Why a personality assessment in the Treasurer Test?

The personality of the candidate you consider for your job opening consists of a set of traits that determine his/her behaviour. As behaviour is essential for success in the new position, we decided a personality assessment would be a huge asset in the Treasurer Test.

Instruments for candidate screening

There are many instruments you can deploy to predict the success an applicant will have upon hire. Best known are cv screening, (structured) interviews, reference checks, diplomas and online or other assessments. Research shows that, depending on the position, skills tests are the best predictors of how good a candidate will do, followed by personality assessments. Combining various instruments increases certainty about the expected success. In the Treasurer Test we combine skill/knowledge testing with a Big5 personality assessment thus aiming high. There are other reasons for including Big5.

Personality Assessments

Many of the instruments mentioned to predict the success of an applicant are not stable. They will give different results with the same candidate if done for the second time and are subjective. Especially interviews and reference checks are proven unstable and interpreted differently. Most organisations did not invest in the training of interview skills of staff members: meetings are often improvised. Personality assessments are proven consistent. All involved in the recruitment process will have the same report, decisions will be better.

With online technology getting easier accessible and more cost-effective, creating this assessment in 2019 is doable, though still not easy. Five years ago it would have been much harder and potential users would have a harder time accepting the concept.

Research of ‘the treasurer’ personality

No well-known research has been done into the personality and skills of treasurers. The population is not compared among each other and to general population. Neither research has been done into the success variables of treasury professionals. The dataset resulting from the Treasurer Test will, taking GDPR into consideration, be used to do quantitative research into the personality of “the treasurer” and other aspects.

Treasurer Test as a matching tool

Let’s not forget that in order to reach the full potential of a new employee and related to this the Treasurer Test, the new working environment of the employee should be analysed in order to find out what personality would match best. The Treasurer Test serves as a matching tool, so two sides should be taken into consideration: the position and organisation on one hand, the candidate on the other.

Although user-friendly, it cannot be denied that making the Treasurer Test is an investment in time and money.

However, let’s think about the following question: can you quantify the investment lost if you hire the wrong candidate?

On behalf of Team Treasurer Test,

Wout van Wijlick

Marketing Coordinator, treasuryXL

 

Treasurer Test: The advantages of using the Big 5 model

In the upcoming blog, we will take a deeper dive into the Big 5 model. What are the advantages of the Big 5? Why did we select this model for the Treasurer Test?

Treasurer Test & Big 5: Introduction

The roots of the Treasurer Test lie in the desire to improve selection. A proper recruitment decision is based upon many variables. Often these variables are not objectively measurable: very often apples and oranges are compared. Research shows that knowledge, skills and personality are sound predictors of job success, can be measured objectively and compared to peer groups. This is to inform you about the Big 5 typology that measures personality.

OCEAN

A personality can be defined as a relatively stable set of traits resulting inconsistent behavior in various situations and different from behavior of others in the same situation. In the typology, there are five clusters of traits defined. Very often the acronym OCEAN (or CANOE) is used to remember the names of each cluster. Below we will describe them and include an example of a trait, projected on potential tasks of a treasurer:

  1. Openness for new experiences. Being innovative, having original ideas can be relevant for treasurers in a build-up situation.
  2. Conscientiousness: goal-oriented, organized. A treasurer who is methodical plans, creates a structure and shows predictable behavior.
  3. Extraversion: energy-focused externally or internally. A convincing treasurer will focus on influencing others, making sure they will align with the goals of the CFO and/or the treasury team.
  4. Agreeableness: focus on others (also altruism). A treasury manager who scores high on empathy will easily sense the emotions and feelings of his team.
  5. Neuroticism: emotional stability. If a treasury interim director is unfazed, he will not be affected by the crisis situation he might have to act in.

Self-assessment

As this is an introduction, we will not create a comprehensive overview but do want to stress the following; Big 5 does not put people in blue or red boxes but makes sound comparisons with peer groups according to statistically sound gauss curves. This is also the reason academic institutes like to use the model. The traits and scores are without value. High or low scores are only relevant if a specific behavior is desired. Big 5 works with a self-assessment, which is the best method to measure but will never result in absolute truth.

Next

In the following articles we will elaborate on relevant Big 5 questions like “why Big 5 and not another typology?”, “what are the traits measured and why are these relevant” and “what do we see in the Big 5 results of the peer group?”. We are open for questions and input and will continue to provide further information.

On behalf of Team Treasurer Test,

 

Wout van Wijlick

Marketing Coordinator, treasuryXL

 

For what audience is the Treasurer Test developed?

The development of the Treasurer Test stems from the idea that it can be very useful for in particular three audiences:

  1. Treasurers; you work already in treasury, but want to improve some of your treasury skills to move up
  2. Education; you are a student/career switcher and want to become a treasurer
  3. Recruitment; you are a recruiter but not familiar with the treasury discipline

Their goals might overlap, but there are some differences. In this blog, we will elaborate.

Treasurers

 

It might sound strange, taking the Treasurer Test while already being a treasurer. However, it can be useful in many situations. First, it provides you the opportunity to show your hiring manager that you are fully capable and have the right personality for the position you want to step into. Secondly, it helps you plan your career. The extensive result report will show your treasury knowledge gaps and personality, helping you understand what type of education and coaching you should take. Third and last, it is also useful for the treasury team. Since you want to be ready and prepared for the future of your organisation, you want to know the current status of the team in order to build a development plan with a focus both on skills as well as on personalities.

 

Education

 

Aspiring treasurers might have the aforementioned goals and some extra. They might not have done the job, but know a lot and want to prove this. Automatically, the Test will show where development might be started best and if the potential is enough to pick up the position. Taking the Test will also lead to insight into what the job is about. It is not intended but might lead to a candidate treasurer steering his career in another direction. Finally, we are talking with educators to deploy the test at the start and at the end of a program in order to objectively measure the progress of students.

 

Recruitment

 

In finding staff or helping them in development, HR, recruiters and educators will play an important role. It is not to be expected that these specialists benefit from taking the Test. However, they should know about the Big5 typology and understand how the Test measurers skills.
On the other hand, CFOs, CFO team members, auditors, bankers and other financial specialist and their organisations will benefit from them taking the Test. Many of them consider themselves (unjust) knowledgeable in corporate treasury. Insight into their actual knowledge level is a good starting point. If the non-treasurer knows a lot and can prove this with the Test results, treasury specialists will better accept input. If not, the non-treasurer will better appreciate the expertise of the specialist and put treasury higher on the priority list.

Interested whether the Treasurer Test can be of value to you? Feel free to contact us!

 

How to prepare for the Treasurer Test

In preparation for the Treasurer Test, we recommend making the test in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed. There are more questions than you can answer in the time that’s available. If you don’t know the answer to a question, move on to the next. The Treasurer Test measures knowledge, speed, productivity and accuracy.

Summary of how to prepare in advance of the Treasurer Test

  • Take the test in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed, as the Treasurer Test is intensive.
  • Make sure you have a scientific calculator, pen and paper at hand to take notes. Complex calculations have to be made.
  • Know that you have to finish the Technical Treasury Knowledge part in one time. Same counts for the Personality Profile part. However, you can take a rest between these two different test parts.
  • Move on to the next question when you don’t know the answer. You have limited time for the Technical Knowledge part.
  • Take a look at some Sample Questions & Tips, and at the Sample Report, so you understand what to expect.

Greetings,

Team Treasurer Test

What is the Treasurer Test

The Treasurer Test will take approximately 70 – 100 minutes to complete. It consists of two parts:

1. Technical Treasury Knowledge.

This part is build out of multiple-choice questions that measure knowledge in the following 4 functional areas:

– Cash management
– Risk management
– Corporate Finance & Funding
– Miscellaneous Treasury

Total number of questions:

Each area contains 30 questions with a time limit of 10 minutes.

Duration:

4 x 10 minutes.

2. Personality Profile

This part comprises a personality assessment based on the “Big Five Theory”.
There is no right or wrong. This section consists of statements in which you must indicate whether or not this applies to you.

Total number of questions:

80

Duration:

30 – 60 minutes

After finishing the Treasurer Test you will receive your results report. This report will show you the results as an absolute and as a bench marked score against your peer group.