Case study

Supporting a healthcare start-up’s international expansion

Visionable, a Series A start-up in the healthcare sector, is expanding its business and scaling into new geographies.

To help the business maintain strong team integration during this time, the company needed a solution that addresses cultural and language barriers involved in international expansion and the challenges of remote working, whilst keeping its culture alive.

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Visionable

Employees

11-50

Industry

Healthcare

Country

United Kingdom

Solution

Behaviour (PPA)

Emotional Intelligence (TEIQue)

The Challenge

The fledgling business required insights to support with major hiring decisions as it grew its senior team and senior hire candidates needed an objective and incisive means of understanding whether they will fit with the existing team, business values and culture.

“These were the first C-suite hires that Visionable had made for some time, and the company was bringing in a few people at once, so it was really important to understand how they would land, because that could have a significant impact on the business. It was really important to get a sense of how they would feel joining in a business that is in its infancy, how they would react to the pace of change, and whether it would be healthy for them and the organisation”, says Elaine Fleat, Visionable’s Head of People and Culture.

The Solution

Visionable used Thomas International’s Behaviour and Emotional Intelligence assessments to bring greater objectivity and insight to the recruitment process, especially for senior hires. Visionable used Thomas profiles to understand the likely impact of several of its C-suite members on the existing team and business. “We continue to use the assessments for senior hires. This allows us to map out what a new recruit means for the team as a whole. It helps you see how you can work together and capitalise on the areas you are individually good at and collaboratively address weaker areas” says Elaine.

The use of psychometrics in senior hires has also enhanced candidate experience at Visionable by providing greater value and transparency in the hiring process. “We talk about how their behavioural preferences, their emotional intelligence, and how that might influence how they are received by other people”, explains Elaine. “For senior recruitment, it’s really, really valuable for us”, she concludes.

The fast-paced start-up also uses psychometrics to support its development activity. “It’s exciting, and quite nerve wracking sometimes because it’s a big responsibility, but at the same time you can get things done more quickly in a start-up than a larger organisation. From the top of the organisation through to more junior team members, we all know what makes each other tick and we have conversations about that.”

“The Emotional Intelligence assessment is such a powerful coaching tool. It’s immense. We use it in recruitment, but we also return to it and track whether what we talked about then is playing out, and what we can do about areas that are working less well.”

"The Behaviour assessment is particularly relevant in a work context” says Elaine, because “If you’re saying personality doesn’t change, it doesn’t empower people to do anything with that. If we talk about behaviour, there’s no right and no wrong. It’s something that you can have control of if you can understand why you might behave in that way.”

The Results

The insight that psychometric assessments provide is integral to talent and customer attraction to Visionable, areas that are critical to the success of any business but especially a start-up. Elaine explains, “Our values and culture are really important. They are something that attracts people to us, both in terms of our employee base, but also our customers and suppliers.”

Psychometric insights strengthen Visionable’s brand. “The world has moved on a bit and people care about working with ethical businesses that care about people. So it’s great for our employer brand but also its interesting to see how it draws customers to us as well. People want to work with a company that cares”, says Elaine.

Visionable’s people-oriented culture is successfully supporting the innovative start-up as it enters the next phase of its growth, facilitating self-awareness among employees from the recruitment stage, as well as rapid learning and development.“ Particularly in a start-up, where there are skill gaps, the knowledge that assessments provide gives us the ability to recognise where someone might be really good at something. You know a lot more about them than just what you would have learnt from their CV and in a normal work context.”

As the company grows, Elaine anticipates that maintaining the strongly people-centric culture of the business will be a challenge. Psychometrics help by accelerating team integration and onboarding. “Using assessments has enabled me to have a closer relationship with people from very early on. If someone is having problems, it’s easier for them to talk about it because you have some insight into the issue. Sharing our profiles amongst ourselves as a cohort means we can be closer.” As the business looks ahead, Visionable’s people-focused culture has set it on course for a bright future.

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