We Welcome 16 New Clients

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Beth Claflin

We are pleased to welcome 16 new clients:

MacExperience Indianapolis; computer technology
Ultra Steak, Inc. Anderson, IN; food and beverage
Earhart Petroleum Troy, Ohio; energy
Allegient LLC Indianapolis; technology
Metal Forming Industries Russellville, IN; metal manufacturing
HANESBrands, Inc. Winston-Salem, NC; apparel
Lenex Steel Indianapolis; metal manufacturing
Formstack Indianapolis; technology
Wensco Sign Supply Belmont, MI; manufacturing
UBT Troy, MI; consulting
Leo Burnett Shanghai Advertising Co. Ltd. Shanghai, China; marketing
BMO Harris Bank Chicago, IL; banking
Mersino Management Co. Metamora, MI; construction
Rocky Brands, Inc. Nelsonville, OH; apparel
Air Lift Lansing, MI; machinery
Toledo Museum of Art Toledo, OH; non-profit

Want to see our entire client list or sort them by location and/or industry? Please go here.

Welcome to the Team: Brandon Wilson

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Beth Claflin

We are pleased to introduce Brandon Wilson as Client Service Associate.

Brandon will be on the front lines assisting our consultants as they amaze clients with the promptness of our response and the value of our services. He will be an additional resource for both new and existing clients who may have questions about applying Predictive Index^® in the workplace, facilitating the Performance Requirement Options™ (PRO) form, setting up accessPI™ software and related topics. He will be working directly with Brian Millis, who has been promoted to Director of Client Service.

Brandon returns to Carmel, his hometown, after several years in Nashville, TN; Darby, MT; and Seattle, WA; most recently with Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

And yes, Brandon is one of three sons of our founder, Bob Wilson. (Read Bob’s article, On Bringing a Child Into the Business.)

Brandon earned his bachelor’s degree at Millikin University and is an accomplished singer, musician and songwriter.

You can reach Brandon at: Brandonw@advisausa.com or by phone, 317-249-2263.

Ten Ways to Keep PI^® Alive

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Heather Haas

Whether you are a Predictive Index^® newbie or a longtime power user, it can pay off big to consciously re-commit yourself to weaving the lessons and applications of PI^® into everyday work life until it becomes second nature. Here is a list of ideas to do just that:

Lead by example. Think about it. Use it. Talk about it. Let others hear that it’s key to how you’re doing your work.
Attend a PI^® Fridays webinar. Or all of them – with a group of fellow analysts or by yourself.
Attend a PI face-to-face event. Dust off your memory and get the details and nuances of PI fresh in your mind again at a PI Refresher ½ day event. Bring a specific challenge to a PI^® Problem-Solving session (also ½ day). Or spend a whole day with our experts and other PI users at the 2013 PI^® User Group meeting.
Host a “Using PI” gathering of your fellow analysts at your company. Take turns sharing how you’re using PI or a situation in which you’d like others to lend PI perspective. Your consultant could facilitate this or you could. Perhaps these become a regular event for you!
Attend the Intro to StrategicHiring webinar. Consider new ways to use PI in your hiring process. If you want more support, check out StrategicHiring Boot Camp or arrange for an StrategicHiring Audit.
Register for an e-Learning class. Learn more about Course 1200: Predictive Index^® Review and Course 1210: Delivering Powerful Predictive Index^®Feedback here.
Review an archived PI^® Fridays slide deck. Review the list of topics and choose one that you’re fuzzy on. Don’t miss the slide annotations in the upper corner of every slide.
Peruse our blog. Or search for specific topics.
Have a strategic conversation with your consultant. Talk about your business needs within the four impact areas and put together a plan for how to use PI in those areas.

Workplace Excellence: Six Fundamentals I Have Learned

Posted on February 5, 2013 by John Ranalletta

Through the years, I have learned many things about creating workplace excellence. The following is a list of six fundamentals that I believe provide the foundation for all the rest. While some of these items may seem obvious, it is perhaps the most obvious lessons that are the hardest to learn:

Know yourself. It is very difficult to manage what we don’t understand. Strive for deeper self-awareness.
Be disciplined. Nothing of value comes cheap or easy.
Time is a finite resource. Once spent, we can never reclaim it. On the other hand, if we invest our time wisely, we can make the time we spend in the future more valuable. During Predictive Index^® training, you spent three valuable days learning new techniques and tools. Use the tools to save time and effort every day. If you do this, those three days can pay dividends in future time saved.
Change is hard. Likely, you learned that managing others in a way that makes sense for them requires that you deny yourself the very things that satisfy you. If you are impatient, writing out processes for your high C employees is a chore. If you are introspective, taking time to notice the specialness in others will seem unnecessary. If you are more team oriented, confronting conflict and taking a stand may make you feel uncomfortable. If you are a perfectionist challenged to make guesses about future events or outcomes, you will worry more.
Change is hardest at first. When you start to see people respond to your efforts in positive ways, the changes you are making will become easier, more natural and maybe even fun.
You have the ability to change peoples’ lives in very meaningful ways. Low B’s will think this is corny, but try for a “lollipop moment” ( http://youtu.be/hVCBrkrFrBE ) every day. PI^® will help you find them. With your PI knowledge, you can see the world through others’ eyes; PI helps you understand what they need; and, how you can bring out the best they have to offer.

We Welcomed Eight New Clients in Fourth Quarter

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Beth Claflin

We are pleased to have welcomed these eight new clients in the fourth quarter of 2012:

Atlas Oil Company Taylor, MI; chemicals
Burr Bros. Marion, MA; recreation
Dealer Services Corp. Carmel, IN; finance
Detroit Athletic Club Detroit; recreation
Franciscan Alliance Inc. Mishawaka, IN; healthcare
Jasper Group, Jasper, IN; manufacturing
NV Energy Las Vegas, NV; energy
The Pond Guy Armada, MI; environmental

Want to see our entire client list or sort them by location and/or industry? Please go here.

Predictive Index^® Newbies and Power Users Gather to Share Best Practices, Refresh Knowledge

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Beth Claflin

If you attended Thursday’s PI^® User Group meeting in Lansing, MI, you may recognize yourself in one of these photos. (Go to our Facebook page to see more.) If you were not able to attend, these shots give you a peek at what you missed.

Brief recap: 40 PI analysts joined the ADVISA team for the day to take a deeper dive into various talent acquisition, leadership development, organizational improvement and sales performance topics. Users took the stage and passed the microphone to share their tips and application stories. Here are a few of the comments received from attendees:

“Refreshing interaction with other users.”

“Love exercises/activities that we can take back and use with employees/managers to reinforce need to appreciate and understand differing motivation/communication styles.”

“Great networking opportunity.”

“Lots of tips to keep our analysts engaged and using the tool.”

“PI (Group) Analytics was very informative.”

“Just re-energizes interest in continuing to evolve PI in organization.”

Top value of the day? “(Being) exposed to how others use PI and seeing the depth of application.” and “Sharing stories with table-mates after/during each of morning sessions.”

“It was my first conference but, it will not be my last.”

We’ll organize another of these user group meetings in 2013 so stay tuned for details about date and location. In the meantime, contact us if you have additional feedback or questions.

On the Demise of Hunch-based Hiring

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Heather Haas

“Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom.”

- Clifford Stoll, astronomer and pioneer of the Internet

While in general we applaud the current rise in the use of data in hiring, we are also prompted to repeat this caution: a fool with a tool is still a fool.

This was brought to our attention in a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Meet the New Boss: Big Data”, with the sub-headline: “Companies Trade in Hunch-based Hiring for Computer Modeling.” The article explored the rise in the use of assessments and algorithms in hiring.

We believe that using valid data to inform hiring is good; totally eliminating human judgment is not. In contrast to some hiring tools in the marketplace, Predictive Index^® hasn’t minimized human judgment. Predictive Index isn’t just “software;” it is a brain tool. In addition to software, we provide accurate data, PLUS a model of education and support that helps clients make better decisions. We don’t replace the need for people to make smart decisions based on the all the data available to them.

Here are three other key points to keep in mind about Predictive Index in the larger context of assessments.

PI^® is EEOC compliant because it only measures personality factors that are job related. Attitude, where you live and alcohol use (which are mentioned in the WSJ article) are not measured by PI. Thus, it’s safer from a risk perspective.
PI is job and company specific. That is, a Call Center Representative at one company isn’t necessarily exactly the same job as one with the same title at another company. Any assessment that takes a one-size-fits all approach to benchmarking success in a job is not as accurate as PI.
PI isn’t just about job fit. Indeed it’s important that we hire the right people into jobs. However, PI provides a window into team fit and organization/culture fit. Our ability to add value at all three of those levels sets PI apart from other tools.

What are your thoughts about the rise in the use of data in hiring? Contact me.

3 Ways to Be ‘Irreplaceable’ HR!

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Aszure Grimes

In my role at ADVISA, I spend a lot of time with CEOs and Human Resource Directors – two potentially powerful leadership roles that contribute to an organization’s level of success. An article recently on MSN about being an “irreplaceable” employee prompted me to offer three tips specifically for HR Directors to become even more effective as leadership partners with CEOs:

1. Know what matters to your CEO.

Understanding what s/he considers to prime objectives for the year, and beyond, can put you in a position to support them. For example, in a conversation recently with a CEO of a large law firm, he told me that his goal is to grow the firm. He wants to hire people who will develop new business as well as bring a solution to him when they recognize an issue, not just bring him complaints. “I need to know that they are ‘go-getters and problem-solvers’ We can teach them aspects of the business we need them to know. But, we can’t make them proactive when they’re not,” he said. Being aware of these goals, and acting on them when it comes to talent acquisition, is what will make the difference for his HR department. (How can HR identify candidates who are more likely to problem-solve and develop business for the CEO? A behavioral assessment, like Predictive Index^®, can provide the data needed.)

2. It’s All About Productivity: Quantify It!

Measuring productivity or success in a role can appear difficult at first for non-sales positions. “Am I doing a good job?” is a question many ask and the answer is often left to subjectivity when it doesn’t have to be. For example: if you are responsible for acquiring talent in your organization, track the turnover or the productivity of the candidates you’ve brought into the company. Are there departments where the turnover is exceptionally high? Be proactive in looking into the problem and identifying a solution. And, tracking data gives you the opportunity to identify what is working well so that you can duplicate it in other areas. (Do you have a “turnover problem”? Whether it’s departmental or company-wide, consider talking to ADVISA about how Predictive Index can help you identify the reason AND create a solution.)

3. Be the Expert AND Be Open to Change

CEOs will often look to HR to help them understand personality assessments and what they can potentially bring to their business in terms of improving talent acquisition; developing management skills and improving communication. You can’t possibly know everything about every tool available! But you can become the expert about what’s important to your organization. Whether it be increasing sales; reducing turnover; improving communication or employee engagement, fully understanding the problem at hand positions HR to seek solutions. When looking at various solutions, you will know what is a reasonable option for your company and what isn’t. (If you are not comfortable presenting a new tool or solution, allow the solution provider to be the presenter instead. Do you have an issue that you need help resolving? Let’s talk about it!)

Human Resources serves a unique and often unappreciated role in many organizations by being responsible for its lifeblood – its people. As an HR professional, you can take your organization to new heights and new levels of profitability. What company and CEO doesn’t want that? It’s just a matter of considering what’s important from their perspective, in addition to yours, and taking action. Sometimes that can be a bit overwhelming. Where do you begin? ADVISA is here to help.