تمنحنا خبرتنا الممتدة لعقود من الزمن منظوراً متميزاً يمكّننا من مساعدة كبار القادة في التغلب على تحديات الحاضر وإطلاق العنان لإمكاناتهم في المستقبل.
تشكل قيم شركتنا أساس كل ما نقوم به وكل تفاعل نقوم به. وتشمل هذه القيم الثقة والشمول والإنسانية والتميز
يتنوع عملاؤنا بين المؤسسات المالية الكبيرة، والبنوك الدولية، والخدمات الاستشارية والمهنية، والشركات التكنولوجية الناشئة
اكتشف كيف ساعدت حلولنا المصممة خصيصاً في تحويل التحديات إلى قصص نجاح.
A new Managing Director was about to start with our Client.
The recruiting manager wanted to maximise the chances of the MD to integrate the business as quickly and successfully as possible.
A structured and well defined onboarding plan was designed in conjunction with the Client’s Learning & Development team which aimed at:
• Helping the recruiting manager understand the MD’s strengths and areas for development
• Helping the new MD focus on a solid development plan
• Helping the new MD understand the Client’s strategy, goals, culture, ways of working, and processes
Recruiting a new MD carries risks:
• Will they be able to lead, grow their practice and deliver expected results?
• Will they develop good relationships internally?
• Will they rate our values and thrive in the business corporate culture?
It was agreed that a structured onboarding programme would help with a quick and effective integration of the new MD. However, something had to be designed from scratch
The Client’s Learning & Development team took the lead in creating an encompassing programme and worked closely with our team on some of its aspects.
As part of the programme, it was decided that personality assessment would be used to identify the behavioural competencies of the new MD and assess them against the set competency framework that had been priorly agreed for the role. The process included a validating interview with the MD and debrief sessions with both the MD and the recruiting manager.
In addition, a series of on boarding coaching session were set which started when the MD had had a chance to settle into their new role.
Using a quantitative method such as a personality assessment gave the recruiting manager a confident, clear understanding of their new MD’s profile. This informed a targeted development plan designed to support swift, effective integration and established a strong foundation for communication between the MD and their new line manager from day one.
Coaching sessions gave the MD a confidential sounding board and helped them act quickly on identified development areas. External coaching brings valuable outside perspective to the challenges of a first year in role.
The new MD valued having such a clear, well-defined programme in place. It made them feel genuinely supported at a pivotal career moment and gave them a stronger platform for success as a leader. Making the process a positive experience for both parties is central to its value.
Our Client was a large insurance business setting up a new entity abroad.
As they needed to select the new members of the executive team (board members), we were asked to assess the suitability of several internal candidates who had been identified as having the potential to fulfil different roles namely including for the CEO position.
Making the right choice was vital for the Client – not only ensuring that they had the right leaders in place but also because they needed to impress the local regulator and fulfil their requirements.
The roles were difficult to fill due to a highly complex context.
Additionally, from an internal point of view, the Client was concerned about an internal perception of favouritism towards some members of the team.
Coming to us would provide the Client with an external, independent, non-biased and evidence-based solution. We worked on a bespoke competency framework (skills, experience and behaviours) for each role and provided a thorough assessment using psychometric assessment, validated by face-to-face behavioural competency-based interviews.
The process assessed the candidates against the framework and considered the new environment they would be facing – as well as their own potential for growth – as it was (for most of the candidates) a step up in their career.
Using a quantitative method such as a personality assessment, the Client was able to identify each candidate’s strengths and potential derailers, ensuring decisions were made objectively.
All internal candidates were appointed successfully, with one exception: the CEO role. The assessment surfaced significant concerns that made failure in the role likely, and the candidate was not appointed. Although a disappointing outcome for both Client and candidate, it likely spared both sides a costly, longer-term mistake.
The debrief sessions that followed identified development areas for all participants. For the Client, the process also provided a confident, factual, and quantitative basis to justify their decisions, including to the local regulator.
Our Client had recently acquired a UK-based group of companies, and the two leadership teams were being integrated. With a number of roles duplicated, the newly appointed senior leadership team needed to select their direct reports for leadership positions in Bermuda and London.
To ensure a fair, evidence-based process and minimise the risk of mistakes or legal challenge, the Client sought an independent, and objective opinion.
Following the acquisition, some candidates for the newly combined roles had already shown discontent at the prospect of an internal selection process. Transparency and fairness were therefore essential to maximise buy-in to the decision-making process.
The task required completing assessments with minimal disruption to the wider integration process.
We delivered an independent, thorough assessment combining technical and behavioural methods: psychometric testing for behavioural data, paired with face-to-face competency-based interviews covering both technical and behavioural dimensions.
Candidates were assessed against a competency framework agreed with the Client on a role-by-role basis. The process also gave the Client a clearer view of each individual’s growth potential.
For each role, our Client was able to confidently identify the best suitable candidate by ascertaining strengths and potential derailers.
The individual debrief sessions we conducted with the candidates helped them create evidence-based development plans using the results of the assessment process.
Although one of the unsuccessful candidates tried to take our Client to court, the team was able demonstrate the fair and objective selection process and the case was dismissed.
Our client – a publicly listed asset manager – had undergone significant change at Board and senior executive level, including a major acquisition that introduced new dynamics to the Board.
Following this period of transition, the Chair recognised the need to rebuild trust and establish effective working relationships across the Board and executive team, ensuring the wider leadership group could operate cohesively and drive the business forward.
The engagement began with an evaluation of the key strengths and personality preferences across the existing Board and Executive Committee.
Sheffield Haworth then facilitated a two-day Board strategy offsite, designed to free the Chair to participate fully in the debate rather than manage it, while providing enough structure to ensure ideas, actions and concerns were properly captured.
An independent voice in the room was essential, both to raise concerns candidly and to ensure all perspectives were heard, and the process needed to carry genuine credibility with everyone taking part.
In consultation with the Chair, CEO and Head of Strategy the agenda was designed for the strategy offsite.
We issued a personality assessment for each Board and Executive Committee member. This tool had a significant 360 element which provided very detailed feedback.
Each individual was provided with one-to-one feedback before the Board Strategy Offsite on the report generated by the tool.
A collective report was shared with the Chair and CEO in advance of the offsite.
Neither the Board nor the ExCo had taken part in this type of exercise before, and there was initial suspicion of the process. Following the one-to-one feedback and the Board Strategy Offsite, however, the response was overwhelmingly positive.
Conversations at the Offsite moved well beyond the usual “turn the handle” Board discussions, tackling questions such as:
Over 15 participants across the Board and ExCo were evaluated, each receiving an individual report highlighting strengths, development areas, and personal development recommendations.
We also developed a collective view of the Board and ExCo, showing shared strengths and gaps, which was fed back to the Chair and CEO along with our recommendations for next steps.
