Evidence-Based HR Consulting Methods and Case Studies

H E A LT H W E A LT H C A R E E R
AUGUST 9TH, 2018
Lorenzo Gallì
Talent Management Consultant, Mercer Italy
Rick Guzzo,
Partner, Mercer Workforce Sciences Institute
Chicago
E V I D E N C E - B A S E D
H R C O N S U L T I N G
E X A M P L E S A N D L E S S O N S
L E A R N E D F R O M O U R W O R K

2Copyright © 2018 Mercer Italia S.r.l. Socio Unico. All rights reserved.
• There is demonstrable value in the approach
• We are hired to do (or advice) on what works
• It helps us prove the effectiveness of our services
• It can represent a competitive advantage
• It’s the right thing to do
• The opportunities – and requirements – of the
approach are changing
W H Y W E B E L I E V E I N A N E V I D E N C E - B A S E D A P P R O A C H

THE SCIENCE OF ASSESSING POTENTIAL
Review of the evidence and development of a psychometric tool
FAULTLINES
Review of the evidence, creation of an assessment tool and
case study at BankCo
EVIDENCE-BASED LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Review of the evidence and audit of current practice at HealthCo
T O D AY ’ S P R E S E N TAT I O N
T H R E E E X A M P L E S O F E V I D E N C E - B A S E D W O R K

THE SCIENCE OF
ASSESSING POTENTIAL

M E R C E R E V I D E N C E - B A S E D R E S E A R C H
W H AT I S P O T E N T I A L ?
I N D I C AT O R O F F U T U R E
E F F E C T I V E N E S S I N H I G H E R A N D
M O R E C O M P L E X R O L E S

R E V I E W I N G T H E E V I D E N C E
A QUICK RESEARCH OF THE INDUSTRY INDICATED THAT
THERE WERE 95 POSSIBLE INDICATORS OF POTENTIAL
•Emotional intelligence
•Integrity
•Energy
•Calm
•Self-efficacy
•Result orientation
•Learning orientation
•Grit
•Risk taking
•Action orientation
•Intelligence
•Focus on purpose
•Curiosity
•Learning agility
•Critical thinking
•Feedback inquiry
•Communication skills
•Psychological capital
•Emotional stability
•Adapting to change
•Conflict resolution
•Teamwork
•Creativity
•Strategic thinking
•Influence
•Proactive personality
•Being supportive
•Vision and goal setting
•Openness to experience
•Creating trust
•Creating cohesion
•Political skills
•Performance
•Analytical thinking
•Agreeableness
•Technical knowledge
•Industry knowledge
•Experience
•Market orientation
•Organizational savvy
•Education
•Resilience
•Motivation
•Ambition
•Commitment
•Fit
•Optimism
•Tolerance
•Conscientiousness
•Extraversion
•Problem solving
•Customer orientation
•Assertiveness
•Dealing with ambiguity
What evidence do we have
that this is a good indicator of
potential?
CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE QUALITY
OF THE EVIDENCE
GENERAL CONFUSION
Many factors were overlapping, many were contradicting each others.

C R I T I C A L LY A P P R A I S I N G Q U A L I T Y O F T H E E V I D E N C E
OUR CRITICAL APPRAISAL PROCESS
Meta –
analysis
Meta –
analysis
Meta –
analysis
700+
documents
87
meta-analyses
C R I T I C A L
A P P R A I S A L
P R O C E S S
2.500+ studies
500.000+ people
87 meta - analyses
Our Framework is based on
which summarize the results of
conducted with

M E R C E R E V I D E N C E - B A S E D F R A M E W O R K
M A I N F I N D I N G S
STABLE
POTENTI AL
M ALLE ABL E
POTENTI AL
CONTEXTUAL
FACTORS
Traits and cognitive abilities, tied to
genes and early childhood experiences.
They don’t change very much in adults.
Skills that can be developed
and learned in time at work
Other factors that are required for
high potentials to be effective in
specific organizational contexts
Cognitive Abilities
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Openness to Experience
Agreeableness
Emotional Stability
Learning Orientation
Proactivity
Social Astuteness
Interpersonal Influence
Networking Ability
Inspirational Motivation
Individualized Consideration
Intellectual Stimulation
Contingent Reward
Environmental Monitoring
Strategy Formulation
Strategy Implementation
Path-Goal Facilitation
Motivation
Ambition
Person-Organization Fit

M E R C E R E V I D E N C E - B A S E D F R A M E W O R K
T R A N S L AT I N G F O R P R A C T I T I O N E R S

M E R C E R E V I D E N C E - B A S E D P S Y C H O M E T R I C T O O L
M E A S U R I N G W H AT ’ S R E A L LY P R E D I C T I V E

M E R C E R E V I D E N C E - B A S E D P S Y C H O M E T R I C T O O L
P I L O T I N G A N D E VA L U AT I N G E F F E C T I V E N E S S
Large italian bank, assessment for selection
Multinational consulting firm, for talent review
and succession planning purposes
Now evaluating effectiveness, looks predictive
and working according to scientific literature

FAULTLINES, DIVERSITY
AND PERFORMANCE

W H AT A R E FA U LT L I N E S ?
D I V E R S I T Y I S A N A S S E T, FA U LT L I N E S A R E R I S K S
• Faultlines are risks in work units, rooted in
personal and organizational attributes that
separate members from each other
• Research has shown that faultlines can harm
work group success and decrease
inclusiveness
• Faultlines are measurable, differing in strength
and distance

T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N D I V E R S I T Y A N D FA U LT L I N E S ,
I L L U S T R AT E D
• Consider a 4-person work group composed of:
– 2 males & 2 females
– 2 MBAs & 2 engineers
– 2 older & 2 younger workers
Male
Male Female
Female
Older
Older
Younger
YoungerEngineer
EngineerMBA
MBA
The alignment of multiple differences creates faultlines

Faultlines in teams are related to performance decrements, communication problems, intra-team
conflict, less group cohesion, lower trust, less respect, and lower job satisfaction
Thatcher & Patel (2012 – review of multiple studies)
In 374 work groups, stronger faultlines are linked to less inclusive workplaces as indicated by email
behaviors – specifically, more frequent exclusion of individuals from the “To” field and more
unreciprocated emails
Mercer (2018)
Faultlines in boards are detrimental to firm performance
Cooper et al. (2014)
Strong gender faultlines are related to less organizational loyalty
Chung et al. (2015)
W H Y FA U LT L I N E S M AT T E R
C O N D U C T E D A R E V I E W O F T H E E V I D E N C E

STRATEGIC
• Recognize faultline risk mitigation as a part of the D&I strategy
• Engage executive leadership on the concept, evidence, and actions
FOUNDATIONAL
• Regularly re-calculate faultline risk
• Assess their link to employee behaviors (performance, turnover, internal transfers,
communication patterns) and engagement
RISK-MITIGATION TACTICS
• Alert supervisors to watch for potential dysfunctions of faultlines in their work groups
• Change work group composition and/or train work group members
W H AT A R E W E D O I N G W I T H T H I S S T U F F ?
F I R S T T H O U G H T S

EVIDENCE-BASED
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

E V I D E N C E - B A S E D L E A D E R S H I P D E V E L O P M E N T
R E V I E W I N G T H E E V I D E N C E
300+ different
companies
25.000+ leaders
the best 335
longitudinal studies
WHAT WORKS IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
based on a review of
conducted in
with

E V I D E N C E - B A S E D L E A D E R S H I P D E V E L O P M E N T
R E V I E W I N G L E A D E R S H I P P R A C T I C E S AT H E A LT H C O
LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM REVIEW
1. Leadership program capabilities
2. Communications & stakeholder
engagement
3. Programs evaluation methodology
TRAINING METHODOLOGY REVIEW
1. Training delivery
2. Timeline of training delivery
3. Facilitation of behavioral change
4. Tracking behavioral change
RECCOMANDATIONS
FOR PRACTICE

LESSONS LEARNED

1. Clients assume everything is evidence-based: show the difference!
2. Design thinking and communication are key: it has to be easy to understand and look
good.
3. Time for research is limited: REAs and CATs are very useful methodologies!
4. Many people are competing for access to the same data: be prepared for more
interdisciplinary evidence-based consulting
5. «Will it work here?» is a key concern of clients, and good evidence helps make the case
6. Situationally-specific research conducted in organizations can fill the gap in published
research
L E S S O N S L E A R N E D
O U R E X P E R I E N C E I N E V I D E N C E - B A S E D C O N S U LT I N G

P R E D I C T I N G R E T I R E M E N T I L L U S T R AT I O N
• High work engagement makes
retirement less likely in the following
year …
• … except it is irrelevant for those with
>25 yrs. of tenure and …
• … for employees with 16-25 yrs. of
tenure high engagement is not enough
to keep them working …
• … unless those employees also recently
got promoted ~14,000 employees aged 55+
followed for 5 years
Partial tree
for clarity

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