1 - What does your instrument test for and how? Is your instrument best used for front-end screening, in-depth selection or both?

The Personal Orientation Profile (POP) was created specifically for the selection of top performing sales professionals and measures 3 major factors that predict performance:

1. Enterprising Potential (EP) - The EP measures prospecting potential (business development) and predicts the activity levels and self management potential of a candidate.
2. Achievement Potential (AP) - The AP measures motivational mix and predicts the sense of urgency and closing style of the candidate.
3. Independence Potential (IP) - The IP measures the need for structure and coaching and predicts retention and fit to a specific culture.

These 3 factors combine to create the Predictor Score which predicts performance. In addition, the POP assesses the communication and learning styles through the People Orientation (PO) and Investigative (INV) scales.

Finally, the POP measures the important attitudinal factors of Self Confidence, Lifestyle Management and Call Reluctance which has 4 sub-scales:

1. Sensitivity to Rejection
2. Prospecting Natural Markets
3. Commitment to Product
4. Commitment to a Sales Career

The POP is a selection tool that can also be used as a guide to help train, develop and coach a new or experienced representative. The POP report includes candidate feedback that is designed to build self confidence and offer the candidate valuable career management advice to enhance the recruiting process. The report also includes questions to ask in the selection interview and offers training and coaching suggestions.

In addition to a profile that includes EQ for management selection (ManagementPro™), SMG has responded to the latest developments in the financial services industry by creating new profiles for the selection of administrative & marketing support (Agent/Agency Staff Profile) and Advisors (the Professional Profile). The combination of these two profiles helps a financial advisor build a business by selecting and retaining top support and is extremely effective for business succession planning.

SMG also has a cost effective screening tool (the POPSCREEN™) that is available 24/7 in real time which substantially reduces the cost per hire and the time to hire. The integration of the POPSCREEN™ with the recruiting services of SMG can provide an organization with a continuous supply of pre-qualified candidates.

2 - How do you educate field management in the proper use and interpretation of results for your instrument?

For all new clients we conduct workshops on how to interpret the profile and how to integrate the POP with the other components of the selection process, such as interviewing. We have developed a Selection Rater system that combines the POP with structured interviewing and unstructured interviewing. The workshops can be conducted by an SMG consultant or we can train the trainer.

The SMG website includes an online training module, a PowerPoint presentation and an interpretation manual. Our services also include a free telephone consultation on individual profiles through our 1-800 customer service line which provides for ongoing training and consultation. Finally, we conduct an annual validation study and present the findings to managers and recruiters to help improve future selection decisions.

3 - For an organization that is testing a large number of candidates at the same time, how well do you support paper-based or other mass-testing procedures?

SMG has several methods for administration and scoring which provide the client with maximum flexibility in profiling unlimited numbers of candidates. The POP is available on paper or via the internet or company intranet. It can be scored on a local PC, on the internet, or through our scoring center via fax or telephone.

SMG develops a branded, vanity website for all our clients that includes the on-line training materials and a password protected profile administration center that allows the client to manage the profile suite 24/7.

4 - How well does your instrument predict success on the job? Explain

The goal of the POP is to predict both performance and retention. We have conducted hundreds of predictive validation studies with all types of distribution systems. SMG conducts an annual study for each client with the goal to improve the predictive capability of the selection process. This creates a continuous improvement model and provides an organization with ongoing knowledge about the effectiveness of recruiting sources, screening criteria, selection tools and retention strategies.

The SMG research team continually collects E.E.O. data to ensure compliance with all guidelines and legislation. For individual clients, we have included data from the complete recruiting process to ensure compliance of all the components of a process. These studies have demonstrated that the POP is fully compliant and the database adds credibility to a client's system and supports the objectivity of a client's hiring practices.

We have a validation manual, sample studies, executive overviews and marketing materials that highlight the predictive capabilities of the POP. SMG has the largest database (over 2 million) of candidates in the financial services industry. A significant number of these candidates were hired and their performance and retention data were used to validate our predictive models.

The validation study includes a written report that highlights the success factors across the total company, at a regional level and a branch level. This can help tailor the selection criteria to any differences within an organization. The validation results can then be used as the benchmark to compare new recruits and programmed into a customized page in the POP report.

From a statistical perspective, insurance companies that use the POP as part of their selection process have on average double the 4 year retention of the industry average. As a predictor of performance, if the POP is predicting superior performance, survival rates are typically in the 90-95% range. The Predictor Score (PS) on the POP typically displays a linear relationship to actual performance. For example, low performers who had an average PS score of 23 achieved only 75% of the sales objective, average performers who scored 32 on the PS achieved 100% of the sales objective and the high performers who averaged 42 on the PS achieved 150% of sales objective.

In summary, the POP can improve both retention and performance simultaneously. Many selection systems tend to improve performance at the expense of retention or retention at the expense of performance. Through our validation studies, which provides for a continuous improvement model, our clients have realized significant growth in both number of agents and production per agent.