Onetest Case Study: Colmar Brunton

Business Description:

Colmar Brunton is one of the largest research consultants in Australasia, with clients in industries including telecommunications, FMCG, finance and banking, leisure and tourism.  They have offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland and Wellington.
There are 200 full-time employees plus up to 1000 casual staff including 3 HR personnel.

Colmar Brunton recruits for positions from graduates up to senior executives, in accounting, technical, research, and support areas.


Business Challenge/Problem:

There was an inconsistent approach to assessment, using a variety of vendors and assessments.  The HR team is based in Auckland, yet needed to be involved in Australian recruitment.  There was a variety of recruitment situations, from receiving a handful of applicants for specialist positions to hundreds of applicants for each graduate position.  Applications come from all over the world.

It took a long time to fill positions, particularly when overseas candidates were considered and there were inefficiencies due to reliance on paper-based recruitment and assessment processes.


The Solution:

To address these challenges, Colmar Brunton consolidated its use of assessment with one vendor, contracting Onetest to provide online psychometric assessments across all the company’s positions and locations. Onetest implemented an online assessment process that would assist Colmar Brunton to compete effectively in the global employment market and enhance their ability to select employees who were a “best fit” to the company.

This solution included:

• Utilising technology to enhance the ability to recruit locally and internationally on a 24/7 basis
• Reducing the time taken to fill positions by limiting paperwork and integrating online systems with existing processes
• Applying a fair and consistent approach to assessment regardless of the position, location, or number of applicants
• Establishing talent profiles (benchmarks) based on existing top performers within the business
• Utilising proven psychometric assessments of ability, job fit, cultural fit and workplace behaviour to provide valuable, objective information on which managers can base recruitment decisions.

Onetest’s solution for Colmar Brunton has centralised and automated the assessment function of the company’s previous recruitment processes. It included:

• All candidates take the same assessments, ensuring fairness and consistency across the board
• The online delivery of all assessments enables overseas candidates to be considered in a timely fashion, as supervised test centres are not required.
• Individual and consolidated candidate reports for each position – provided online within minutes of the assessments being completed - enable Colmar Brunton’s line managers and HR personnel to share information and collaborate on decision-making, regardless of their location.

With graduate recruitment positions - usually attracting more than one hundred applicants

• A number of preferred candidates are invited to undertake the Onetest assessments to determine who will proceed to the second stage. Each candidate’s profile is matched against the company’s own benchmarks. The resulting Onetest report is used to prepare a shortlist of candidates who are invited for an interview, where the candidates’ profile is used as the basis of an open and informed discussion.

At the other end of the scale, some general and specialist positions at Colmar Brunton attract a small number of applicants, most of whom are invited for interview. In these situations, Onetest assessments are used to help make final hiring decisions and provide objective information to assist in training and motivating new staff members.


The Result:

There are numerous advantages of utilising Onetest’s online assessment service.  Some key benefits according to Colmar Brunton are:

• Speed – Streamlined processes and reduced time to fill positions
• Accurately predicted high performers
• Reach - Assess locally or internationally with ease
• Consistency and objectivity – A level playing field for candidates
• Access to expert advice

Testimonials:

”Online assessment has made our recruitment process more efficient and has enabled us to consider a wide pool of applicants.  For example, when considering an applicant from Hong Kong, we were able to complete the whole exercise in just 12 hours, from inviting the candidate to take the assessments to receiving the completed Onetest report.”

”We are tracking the performance of our new hires, but the results are already apparent.  One of our managing directors was initially sceptical about assessment, but recently hired two graduates using Onetest assessments and comments that they are the best employees she has ever hired.”
”Using Onetest enables us to effectively tap into the global talent pool without using overseas vendors and consultants and their varying assessments.  International time differences are also no longer a concern, because candidates take the assessments online at a time and place that suits them.  We have assessed people from as far away as the UK, India and Turkey.”

”While resumés and interviews continue to play an important part in selection, online assessment now adds a significant element of consistency and objectivity to the whole process.  It ensures we are well informed on aspects of the candidate that are difficult to gauge by other means, and assists us in comparing candidates who appear to be similarly qualified.”

”One of the key benefits of Onetest’s service is being able to speak with a Onetest psychologist for advice. They are extremely helpful and responsive to our needs.”

“We may have only a few applicants for a particular position, but this doesn’t necessarily make the hiring decision any easier.  By using assessments, we can think outside the square with confidence and identify good candidates who may be a great fit with some training and coaching, or a few adjustments to the role.  Assessments help identify potential issues well in advance and manage the manager’s and employee’s expectations.”