Background: Due to PCT reconfiguration nationally, there was a requirement to assess current NHS Chief Executives and Directors to identify who should lead the larger combined organisations. A national process was identified and CarterCorson was selected as the assessment provider for the North West and Yorkshire and Humberside. The challenge was to deliver effective assessment within the national framework to a candidate population, some of whom were feeling very resistant to the change process, and many were afraid of its ultimate outcome. The project also had to be completed within very tight timescales to high quality standards.
Solution: We encouraged the national project team to include the use of occupational personality questionnaires to allow a more sophisticated benchmarking in addition to the competency assessment using the Chief Executive model devised by McKinseys. We established a core delivery team and project team. The delivery team had experience of NHS assessment and was a mixture of ex Chief Executives and Occupational Psychologists. The project team ensured that the complex logistics ran smoothly and that good communication was maintained with the NHS Talent Management team. The assessment centres were delivered at a number of regional locations and we were highly praised by candidates for the sensitivity and credibility of the assessors and the way that the process was handled. The most common comment was ‘I know it sounds strange, but I really enjoyed that’.
We collated all of the findings providing detailed feedback reports to the interview panels, to ensure that they felt they could make an informed selection choice. In total, we assessed over 200 Chief Executives and Directors for the reconfiguration process, within the agreed tight timetable.
The Outcome: The national process was delivered in a way that was seen to exceed expectations within timescales and we successfully managed local needs in the context of the national policy. Feedback demonstrated that we had won over the most resistant candidates through the quality of our process and the panels expressed their confidence in the decisions made. In addition, for one PCT, we analysed personality data collected and identified behavioural traits which might impact on their ability to deliver their organisational strategy. These findings were publicised in the Health Service Journal (HSJ).