation about the employee’s ambitions and the way in which they work with colleagues.

In addition to the Personal Profile Analysis, TailorMinds also makes situational use of two other assessments from Thomas International. These are the assessment that measures emotional intelligence (TEIQue) and personality (HPTI). “We usually use these assessments when an employee has been working for more than a year. The purpose of these assessments is to provide and increase self-insight, so that an employee can better understand why he/she reacts the way he/she does and build better relationships with colleagues.”

The Results

For Arjan, assessments are vital. Not only do they help TailorMinds match the right candidate to the open position, but the predictive value of the PPA assessment turned out to be great for Arjan’s team. For the employee, assessments provide greater understanding of others’ communication preferences. Arjan knows from experience that misunderstanding and mutual challenges can often be traced back to communication. If colleagues understand that others’ way of communicating has a lot to do with a person’s preferred behaviour, then they are able to work together more effectively.

This objective measurement method serves another purpose. “Looking at someone’s resume or work experience says something about a candidate’s past, but it doesn’t indicate a person’s personality or preferences. We spend a lot of time and attention to see if someone really suits a client. It has been found that in almost all cases the results of the assessment predict how successful a candidate’s placement will be.” An additional advantage is that the assessments and reports are available in many different languages. “This is very valuable for our expats, because they can also complete the assessment and read the reports in their native language,” says Arjan.

The next step for TailorMinds is combining the results of the various assessments. The coherence between the assessment results provides a lot of added value. “I am convinced that there is still a lot to gain here for us, but certainly for our candidates. The more insight we have into our candidates, the more qualitative the matches we can make and the more successful the candidates will ultimately be,” concludes Arjan.

Download the case study