The views of Cubiks consultants have recently been sought by The Sunday Times, The Times, The Financial Times, BBC News 24, BBC Five Live, BBC London, BBC Southern Counties and a number of commercial radio stations.
Summaries of a number of recent media articles have been set out below.
For further information on any of these articles please email: info@cubiks.com
The Financial Times, October 2008
Shopping in a world for virtual talent
One important part of online recruitment is online testing. The availability of a practice test on a corporate website means individuals can measure themselves against the standards of the company. If the company is an investment bank or an accountancy firm, one of the tests might be of a candidate’s numerical literacy. For companies, these tests can weed out inappropriate candidates before they have even started the application process. Nick Parfitt, Head of Marketing and Communications at Cubiks commented that such systems also allow graduates to save time and money. “If they don’t measure up, they can withdraw from the process without having to spend time on application forms or travelling to another city”. Mr Parfitt also emphasises the need for companies to follow up with automated feedback on the tests. “Those who do well in practice tests and receive instant feedback telling them that they’ve exceeded the standard requirements find that very encouraging, and so tend to stick with the company and continue their application”.
Graduate Recruiter, August 2008
Riding the recession
The top graduate recruiters have always needed to have fast and effective screening systems in place for candidate selection as the number of applications always outstrips the number of positions available. In this article, David Lawton, UK Country Head of Cubiks comments that with more graduates than ever entering the jobs market at a time when recruitment activity is slowing, the need for organisations to have effective filtering mechanisms that accurately identify the top talent will be more important than ever.
Surrey Advertiser. August 2008
Global presence strengthened following stateside partnership
Cubiks has announced a delivery partnership with US assessment specialists Shaker Consulting Group. The agreement with Shaker means that Cubiks, which has corporate headquarters in Guildford, offices throughout Europe and an extensive distributor network in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, will now have a complete global presence. The move brings together two teams of leading business psychologists with significant expertise in the design and delivery of online psychometric assessment instruments. It will ensure that clients of both companies receive high quality service on a global basis, and will be of particular interest to businesses that require candidates and existing staff to be assessed against consistent benchmarks in multiple countries.
Personnel Today, August 2008
Trade secrets – going global with assessment
Recognising the opportunities and challenges presented by the forces of globalisation, employers are increasingly seeking to roll-out uniform international assessment and development programmes to ensure that they secure their share of the top talent available across the globe and utilise that talent optimally across their businesses.
However, there are inherent difficulties in measuring different nationalities against international benchmarks. Whether, you are involved in managing a complex, large –scale programme to find the next generation of leadership talent in your organisation, or simply seeking to identify suitable candidates for one or two international posts, it is important that you take care to accommodate cultural factors into your assessment processes. In this article, Dr Rob Feltham, Executive Director of Innovations, Products and Technology at Cubiks explains how organisations can apply assessments to take advantage of the increasingly diverse global talent pool.
The Times, July 2008
How to ride out a recession
An economic slowdown doesn’t necessarily mean mass redundancies but it can certainly make it harder to keep moving up the career ladder. Graduates might find it harder to get the exact job that they want while experienced managers will need to think carefully about how to avoid getting stuck in one position for too long. In this article, Nick Parfitt, Head of Marketing & Communications at Cubiks, was interviewed on the steps that individuals can take to ensure they maintain career progress in the current economic climate.
People Management, June 2008
How to survive a downturn
With the newspapers full of impending economic woes, it is easy for the HR function to slot into the role of axe-bearer during troubled times. But the function should be proactive in developing HR strategies which maintain morale and talent within the business and help to position it for survival and future growth. If this opportunity is not taken, HR may well be required to turn the lights off as they leave. In this article, Barry Spence explains how HR professionals can help their organisation to survive a decline in fortunes.
Graduate Recruiter, April 2008
Assessing staff with disabilities
When used properly, psychometric assessments provide employers with an objective, valid and fair way to measure the suitability of candidates for graduate positions. However, the use of such assessments can sometimes present real barriers to those with disabilities. Very often, the barriers presented do not arise from the individual’s disability or the psychometric tests themselves. The real disabling factor is likely to be the way in which the assessment techniques are applied. Frequently, the inappropriate use of assessment techniques for candidates with disabilities stems from a lack of understanding on the part of the employer rather than any deliberate negligence. In this article, Cubiks argue that if employers are to compete effectively in the war for talent, then it is essential that their selection processes allow them to reach out to all candidates, including those with disabilities.
Personnel Today, February 2008
How to manage your success
Every business will have a number of exceptionally talented performers who can always be relied upon to deliver results and achieve very high standards. Diligent, industrious and proactive, these individuals will aspire to do the best job that they possibly can, both to meet their own performance expectations and to ensure continued career advancement. However, whilst it is generally true that success tends to breed further success, those who achieve outstanding results can also begin to suffer under the burden of expectation if they fail to manage how they are utilised by others. In this article, Barry Spence, Chairman and CEO of Cubiks explains what steps individuals can take to ensure that their career stays on the fast track without working themselves into the ground.
Personnel Today, 15 January 2008
Managing the Innovators
In a recent study of over 400 major employers from across Europe, Cubiks discovered that creativity / innovation is the competency that organisations find most difficult to develop in their staff and one of the hardest competencies to assess at selection stage. This scarcity of supply means that genuine innovators are rightly considered to be highly valuable resources. However, dangers can arise if ‘ideas people’ find themselves put on pedestals and treated as heroes. If the innovators are allowed to overshadow those who are responsible for implementing their ideas, it can encourage the more creative staff to display working styles that are both difficult to channel and hugely detrimental to the wider team effort. In this article, Cubiks explains how employers can harness the skills of innovators for outstanding team results.