At AddComm, we continuously develop our services, our organisation and our own skills. This is how we deliver leading customer communication, every day. According to CEO Leonie van der Veen, a key focus this year has been professionalising the organisation. “One of the ways we are doing this is by investing in The Predictive Index. This assessment tooling helps us understand people’s personal drivers and talents. It allows us to put employees in their strength, so they can do what they are good at, instead of being pushed into a role that does not allow them to reach their full potential.”
In this blog, we explain more about The Predictive Index assessment tooling and how it helps AddComm deploy its people in a sustainable way.
“We strongly believe that people perform better and are happier at work when their role matches their drivers and talents,” Anne-Fleur explains. “When you do what you enjoy and what you are good at, performance follows naturally. That creates a win-win situation for employees and for the organisation.”
“But to make this possible, you first need to understand what someone’s drivers and talents actually are. That is why we invested in The Predictive Index assessment tooling last year. It not only gives us insight into employees’ behaviour, drivers and needs, but also into how a colleague thinks, learns, analyses information and solves problems.”
But are assessments not only meant for highly educated roles? Anne-Fleur is clear. “Absolutely not. We do not use the PI software to label traits as right or wrong. The assessments give us insight into behaviour, and every type of behaviour is valuable. Your drivers and behaviour say something about who you are as a person and about your ambitions. We then look for a role that truly fits, so employees can fully come into their own.”
“The better we understand the drivers and talents of our people, the better we can invest in sustainable employability. That is why we use the tooling both for recruiting new colleagues and for strategic workforce planning for our existing employees.”
“To match current and future employees to roles that truly suit them, we have linked desired drivers and talents to each role profile,” Anne-Fleur explains. “The drivers you look for in an account manager are very different from those needed in a systems administrator. An account manager needs to be comfortable taking risks and managing many relationships at the same time, while a systems administrator focuses on minimising risk and working in a structured way.”
Once an employee or candidate completes the assessments, their results are automatically compared with the role profile. “Only when there is a match score of eight or higher do we believe someone can fully express their talents, drivers and ambitions within that role and perform well. We set the bar deliberately high, because that is the only way to ensure sustainable employability.”
“The assessment results formed the basis for our annual performance reviews earlier this year,” Anne-Fleur continues. “The PI software clearly showed who was working in their strength within their current role and who was not. It also gave us insight into how teams are composed and which competencies or skills might be missing.”
These insights were discussed during the reviews. Are you doing what you enjoy? Are you able to use your talents sufficiently? And where do you want to grow in the coming years? “We will actively work with these insights over the coming year.”
Based on the Predictive Index profiles, several employees transitioned to different roles within AddComm last year. One of them is Pascal Middelweerd. Anne-Fleur explains, “Pascal worked as Head of Logistics and after twenty years he felt ready for something new, although he did not yet know what that should be.”
Pascal shares his experience. “The assessments really made me reflect. Would I remain happy continuing as Head of Logistics, or would another role suit me better? The Predictive Index showed that the role of Operations and Control Specialist aligned well with my drivers and cognitive abilities. That gave me the confidence to change direction and take on a completely new role within AddComm.”
He adds, “You also become much more aware of your own strengths and pitfalls, and those of the team you work in. That gave me valuable new insights.”
In addition to supporting strategic workforce planning, AddComm also uses The Predictive Index in recruiting new colleagues. Anne-Fleur explains, “The assessment outcomes provide additional confirmation when deciding whether or not to move forward with a candidate. For example, if proactivity is not a driver for a candidate while it is essential for the role, that can be a reason not to proceed. In that case, we believe neither the candidate nor the organisation would get the best out of the role.”
One of our employees was among the first candidates to experience an assessment as part of the selection process. He shares his perspective. “The fact that an assessment was part of the recruitment process felt very professional to me. The match between me as a person, the role and AddComm as an organisation was clearly taken seriously.”
“I could complete the assessment at home, at a time that suited me, which I really appreciated. What impressed me most was how such limited input could result in such a complete and accurate picture of who I am. Everything was spot on.”
He also explains how the assessments are used within the IT team. “We now clearly understand the strengths within the team and where we might still be missing certain skills or characteristics. I call them blind spots. When we look for a new team member, we can specifically search for someone who complements those blind spots with a slightly different profile.”
Thanks to The Predictive Index, the strengths of our employees come through even more clearly in the roles they perform. The organisation becomes more effective and agile, resulting in higher-quality performance and better results. Leading Customer Communication.
Would you like to know more about how The Predictive Index helps AddComm deploy its people sustainably? Feel free to get in touch with us.