Bank Nagelmackers

Streamlined recruitment & selection with assessment centres

The financial labour market is a competitive environment. Attracting the right candidates doesn’t just demand an appealing employer brand, it also calls for a streamlined recruiting and selection process. This is especially the case when it comes to the recruitment of strong commercial profiles who have a delicate balance of financial knowledge, commercial skills and complementarity with existing teams.

To effectively achieve a positive result with this exercise, Bank Nagelmackers counts on Quintessence assessment centres as a fixed part of the selection process.

Indispensable complement to internal selection

According to Marlène Stevens (Recruitment & Competence Manager Nagelmackers), assessment centres are an indispensable complement to the internal selection process that every candidate goes through. ‘We're not just looking for candidates with the necessary industry-specific baggage, but are placing great importance on personal and relational competencies and the fit with our company values. Each of these parameters is more difficult to gauge in an interview, but assessment reports give us very strong indications.'

'The reports also ensure we provide candidates with responsible evaluations of these difficult-to-assess competencies. This is an added value that can’t be underestimated.’

Valerie Deweirdt (Quintessence Consultant) confirms: ‘Objectivity is the most important requirement for every form of assessment. We pay extra attention to this at every step of our methods. This means an assessment centre is always performed by two assessors who each give their score. Measuring competencies is always based on observations, never on personal interpretation.’

Marlène Stevens: ‘To efficiently implement the results of the assessment centres into our own workloads, we asked Quintessence to fine-tune the report to our requirements to the greatest degree possible: clear reporting in which the most important advice comes first and which gives an overview of the conclusions surrounding the primary competencies.’

Fine-tune and adjust in time

Valerie Deweirdt: ‘The content and form of the assessment reports – just like the way we define the competencies to be assessed – is fully tailored. Every company is different, with its own way of working and its own profile requirements. Fine-tuning our approach to the needs of the company and adjusting it based on periodic evaluations is crucial.’**

Marlène Stevens: ‘Assessments based on standard function profiles simply won’t provide adequate results. In a strongly relational business like ours, it’s extremely important that people have the right fit with our company values and culture. Successful candidates must have a number of core values in their identities. This also applies to the competencies that make them complementary to the team in which they will be functioning and that determine suitability for specific roles.’

• Established in 1747, the oldest bank in Belgium • Specialist in personal and private banking with a focus on developmental management and protective possibilities • Part of Delta Lloyd and became Delta Lloyd Bank (2001) • Since takeover by Anbang Insurance Group (October 2015) return to the original name

As a brand and employer, the bank wants to demonstrate clear key values: connected, driven, personal, ambitious and elegant. Along with modern work tools and space for personal development, Nagelmackers values a pleasant and stimulating work environment.