"The critical thinking assessment is a strong indicator of a candidate's ability to make good, impartial decisions based on documented and solid results; it is a key factor for success within our organization."
Stéphanie Dorcé,
Director of Human Resources at Hiscox.
Stéphanie Dorcé is Director of Human Resources at Hiscox, a specialized international insurer, offering a wide range of insurance solutions for individuals (high-end homes and works of art) and professionals in France. Present in 14 countries, the Group has 3,100 employees in 35 offices and is committed to meeting the specific needs of a demanding clientele by relying on a high degree of expertise from its teams. Stéphanie Dorcé discusses her use of the Watson-Glaser™ III tool to assess critical thinking in their recruitment of candidates, a skill that is highly sought after in their future employees.
We operate in the insurance sector, a highly competitive environment with businesses that focus on analysis. Whether they are working as underwriters, claims management, sales, business or foreign exchange analysts, employees must be able to make quick and well-considered decisions.
Hiscox is known for integrating talent from all backgrounds even without prior experience in the insurance industry. We are committed to focusing on the potential of candidates with skill sets that can work in an agile environment, with an entrepreneurial outlook.
The assessment of critical thinking is a good indicator of the candidate's ability to make good, unbiased decisions based on documented and solid results; it is a key success factor within our organization.
Coupled with other tools such as the personality test, the Watson-Glaser™ III sheds light on the "soft skills" that can be used by the candidate and compared with the specific expectations of the position. It is an affinity approach to recruitment.
More specifically, the Watson-Glaser™ III has streamlined our recruitment process since it enables online testing without time constraints for a candidate (who is sometimes still in a job). Conducted before the interviews, the tests provide an objective view of the candidate's qualities and reduces the risks induced by human cognitive biases. We were able to reduce the number of recruitment interviews from 6 to 3 per candidate, while optimizing the topics covered during these interviews.
In addition, thanks to the certified training provided by Pearson TalentLens consultants, we can interpret the results and provide qualitative feedback to candidates. We manage to make the scores speak for themselves and relate them to the candidate's past experience. These exchanges sometimes lead us to reflect with the candidate and provide practical advice. Many people thank us after this exchange.
We had the opportunity to carry out nearly fifty internal transfers in 2019 that reduced staff turnover. We want to continue this momentum.
In addition to Stéphanie Dorcé's testimony, Annie Brouillard, Occupational Psychologist and formerly Key Account Manager at Pearson TalentLens, who supported Hiscox and trained its teams of HR professionals in the use of Watson-Glaser™ III explained:
"The Watson-Glaser™ III training at Hiscox had a specific approach. Already convinced of the usefulness and relevance of critical thinking for success in the job, their request was more particularly to make the candidates' results tangible, to define the behaviors of the person in the position and to be able to accurately identify their level of reasoning ability. The rich exchanges, punctuated by real examples, allowed us to highlight the relevance of the results and to qualify further how problems are analyzed. The development of critical thinking is also a skill set which Hiscox wishes take further: helping their employees to develop this essential skill is an important lever for retention.”