Trek has been using Thomas International's Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) during the recruitment process to its full satisfaction for several years now. This assessment provides insight into how people behave in the workplace. Rachel: "We usually use the assessment after the first or second interview we have with a candidate. The main reason for us is to see if the image we have of a candidate is indeed correct. We are increasingly using the option of creating a job profile in Thomas International's Assess Accredited. This helps us to make clear choices in the job description and forces managers and the HR department to think carefully about which behavioural characteristics are really important for a particular position."

Besides using the PPA during the application process, this assessment is also used during team sessions for the management team. Rachel explains, "We find it very important to facilitate good cooperation as much as possible from within the company.  This is why we have already organised several team sessions with the aim of getting to know ourselves and the other person better." The underlying idea here is that only when you are aware of your own preferred behaviour but also that of the other person, can you adjust your own behaviour to ensure that the cooperation runs in a pleasant way. 

Such a session provides important insights from which the team can benefit permanently. "New colleagues have recently joined the management team. That means the interaction in the team is changing. A team session provides insight into who has what place in the team, how decision-making proceeds and how we can support each other in developing our areas for improvement." The results of the training have been so positive that the possibility of organising similar sessions for managers and their teams is being explored.

Using the PPA during the application process has been so successful for Trek that Rachel and her team plan to apply this assessment to all vacancies within the organisation. "Every candidate who completes an assessment receives personalised feedback from us. We find that candidates often initially find it exciting to take an assessment, but in the end they are actually always very happy with the self-insight they gain and are positively surprised by the accuracy of the results. We have never experienced anyone not recognising themselves in the results of the assessment." 

Ideas for using the assessment much more often in the future abound for Rachel. "At the moment we only use the test during the application process, but I see many opportunities and leads to use the assessment for further development of colleagues. Since Trek is an international company, I am connecting with my HR colleagues in the other countries to see if they can also start using the assessments."

Recently, Trek switched from purchasing individual units to a subscription structure. Rachel explains, "Now that we plan to use assessments more often, it is more interesting for us to opt for a subscription. This has financial advantages, but also definitely benefits in terms of easier use of all the reports available within the platform. This way, we can get the most out of the assessments."