PCL & Creaseys executive assessment case study

Creaseys Chartered Accountants
Founded in 1868, Creaseys is recognised as one of the most significant and innovative chartered accountancy practices in Southeast England. In 2001 it won the Butterworth Tolley award for best tax team in a small to medium sized firm in the UK. Creaseys combines traditional professionalism with a creative approach to modern management techniques and a supporting range of specialities. Specialist teams work across a wide range of sectors, from charities to professional practices and from audit and due diligence work to IT consulting.

Prudent choices
As a dynamic medium sized company, every client facing appointment Creaseys makes needs to deliver a direct and significant contribution to the business. More importantly, the Creaseys brand stands for trust, so hiring the wrong person could damage a brand carefully nurtured for over 135 years. Creaseys knows it needs to hire external talent, both trainee and established, but has to ensure a prudent choice.

Results

• High performance; right approach, values and skills
• Trainee Charles Morelli came 2nd nationally in the ICAEW business finance exams
• Assignments obtained in competition with the Big Four International accountants
• Good fit with team
• Inappropriate recruitment avoided
• Enhanced client experience

An example of hidden truth
Lonsdale Financial Consulting Ltd, a financial services subsidiary of Creaseys, planned to grow its team of consultants. It sought a credible professional able to provide advice to Lonsdale’s rapidly growing client base. While a number of candidates demonstrated the right experience, one stood out for his charm and charisma. It was assumed that his assessment by PCL would be no more than a formality. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The assessment uncovered some particularly unpleasant traits, not least a manipulative personality, poor team working and a tendency to buckle in stressful situations. Upon receiving this report, Lonsdale explored the candidate’s references in significantly greater detail and confirmed his unsuitability. While performance at interview can sometimes be misleading, PCL’s assessments are designed, and proven, to reveal the real inner self. Lonsdale continued its search and subsequently recruited an ideal candidate.

Comments
“Our business is all about our people. Creaseys has built a reputation for trust over many years and we take great care in choosing the right people to join our company," added Mark Howard, Creaseys. “In addition to following legally required hiring practices, we use psychometric assessments to both protect our business and ensure we hire the high quality professional our clients have come to expect."

PCL approach - Graduates
PCL is involved from the second round of the graduate recruitment process. Each candidate is given a face to face verbal and numeric ability test and takes an online personality test. A report on the suitability of each is provided to Mark Howard, the Creaseys partner responsible for the programme.

Qualified professionals
With its broad range of services, Creaseys recruits experienced professionals across a range of disciplines and PCL uses the full suite of the Hogan personality assessments to assess each prospective new appointment. Three online assessments form the basis of a report and feedback session that assesses personality, values and potentially counterproductive behaviours.

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