APS Blog

Case Study: From Technical Experts to Engaged People Leaders

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 12:00:00 Z

Since 2023 APS have been working with a prominent healthcare organisation to unlock hidden leadership potential —driving engagement, performance and retention.

Background:

In many healthcare and professional services contexts, teams generally expect their leaders to have technical expertise - typically resulting from years of direct application experience - in order to be seen as credible. Such roles often call for sensitive communication with patients and an ability to cope with the pressure of high demand, limited resources, and tension. Morale levels and attrition are often effects of such situations, which adds further pressure - challenging clinical leaders to work on their teams in addition to the demands of their core professional calling.

An effective development programme typically starts with helping participants become aware of what their strengths are and why they should work on any development to help gain more effective results personally, for the teams and for the organisation. As you would expect, PhD level leaders are smart and deal with complex issues day to day – they expect evidence-based diagnostic tools and approaches that are backed up with significant research and scientific grounding.

Feedback following previous participant experiences indicated a disappointment with tools used, comments suggested they seemed shallow, generic and technically superficial. As a result, participants saw little value and impact on their day to day work. Despite best intentions by HR, this didn’t help them to help their colleagues.

Our Approach

1. Assess and Reflect

Provide Hogan Assessment tools to help participants understand their reputation at work – what drives them, likely every-day behaviour in the workplace, how they react to pressure and how all this compares to other adults.

Help the HR team to acquire the knowledge of such tools to support deployment and build collective insight and buy-in regarding strengths, focus and skill development areas - both individually and collectively.

Rapid Deployment of Hogan Assessments: Delivered within four weeks of first contact. In-house certification workshops enabled HR to own and interpret the data—predicted to cut recurring assessment costs by over 50%.

2. Exposure and Experience

Ongoing expert support: APS advisors worked alongside the cohort to guide initial debriefs and continue to maximise the value they were getting from the tools. APS consulted with the organisation about the benefit of understanding collective characteristics for cohorts of leaders, and agreed with the client to provide a bespoke “Team Insights Masterclass©” synthesising individual profiles into collective leadership dynamics.

3. Skills Development & Performance Tracking

Hands-on group development: Interactive workshops to translate assessment insights into real-world peer-to-peer strategies. Key focus areas included on self-awareness, communication styles and the ripple effect of senior leaders’ behaviours.

This approach provided insights about some of the frequently identified strengths of leaders within the organisation and also emphasised the challenges arising as a result of some ‘over-played’ characteristics. This opened the door for collective discussions about how to drive change and have a positive impact on the culture of the organisation and placed more focus on self-development, people leadership and organisational influence.

The “Aha” Moment

During the Masterclass, leaders realised that understanding their own tendencies wasn’t just “nice to have”—it was the linchpin to building team morale and sustaining high performance. That shift from technical command to people-centred leadership sparked genuine curiosity: “What else could we achieve if we channelled this insight across the organisation?”

Potential Outcomes

Psychometrics become indispensable: Hogan Assessments are becoming the go-to tool for leadership programmes in the teams we have worked with so far, anticipated to boost HR-led engagement.
Leadership pipeline: Advanced Leaders, Future CEOs and Medical Directors receive Hogan Assessments, executive coaching and targeted masterclasses—a closed loop from assessment to measurable growth.
Behavioural agility unlocked: Senior leaders are expected to develop heightened self-awareness, adapting their styles for diverse team needs and carving out time for strategic planning.
Data-driven talent decisions: HR are predicted to identify emerging leaders with greater accuracy, accelerating promotions and slashing time-to-fill critical roles.

Accelerating the Onboarding of Newly Promoted Senior Leaders

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 11:28:32 Z

How to Apply Evidence-Based HR to Hone Leadership Skills

We start learning about leadership from the moment we are born. Babies observe their caregivers and older siblings; children are taught to respect authority figures; athletes take instruction from coaches. As we grow up, we’re constantly placed in situations where we are expected to either lead or follow, and these experiences shape our definitions of leadership before we enter the workplace. Although society might have reached conclusions on what leadership skills are, individuals arrive in leadership roles with their own perceptions. How do you begin a conversation about improving someone’s ability to lead when we’re all so diverse?

Evidence-based HR is ultimately about making informed decisions. Approaching business issues related to leadership begins with establishing context and gathering data: which set of skills does the organisation need from their leaders, and how are those individuals currently performing in those areas?

Imagine a national telecommunications organisation, Teledo*, have promoted some internal talented managers to senior positions and want to accelerate their performance in the new roles. Teledo have identified that their departments function best with leaders who are skilled in decision-making, relationship-building and creativity. How do they support their Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to excel in these areas?

Starting with baseline assessments is key. Teledo’s HR business partner must determine how the SLT are currently performing before devising an action plan. Running a bespoke 360-feedback survey for each of the Senior Leaders would generate valuable quantitative and qualitative data regarding how each individual is regarded by self and others. Such data is even more powerful if combined with the robust scientific insights provided by completing psychometric assessments. In addition to diagnostic methods, HR should review any relevant organisational data relating to the SLT, such as operational metrics and customer satisfaction scores.

Consulting a range of sources will allow the HR team to identify trends and patterns and make evidence-based recommendations regarding Teledo’s next steps. Click below to see the recommendations the HR business partner prepared for one of Teledo's SLT employees.

Download our action plan example:

Find out more about how Evidence-Based HR could help your organisation.
Contact us now to continue the conversation.

*Teledo is a fictional organisation

Is Sustainability an HR issue?

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 12:00:00 Z

We hear lots of discussion about sustainability, but within organisations, who owns it, and who should be seriously focused on driving actions that can make a difference? The CEO? Finance? Operations? Probably all of them. HR is uniquely placed to add substantive input and energy in this critical area.

The challenges of sustainable business practises can run from the decision to pay a living wage, to how leaders are developed to create the right levels of psychological safety in order to create a more innovative environment where new solutions and initiatives can be developed and exploited.

The employee value proposition is also important in attracting and retaining new talent for the organisation, bringing in new skills and important values.

With green agendas driving everyday decisions in technology, purchasing, legislation, and of course, climate change, sustainability is now a top priority.

The CRF event 'HR's Role in Sustainable Business' featured presentations from thought leaders and practitioners, as well as interactive discussions. Here are some of the key takeaways that our trusted advisor Rob Field captured:

HR has a strategic role in talking about the Why and the How of Sustainability and getting aligned, driving clarity and keeping it on the agenda.
Creating and developing the right culture for change, innovation and diversity of thought can add great value.
The employee value proposition is a key aspect of attracting the right talent, focused on sustainability and creating new value.
Helping and supporting leaders to look outside the organisation for collaborative opportunities, and in preparing leaders in developing skills to facilitate change.
Employee participation is essential and HR can create opportunities that engage others.

The event concluded with a call to action for HR to take a proactive and leading role in driving sustainable business. Sustainability is not only a moral imperative, but also a strategic opportunity for organisations to create competitive advantage and long-term value.

Further Reading:

CRF Research Report: HR’s Contribution to Sustainable Business https://www.crforum.co.uk/research-and-resources/research-hrs-contribution-to-sustainable-business/

As programme partners Advanced People Strategies (APS) look forward to continuing their relationship with CRF in 2024.

Can't Change, Won't Change

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 09:18:15 Z

 CRF Program Partners Advanced People Strategies (APS) ran a masterclass ‘Can’t Change, Won’t Change.’  at CRF’s International Conference in Madrid, in October 2023.  Joining 200+ HR leaders, OD practitioners, and business leaders. APS Trusted Advisors Rob Field, and Mike Davies, facilitated an insightful and interactive session looking at evolving a work-group climate that feeds on change and innovation. 

Including new insights from the World Economic Forum publication: Future of Jobs report 2023, the workshop highlighted the impact of psychological safety and engagement on employee retention, productivity, and innovation. 

Key takeaways:

At APS, we believe a Leaders performance should be measured by their team capability and productivity, and for every behaviour there’s a reason. Gaining objective evidence and acting on it will differentiate organisational performance.

Enabling a climate where all work-group team members believe they can freely contribute ideas or concerns sounds like a good thing – measuring it and acting on it is something else and is now easily achieved.
Engagement here is about each team member’s clarity, connection, and desire towards achieving the work-group’s purpose.
Identifying a mean score perspective about psychological safety is too simple. The spread of an individual’s scores will indicate actions to increase overall group effectiveness.
A 2023 report from The World Economic Forum prioritised the need for analytical and creative thinking as the most commercially important skills for the future.

It also reports that:

Employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years. 
Cognitive skills growing in importance most quickly, reflecting the increasing importance of complex problem-solving in the workplace. 
Creative thinking to be growing in importance slightly more rapidly than analytical thinking.

 Special Offers:

Measure team psychological safety and engagement plus how the group leader's skills are working to create it with Reflections Free Certification and Free Trial.
Gain access to what's considered the gold standard in personality assessments - used by professionals globally to support their talent selection, succession planning, and development strategies. 15% off the Hogan Certification
Become the go-to advanced expert in your organisation regarding Hogan Assessments. Save £400 when you book the Hogan Advanced Feedback and Advanced Interpretation workshops together.

Further resources and full details of the special offers can be found here.

If you’d like to find out more, please connect with Rob and Mike below:

Rob Field, Learning and Development Director, rob@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

Mike Davies, Senior Learning and Development Consultant, mike@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

Evidence-Based Coaching and Ai - Key Takeaways

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 12:00:00 Z

As CRF program partners APS ran a masterclass ‘Evidenced-Based Coaching and AI – Driving Strategic Self-awareness, and Pace for Greater Impact.’ at CRF’s event ‘Coaching: Maximising Business Impact’ event, Church House, London UK on the 20^th September 2023. Attended by some of the leading HR Leaders and specialists with responsibility for coaching, management development, learning, talent, and career development.

APS' Learning and Development Director, Rob Field, and Senior Learning and Development Consultant, Mike Davies, presented an interactive session sharing insights and a powerful case study.

Organisations need results, and to achieve them ever more quickly. Coaching can be seen as slow and ‘conversational’, often seen by the recipient as valuable but not always providing tangible results for the organisation. Typically focused on senior leaders, how can coaching be democratised and line manager coaching ability developed? How can evidence and data provide enhanced self-awareness, inform on potential blind spots? Can AI help equip the coach with the objective information they need to inform interactions and improve focus? What tools can and should be used to help achieve tangible results and is AI a powerful tool or a risk? What role does practice play?

Key takeaways:

Effective coaching is a highly collaborative process, which is focused on the needs of the coachee and the organisation.
The impact that coaching can have is significantly enhanced when it is supported by evidence and insights from data sources and feedback as this helps to inform the focus areas and style of coaching which will be most beneficial.
Measuring ROI in coaching can be complex, but establishing ways to evaluate and demonstrate the benefit is essential.
Ai and L&D White Paper: what are the implications and what you should know.

Connect with Rob rob@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk
Connect with Mike mike@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk
Arrange a 1:1 with Rob or Mike to discuss your unique business challenges.

We are hiring Learning and Development Consultant

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:00:00 Z

About Us:

APS are Leadership and Talent Development Specialists. We are a consulting-focused company providing psychometric assessment and development solutions, supporting organisations talent management approaches. We believe in helping leaders build key skills that drive performance. We take a co-creative approach in order to understand needs and work with a variety of clients both in the UK and around the world, across all sectors. Our work spans from certifying practitioners with assessment tools, supporting recruitment, assessment, and development for individuals and teams. We are looking for an enthusiastic, credible L&D professional who is motivated to learn and develop a career in consulting.

About You:

Likely to already be working as part of a Corporate L&D team with experience in training and facilitation you enjoy variety and new challenges. A proactive communicator with a quality orientation, you have the ability to build effective relationships, understand needs, and work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders. Ideally, you will have worked in some different sectors. With a strong desire to learn, develop, and work within a team environment, you can demonstrate a flexible and adaptable style in order to solve problems and find solutions.

You will have knowledge and experience of facilitating management development, relevant learning and development experience or Degree, CIPD, ILM, or CMI qualification or working towards one, and a minimum of 2 years of corporate experience with time in the HR or L&D function.

Does this sound like you? Contact us for a chat.

About the Role:

This role is office-based in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Reporting to a Senior Learning & Development Consultant, your role will focus on training and delivery of our products and services, as well as building and maintaining trusted relationships with clients.

A full UK driving licence is required.

For an informal chat, or to apply email rob@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

We Are Hiring - Junior Software Developer

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:00:00 Z

Advanced People Strategies Ltd (APS) are a leadership and talent development specialist, and authorised Hogan Assessments Distributor for the UK and Ireland. Working with global clients APS provide a range of their own online products and services developed by our internal IT Developer Team. APS has a fantastic opportunity for a recent IT Graduate to join their team of IT developers.

About the role

Based at our office in Daventry, you will work closely with the IT Manager, Senior Developer/s and wider team, building, testing, maintaining and deploying bespoke applications and we anticipate involvement in our intent to utilise AI in new applications. You will write clean, scalable code, adhering to best coding practices and gain exposure to full stack development work including Azure DevOps/Git. You will also be providing occasional technical help support to system users.

The successful candidate will have some working knowledge and experience of:

HTML
CSS
JavaScript
SQL/Entity Framework
DB creation/Design

Nice to have: React, C#

And be able to demonstrate;

Experience and enthusiasm for web development
Diligence in writing code that is clean and error-free.
An ability to work with a small team and want to learn or adapt to emerging technologies.
An ability to work in a fast-paced environment on multiple projects.
Practical knowledge of writing code; HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL/Entity Framework and DB creation/design.

Education (required)

A degree in Computer Science, Business Information Systems or similar.

Location

This position is Office-based in Daventry, Northamptonshire.
Salary up to £30K per annum.

Normal working hours 9 am-5.30 pm (Monday – Friday)

To apply please email your CV to mike@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

We are Hiring - Assistant Business Psychologist

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 10:44:14 Z

Advanced People Strategies (APS) have been very successful in working with senior leadership teams of well-known UK and Global brands. The work is rooted in psychology and their success comes from finding innovative and impactful ways to use it through a trusted advisor relationship with clients.

APS are UK Distributors of the world-class Hogan Assessments tools, which are grounded in more than three decades of validated research and were the first to scientifically measure personality for business.

APS are seeking an entry-level Assistant Business Psychologist to join the team.

The Assistant Business Psychologist will support the development and delivery of assessment-based solutions to support and evaluate talent management initiatives (e.g., selection, on-boarding, transition, development, and coaching). They will assist in the creation and implementation of client learning and development initiatives. As an assistant business psychologist, you will gain expertise in the area of psychometric testing and leadership as a first step to becoming a Business Psychologist.

The successful candidate will be involved in;

Supporting:

The Scoping, design and execution of assessment-based and test projects e.g. job/competency analysis, assessment/development centers, selection systems, assessment validation, data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results.
Analysis of data and trends to support business/client decisions and product development.
Facilitators delivering certification and other learning and development events.
Leadership learning and development initiatives e.g., team development workshops and training workshops.

Delivering & Providing:

Written assessment individual/group reports as well as observations for Assessment/ Development Centres.
Provision of individual assessment feedback.
Technical support to clients.
Research and data analysis to support product development.

The successful candidate will have:

Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
An ability to work both as part of a team and independently.
An ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
Knowledge of applied Statistical Techniques.
Practical knowledge of working with SPSS, SAS, or BILOG, and MS Office.
Knowledge of research methodology, measurement, and test assessment theory.

Education & Experience

You will be a graduate with an MSc in Business and/or Organisational Psychology.

This position is Office-based in Daventry, Northamptonshire.
Salary £26K per annum.

How to Apply

Email your CV to Michaela@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

Isn’t HR already evidence-based?

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:05:00 Z

In your team, can you admit when things don’t work?

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:04:00 Z

How are you Identifying potential problems in your organisation?

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:02:00 Z

What to do with Contradictory Evidence?

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:01:00 Z

Defining Evidence Based HR

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:00:00 Z

Hogan Norms Update 2023

Fri, 05 May 2023 12:00:00 Z

Hogan Local and Global Norms Update: Effective: 1^st June 2023

Number of countries/territories increased by 11 from 179 to 190

Languages and dialects: 48

Global Norm Size:

HPI 153,223 | HDS, 115,793 | MVPI 99,568

UK Norm Size

HPI 7,342 | HDS, 5,991 | MVPI 5,409

Background

Why update norms?

Improved validity & reliability – The question item response scale provides the potential for a wider distribution, internal consistency and thus more accurate results and interpretation.

Better representation of work-relevant demographic groups.

Scale update

For HPI and HDS only, up to 2018 participant responses to question items were limited to True or False. In September 2018, Hogan introduced a 4-point agreement response scale and started to collect response data for analysis.

strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly agree.

Response analysis across participants has been completed and sub-scale results are more accurate for country and global norms.

Data Stratification

New releases of the global norm enables inclusion of country data when sufficient assessments are completed. Countries included in the norm are equally represented in numbers.

Interpretation of results

Continue to interpret sub-scale and main-scale results as before.

Technical Resources

Please contact us if you have any questions or for further resources and full technical documentation.

CRF - Future of Learning Conference

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 12:00:00 Z

Advanced People Strategies, leadership and talent development specialists. Authorised Hogan Distributor UK & Ireland, joined Corporate Research Forum (CRF) at the ‘Future of Learning Conference’, in London on the 10^th of November 2022.

Held at Church House, Westminster, HR Directors, Senior L&D and Talent Specialists attended this unique location that combines historical charm and cutting-edge technology. With attendees also joining parts of the conference online, the ripples of the recent pandemic stretched far and wide shaping some of the themes of the day:

Assessing how the pandemic impacted learning, the business context that is driving today’s agenda, and the learning challenges that organisations are facing.
Discovering the future of learning – it's strategic, collaborative and continuous, and evidence-based. What does it mean to have a more strategic learning strategy, and how are leading organisations linking learning strategy to business strategy?
How can a learning mindset, new (and old) technologies, and managers support the new imperative of connected, constant learning?
What is the value of using evidence to inform learning, and what is the gap between where many organisations are and where it would benefit them to be?
Understanding how the future of learning poses an existential threat for learning functions – they must evolve, or risk becoming extinct. What new capabilities are required?

We're Hiring - Customer Service Administrator

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 12:00:00 Z

Advanced People Strategies Ltd is a growing business with a head office in Daventry. We provide world-class personality assessment tools and leadership training to well-known UK and Global brands.

We are seeking a Customer Service Administrator to join the team.

Customer Service is a key differentiator for our business and this full-time role is an opportunity for an individual to join our small service team at the head office in Daventry. The customer service team act as the first contact for our customers, providing administrative support and assisting with the day-to-day running of the business.

Reporting to the Customer Service Manager the successful candidate will:

Provide courteous, timely, and helpful service to encourage client loyalty.
Get along well with others and communicate tactfully.
Strive to meet quality standards and produce quality work products.
Apply technology to complete work tasks.
Listen and summarise other people’s points to ensure mutual understanding.
Develop collaborative relationships to get the job done.
Perform work with care, accuracy, and attention to detail to a high standard.
Display a positive disposition towards work.
Have good working knowledge of Microsoft packages i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook.

Education and Experience

Educated to GCSE Level, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

We are looking for the right people, not the right background, so if you think you might be a good fit in our organisation apply today.

Salary: £20K - £25K per annum

How to Apply

Please send your CV and Covering Letter to jenny@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

We're Hiring - Assistant Business Psychologist

Fri, 27 May 2022 12:00:00 Z

APS are seeking an entry-level Assistant Business Psychologist to join the team.

The successful candidate will be involved in;

Supporting:

The Scoping, design and execution of assessment-based and test projects e.g. job/competency analysis, assessment/development centers, selection systems, assessment validation, data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results.
Analysis of data and trends to support business/client decisions and product development.
Facilitators delivering certification and other learning and development events.
Leadership learning and development initiatives e.g., team development workshops and training workshops.

Delivering & Providing:

Written assessment individual/group reports as well as observations for Assessment/ Development Centres.
Provision of individual assessment feedback.
Technical support to clients.
Research and data analysis to support product development.

The successful candidate will have:

Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
An ability to work both as part of a team and independently.
An ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
Knowledge of applied Statistical Techniques.
Practical knowledge of working with SPSS, SAS, or BILOG, and MS Office.
Knowledge of research methodology, measurement, and test assessment theory.

Education & Experience

You will be a graduate with an MSc in Business and/or Organisational Psychology.

This position is Office-based in Daventry, Northamptonshire.
Salary £23K per annum.

How to Apply

Email your CV to Michaela@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

Applying Social Science to Behavioural Change

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 12:00:00 Z

Many organisations are focused on behaviour change as they consider the leadership requirements in the new hybrid working environment that is emerging from the pandemic.

With remote working, the need for agility, coupled with strong levels of engagement, means that the status quo is not the answer. Getting people to let go of existing ways of operating and embrace new ones can be challenging. Leaders who understand and consider the motivations that people have will help accelerate this behaviour change.

There needs to be a motivation to change. There also needs to be self-awareness!

Understanding what behaviour, the organisation needs from leaders is essential for effective recruitment, and in promoting and developing the right people. The challenge is to shift away from overly charismatic leadership and instead spot talented people who may be more humble; these are the people who can help drive engagement and productivity in those they lead. Those more humble leaders may be hiding in plain sight.

HR leaders should understand the science behind behaviour. They have a key role in creating the right culture and conditions for change within the organisation. Knowing what good looks like and then being able to objectively assess this is essential. Providing effective feedback is also critical. Do leaders fully appreciate the impact they are having on the culture and climate around them? Disruptive, or overly self-oriented, behaviour may be easier to spot than ‘laissez-faire’ leaders who simply let their teams and others get on with it, avoiding performance discussions, failing to offer feedback and/or failing to provide clear direction.

Both disruptive and absentee leadership have negative implications for behaviour change, organisational culture, and performance.

Assessing and measuring motivations and behaviours and providing leaders with clear feedback and development helps drive change. Systems, processes and tools that are connected and utilised effectively add value. Engagement surveys, 360 feedback, reward systems and performance management can help to provide insights and to spot challenges early. This in turn can lead to earlier intervention and support that can help leaders thrive.

The CRF Research Paper: ‘Applying Social Science to Behavioural Change’, looks at behaviour change and its obstacles. Change is never easy. Sharing tools, case studies and examples, CRF have taken a practical approach to help enable this.

The two-day immersive workshop hosted by Corporate Research Forum (CRF), with contribution from Advanced People Strategies explored the science behind behaviour change and uncovered HR’s role in creating the conditions for change.

During the online session, CRF’s Carmen von Rohr, PhD led the conversation with Dr. Grace Lordan, Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative and Associate Professor at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to explore the key considerations for approaching behavioural change. These included:

✅ Do you understand the organisation and have clarity about what it wants to achieve?
✅ Are people aware of their own behaviour?
✅ Is feedback being given effectively?
✅ Are strategies in place to support the behaviour change?

Read the Full Paper Here

Access the Video Session on the CRF Website

Key Takeaways

We're Hiring - Senior L&D Consultant

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 12:00:00 Z

Senior Learning & Development Consultant

Advanced People Strategies (APS) have been very successful working with senior leadership teams of well known UK and Global brands. In addition to being UK Distributors of the world-class Hogan Assessments tools, APS also provide both face to face and virtual masterclass and coaching programmes - often applying a blended learning approach.

Following their success, they are looking to grow the Learning and Development Team significantly in 2022. The L&D consultant's focus is to help clients succeed by understanding their needs and translating those into practical and applicable support. The work is often rooted in psychology and their success comes from finding innovative and impactful ways to use it through a trusted advisor relationship with clients.

APS are seeking an optimistic, highly experienced professional to join the L&D team.

The successful candidate will report to the L&D Director and become involved in:

Consulting both internally and with clients in order to translate needs into deliverable learning.
Facilitating 1:1 and group learning both face to face and through virtual media.
Using our Hogan Assessments alongside 360s and climate surveys to support personal and team insights.
Contributing to developing powerful learning content and materials for managers and senior leaders.

The successful candidate will:

Be a confident, resilient and highly experienced facilitator up to senior level.
Able to demonstrate the ability to work with and influence senior stakeholders.
Be experienced at translating client needs to shape content and design solutions to inform, educate and raise the skill levels of participants.
Have experience of originating learning content for middle and senior leaders.
Demonstrate a working knowledge of appropriate technologies to support development programmes.
Be great at establishing trusted relationships and a learning environment where people feel positively challenged.
Based within easy reach of London and the Midlands and willing to travel in the UK and at times internationally.

Your Experience:

You will have experience working in the corporate world, delivering individual and group leadership talent development programmes and initiatives.

You probably possess a relevant HR related Degree, CIPD, ILM or CMI qualification that reflects deep knowledge and understanding of leadership and people development.

How to Apply:

Email your CV to rob@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

We are Hiring - L&D Consultant

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 12:00:00 Z

Looking for a new challenge? APS continues to grow. Our focus is to help our clients succeed by understanding their needs and translating those into practical and applicable support. Our work is often rooted in psychology, but our success comes from finding innovative and impactful ways to use it. Our clients already tap into our world-class Hogan tools for talent selection and development. We provide development support to leadership teams across a variety of sectors to identify and build the skills necessary for success. We have designed a range of master-class programmes and learning approaches which we want to expand and evolve during 2022 and beyond.

To support our plans going forward, we are seeking resilient and optimistic professionals to join our team.

The successful candidates will report to the L&D Director and support APS’s involvement in:

Consulting both internally and with clients in order to translate needs into deliverable learning
Facilitating 1:1 and group learning both face to face and through virtual media
Using our Hogan Assessments alongside 360s and climate surveys to support personal and team insights
Contributing to the developing powerful learning content and materials for managers and senior leaders

The successful candidate will:

Be a confident presenter, able to effectively facilitate up to senior level.
Demonstrate the ability to work with and influence others, providing a service capability and orientation
Support the translation of client needs to shape content and design solutions to inform, educate and raise the skill levels of participants
Demonstrate a working knowledge of appropriate technologies to support development programmes
Be great at establishing trusted relationships and a learning environment where people feel positively challenged
Be energised by the chance to originate learning content for middle and senior leaders
Be based within easy reach of London and the Midlands and willing to travel in the UK and at times internationally

Your Experience:

Have several years of corporate experience coupled with time within the HR or L&D function preferably undertaking leadership development work
Likely to possess a relevant Degree, CIPD, ILM or CMI qualification

You may already be a certified coach or on the path to becoming one.

Find Out More:

If you'd like to have an informal chat about the role please email rob@advancedpeoplestrategies.co.uk

Five Things To Know About Employee Engagement in 2021

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:00:00 Z

Original Post HR News 28th January 2021

Employee engagement refers to the commitment and connection employees have to their organisation and is critical for business unit performance.

For business and HR leaders in 2021, employee engagement will be a top priority as many companies continue to operate remotely for the foreseeable future. Scott Gregory, CEO at Hogan Assessments, has outlined the five things leaders need to know about improving employee engagement this year.

Leadership shapes engagement
For some employees, working remotely can be lonely and isolating, especially for more dependant team members like new hires and junior executives. Ensuring that staff are supported and set up for success while working remotely is key to maintaining employee engagement in 2021.

Employee engagement is predominantly shaped by leadership effectiveness, with effective leaders defined as those who can successfully lead a high-performing and engaged team. To boost engagement, companies need to focus on how their managers behave, and that is true whether in “normal” times or in our current circumstance. While effective leaders will devote their time to supporting their team and forming relationships of trust with employees, ineffective – or emergent – leaders will waste their time building political capital and promoting their own accomplishments.

When organizations are suffering with a poorly engaged staff force, the first place they should look is at their managers and how they are behaving. That is, are they behaving as emergent or effective leaders? To determine this, companies must pay closer attention to personality.

Personality matters
When identifying effective leaders that support team members and improve employee engagement, it is imperative that companies look at personality. Decades of research show that well-validated measures of personality predict every consequential life outcome, and leadership effectiveness is no exception. Personality predicts leadership performance better than any other alternative indicator, including IQ. And because valid personality assessments promote fairness in selection and do not discriminate – that is, women perform the same as men, ethnic minorities perform the same as ethnic majorities – companies that leverage the science of personality can find strong leadership anywhere from a diverse pool of talent.

Hogan’s leadership value chain – based on over 30 years of data on job performance and leadership effectiveness – states that personality drives leadership, leadership drives employee engagement, and engagement ultimately drives organizational performance. Personality also influences how managers interact with their employees, and how teams interact with each other, which sets the company culture – another key ingredient for engagement.

To improve engagement and maintain high performing teams in 2021, business and HR leaders must be strategic at the source by using valid personality assessment to select better leaders who are well-adjusted, strong communicators, and deeply compassionate when it comes to supporting employees.

Spotting burnout is crucial
Perhaps the second biggest challenge to maintaining engagement and a high performing remote team is identifying which team members are becoming disengaged. Anyone can appear engaged and motivated during weekly calls or Zoom parties, but it is harder to spot who is really struggling with the challenges of remote work. It is important for managers to gain the trust of their employees so that they can have open and honest conversations about engagement and what can be done to keep them motivated.

One advantage of remote work is that there is less room to confuse activity with productivity. Some employees are great at being ‘seen’ in the traditional workplace without accomplishing much, so remote work will require these employees to produce tangible results, as their political skill will not be as effective. For all employees, leaders should double down on regular goal setting that involves targets and deadlines, just as they would in face-to-face settings, but be careful not ‘micro-manage’! This way, employees with discretionary effort who are engaged and meeting objectives will be easier to spot.

Engagement cannot be ‘done’, it must be earned
With the shift to remote work, companies are now adapting to deliver several employee engagement and wellbeing initiatives, designed to make working life easier for staff and to maintain cohesive and engaged teams. Actions that employers are taking to boost employee engagement in 2021 tend to fall into three categories: technology, social, and employee wellbeing. Whether these actions really increase engagement is an open question, but they likely do make employees’ work and non-work lives easier to manage, which may lessen stress and burnout potential.

Employee wellbeing initiatives include stipends for home-office equipment – to assist productivity and ergonomic-related health – and schedule flexibility. Some companies have adopted a culture of relaxed protocol, making it known to employees that every day at-home interruptions need not be apologized for. Other companies directly offer employees the chance to tailor their work schedules/online availability to accommodate their non-work responsibilities while working remotely. This flexibility to designed to support staff as they navigate the transition to remote work and ultimately maintain employee engagement.

Examples of social initiatives that companies are putting into place include ‘Humpday hangouts’ and virtual happy ours – held with the intention of fostering a connection amongst team members while working remotely. Paired one-on-one virtual coffee breaks, such as Coffee Ninja, are also prevalent – the goal being to foster employee relationships informally, much like what might happen when running into someone in the lunchroom in a physical office.

It is important for companies to note, however, that these initiatives are not enough to boost employee engagement on their own. If there is poor communication between managers and employees, and pre-existing feelings of resentment brewing amongst team members, virtual social gatherings and coffee-breaks will likely fall on deaf ears and could further contribute to ‘WFH burnout’. Engagement is not something that is ‘done’ for employees, but rather something that is earned from them through continued support and strong leadership. The single most powerful step a company can take to boost engagement is to ensure that managers are communicating and collaborating effectively with their teams, with wellbeing initiatives like the above re-enforcing this support structure.

The picture is brighter than it seems
Finally, while the conversation surrounding employee engagement in 2021 may seem daunting, companies will be pleased to know that remote work does not necessarily translate into ‘bad engagement’. A recent survey carried out by Hogan Assessments, which consisted predominantly of mid-level managers from mid to large-sized companies across Europe, revealed that, although 60% of professionals find remote work mentally challenging, 86% report that they are engaged with their organization, and a further 42% claim to be highly engaged. These latest findings indicate that while challenges arose for workers following the shift to remote work, attitudes towards leadership and engagement remained stable and positive throughout Europe.

Many employees understand that the challenges of remote work are not the result of their employer’s incompetence, but rather the result of a global pandemic. Employees also know that everyone is going through the same challenges – managers included – and as a result, their emotional commitment to their organizations remains as high as, or perhaps even higher, than it was before working from home.

Scott Gregory, CEO at Hogan Assessments, adds:

“The global shift to remote work following COVID-19 has presented several key challenges for business and HR leaders, many of which stem from communication obstacles and the disruption of daily social activities. With teams suffering interpersonally right now due to remote work and lack of in-person interaction, leaders now more than ever must pay close attention to employee engagement. Employees are engaged when their work and company’s culture aligns with their motives and values, which in turn motivates them to exercise discretionary effort.

While wellbeing initiatives like Zoom parties and increased flexibility can make remote work easier for employees, companies must go beyond these remedies to select leaders that are well-adjusted, strong communicators, and deeply compassionate when it comes to their teams. While some evidence suggests that the picture across Europe is positive for employee engagement, companies that are struggling with a poorly engaged team must be strategic when selecting leaders and examine closely how their managers are behaving with employees.”

Virtual - Hogan Certification Workshops

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 16:40:05 Z

Hogan Assessment Certification Workshops are now offered Virtually.

Authorised distributor APS was the first to run a Virtual Hogan Certification Workshop, and the feedback from participants has been 'excellent'.

Each virtual UK-based Hogan workshop will be delivered over 2-days, starting at 9.30 am both days. The cost to attend the UK Hogan Certification is £1995+VAT.

The Hogan Certification workshop is required for use of the Hogan Assessment suite.

This course teaches professionals to interpret and apply Hogan’s three core personality-based assessments:

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI): measures the “bright side” of personality; strengths that facilitate successful performance
Hogan Development Survey (HDS): measures the “dark side” of personality; potential career derailers that impede performance
Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI): measures the “inside” of personality; values and drivers that powerfully influence organizational fit and leadership style

Participants who successfully complete the workshop will be certified to use and interpret the Hogan inventories. Insights acquired during this intensive workshop will challenge and change the way you think about human nature, leadership and performance.

Find out more and book today

Preparing Leaders For The New World Order: Developing skills in a virtual environment

Tue, 19 May 2020 12:00:00 Z

Advanced People Strategies launch their on-line Skills Development System to enable organisations to assess and develop critical leadership skills.

Going beyond knowledge-focused learning, the system enables leaders to participate in challenging, interactive scenarios in a safe environment to accelerate their performance.

Chris Humphreys, APS Managing Director commented,

“Elite sports and military personnel regularly invest time and energy to practise the skills they need to outperform their competition and give them an edge. At a time, when leaders face unprecedented challenges, we are pleased to bring the latest technology to help overcome barriers that are preventing leaders and their teams from honing their skills for the future”.

APS’s latest virtual Skills Development System (vSDS) technology allows HR/L&D sponsors to choose business situations appropriate to the audience. Practising with real business challenges such as restructuring, downsizing, dealing with challenging people and driving change and receiving appropriate feedback from a professional to accelerate learning. Next-generation virtual master-class programmes and coaching will be added this summer, providing a unique blended learning offer.

The current environment has challenged Learning and Development professionals to innovate and the vSDS offers the following advantages from the usual approaches organisations take:

Fast deployment – there is no need to wait for cohort numbers or availability
Involvement and benchmarking across borders
No travel and accommodation costs vs traditional classroom
Targeted support for HR Business Partners
30-60 minute, focused learning events with minimal business disruption
Customised case studies to stretch leaders’ ability and understanding
Automatically recorded exercises for future review
Easily blended with other development interventions, psychometrics or reporting

APS are UK distributors for Hogan Assessment Systems, providers of world-class psychometric assessments used by over two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies. The virtual Skills Development System allows users to validate insights from their Hogan Assessments against observable behaviour and hone their skills in a safe environment.

With over 20 years of experience helping organisations implement people development strategies, APS has become established as a trusted partner with their clients. Drawing on world-class psychometric assessments and partnering with highly respected academic leaders, APS create and implement talent management solutions built on scientific principles.

Hogan Assessments Virtual Certification

Fri, 15 May 2020 12:00:00 Z

Hogan Assessment Certification Workshops are now offered Virtually.

In the wake of the pandemic, the team at APS quickly transitioned its previously face to face workshops to the virtual platform.

A Global First

Authorised distributor APS was the first to run a Virtual Hogan Certification Workshop, and the feedback from participants has been 'excellent'. Here are some of the responses APS has received via post-workshop surveys:

"The webinar worked well, with lots of engagement and sharing. What I preferred was the clarity around the 3 assessments and how they are inter-connected."

"Great content, really accessible doing it online, delivered well on it's objectives, good to have real opportunity to practice, excellent materials."

"That it was intellectually stimulating and being able to do this from home was actually really wonderful."

Each virtual UK-based Hogan workshop will be delivered over 2-days, starting at 9.30 am both days. The cost to attend the UK Hogan Certification is £1995+VAT.

The Hogan Certification workshop is required for use of the Hogan Assessment suite.

This course teaches professionals to interpret and apply Hogan’s three core personality-based assessments:

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI): measures the “bright side” of personality; strengths that facilitate successful performance
Hogan Development Survey (HDS): measures the “dark side” of personality; potential career derailers that impede performance
Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI): measures the “inside” of personality; values and drivers that powerfully influence organizational fit and leadership style

Click here to book the Official UK Hogan Certification Workshop

Maintaining your employer reputation when forced to reduce your workforce

Fri, 08 May 2020 00:00:00 Z

At the end of July, the Guardian reported that over 150,000 people lost their job through redundancy because of COVID 19.

A survey by the Charted Institute of Personal and Development (CIPD) confirmed that over 25% of employees expected to make redundancies over the coming months. With more than 9 million people still on the Government’s furlough scheme until October, many organisations are facing difficult choices ahead – potentially reducing costs through people and it’s likely such discussion are taking place right now to plan for such contingencies.

Understandably, the immediate focus tends to be on survival and immediate cost reduction but how organisations manage communication toward those affected and those left behind will test your stated values and impact longer term talent loyalty and engagement. How organisations handle redundancies will have a major impact on their reputation for years to come. So how can organisations live up to their values and build trust in these difficult times? Here are a few things to consider.

Show compassion, be supportive and explain why redundancies are needed. Emphasise that it is the role that is being made redundant and recognise the value and contribution of individuals impacted. As with many of us, people affected are likely to have families to support and bills to pay. Loss of earnings can impact the entire household. If they have been loyal to your organisation for many years, this will be a significant shock and finding an appropriate job may be daunting and challenging amongst so many others similarly affected. A survey by Live Careers confirmed that 57% of today’s newly unemployed were unable to list the skills that would help them get their new job!
What about the survivors? Will they see it as round 1 of a redundancy programme? Will they get extra workload? Will they lose key friends at work? Do they see the employer being fair and supporting people? They too will be feeling a range of emotions, worrying that at some stage their role may no longer be required or that they will be picking up additional work. They will be observing how their friends and colleagues are treated and supported.
Communicate, Communicate and Communicate. During periods of change and transition, people will feel nervous and anxious. As we have learnt through COVID 19, regular, open and honest communications can help foster employee engagement. You don’t have to know all the answers. Remember, where there is a lack of communication, human nature is that people will start to make assumptions and rumours will start.

Lastly, in these difficult times, by treating employees fairly, with respect and dignity, as the economy recovers, your organisations reputation and the trust that you will have built will help you attract and retain future talent. And maybe some of those highly skilled employees who were made redundant will look to return!