New tool helps to avoid company culture mismatch. While your potential new CEO’s competencies and experience look good on paper, have you asked yourself whether they really represent the best ‘fit’ with your company’s culture?
Figures indicate up to 80% of Australian companies make the classic mistake of hiring a new CEO without first assessing their values and subsequent match (or mismatch) with the company’s culture.
Too often, companies hire on competency and fire on cultural fit, with many Boards making the expensive mistake of selecting a CEO based on a track record. It’s tempting to assume that demonstrated past success is an indication of future performance, but it’s not a reliable way to make a decision.
The good news for Australian companies and business leaders alike is that they now have access to a validated tool, which can accurately assess the corporate values of their business leaders.
Using this tool markedly increases the likelihood of selecting a CEO who is not only competent and motivated, but also demonstrates values aligned to the company’s culture.
The
Corporate Values Questionnaire (CVQ), which has been developed, extensively researched and validated over the last three years, measures an individual’s most important ‘real’ corporate values, which can then be matched to a company’s culture.
Values such as integrity, open communication, corporate citizenship, loyalty and leadership can all be measured using the CVQ.
For example, a company going through unprecedented change in a volatile environment could use the CVQ to find a CEO with values that demonstrate an appetite for uncertainty and a high change orientation. Alternatively, a company faced with tougher regulations for accounting and auditing procedures may look for a CEO who scores highly in open communication and integrity.
The CVQ, comprising measures of fifteen individual values, was developed through research with managers in Australian organisations across a variety of industries. This ensures the CVQ is relevant to Australian norms and data and reflects today’s contemporary corporate environment.
The way the CVQ works is through an assessment questionnaire, which takes around 30 minutes and determines the most important corporate values for a particular individual. These are assessed in conjunction with the individual’s knowledge, skills, abilities and motivators and then compared to the needs of the hiring organisation to determine the extent of the alignment.
The beauty of the tool is that it is adaptable across any industry – acknowledging the fact that every company is different. Another feature is that it allows us to compare a person’s values to an existing or espoused company culture. People can make real career decisions based on it.
In addition to selection, the CVQ also has other broad applications including:
- culture change
- career development
- designing a rewards system
- management development
- performance management
- team building and
- selection and promotion.
To back up its practical applications, the CVQ is based on credible psychological frameworks of organisational culture, developed by Assessment Measures, Australia’s leading experts in values and corporate culture assessment.