The topic of the Best Practice Profile (BPP) has already been covered in depth in a number of previous articles. A BPP serves as a benchmark. It enables conclusions to be drawn about a candidate’s positioning in terms of individual personality traits and helps to identify potential areas for development and untapped potential. It shows what makes the best in an industry tick and which traits are particularly necessary and conducive to success in a specific role. In short, a Best Practice Profile is a comparison with the best.
- This article discusses the approach required to create a best-practice profile. Creating a best-practice profile involves five steps: the first step is to identify the most successful employees within a particular occupational group in the company. In order to identify these employees, success criteria must be defined. What criteria should be used to select the most successful employees? Which figures are key to success? Examples of success criteria include turnover generated or return on investment achieved. Next, a best-practice group is formed from the company’s most successful employees, and the characteristics relevant to success and verifiable are compiled. Figure 1.1 shows a table for identifying the most successful employees.
- Next, each selected employee completes an online aptitude assessment. This is a self-assessment exercise. It identifies and highlights the participant’s strengths and weaknesses. Some sample questions can be seen in Figure 1.2.
- Next comes the analysis of the aptitude assessment. The results of the aptitude assessment reveal the different levels of the individual characteristics among the most successful employees. By combining and analysing all the profiles from the best-practice group, a best-practice profile is created. This profile is also known as the ideal profile. It shows which criteria are consistently considered important or unimportant by the participating employees.
- However, the performance reviews for each individual employee are also taken into account and recorded in a personal profile.
- In the final step, the values of the individual profile are compared with those of the best-practice profile. A deviation analysis is carried out. This involves checking the extent to which the values of the two profiles correspond for each individual characteristic. The key criteria are also reviewed. Care is taken to check whether the key criteria are the same and to assess the extent of the difference between the individual and ideal profiles. Figure 1.3 shows an example of a partial evaluation of a suitability assessment.
By comparing the best-practice profile against several benchmark profiles, it is easier to highlight significant changes in self-assessment relative to the values of the benchmark group.
In a structured interview, deviations can be discussed on the basis of the BPP. Furthermore, by asking targeted questions, the causes of the observable differences can be clarified.
The next post in this series will focus on the criteria for a good process. What criteria must a good and reputable process meet? What else should be taken into account?
About the author
After completing his degree in Automotive Engineering and Industrial Engineering, he began his career in the automotive industry in the fields of sales, development and marketing, and also spent a year in Japan working for one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a world-renowned premium car manufacturer, where he served as a marketing officer responsible for product marketing in Japan and South America, and as a marketing officer responsible for marketing strategy in North and South America.
In 1994, he decided to set up his own business and founded a recruitment consultancy in Munich, which he has been developing and expanding for over 20 years. As managing director, his main areas of focus are, naturally, the automotive sector and mechanical and plant engineering.
His PhD in the field of aptitude assessment perfectly complements his areas of expertise, particularly with regard to HR and management consultancy. His thesis focuses on identifying and demonstrating typical personality traits among engineers, as well as defining areas for development to ensure a successful career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book *Aptitude Testing in Practice*.
At the same time, his focus is on building networks and cooperation models, as well as the ongoing development of systems and processes in HR consultancy.
Over the past 20 years in the field of HR consultancy, he has developed several brands that continue to operate successfully in the market to this day.
