Tests, Hearings, Development Centres, Assessment Centres, Outplacement

In cases where you attempt to achieve an extremely precise selection in your decision-making, we can offer to conduct psychological tests, Hearings or Development Centres and Assessment Centres for you.

1) Conducting psychological interviews and psychometric tests

In cases where you require more extensive and in-depth information from the structured interview, psychometric tests provide a useful tool.

We use the best tests available in the Czech language. These comprise a wide range of tests which measure personality, ability to cope with stress, structural intelligence and self-control.

Our highest priority is placed on the accurate interpretation of test results and their correct application to the selection process.

Psychological interviews and psychometric tests will be conducted by our expert consultants, or by a professional psychologist. Depending on the complexity and the numbers of candidates to be tested, our fees will vary between 10,000 CZK and 20,000 CZK per candidate.

2) Hearings, Development Centres and Assessment Centres can show you how your short-listed candidates behave under pressure. You can discover as much in one day as you would otherwise over a period of several months.

When filling a position which demands an exceptional level of professionalism, or one with a particular significance for your company hierarchy, the current practice is to use the Hearing, Development and Assessment Centre method of selection.

This program is set up according to the precise requirements of each individual client, each position and each request.

The individual building blocks of the program are aimed at each particular area of responsibility and activity of the new employee.

The advantage of Development and Assessment Centres lies in its ability to allow you to observe the best candidates performing a series of parallel tasks under pressures simulating the reality of the normal working day. The direct comparison of individual performances provides us with a range of hitherto hidden information.

We know of no other method which provides so much information in such a short space of time. Employee selection through an Assessment Centre provides you with the highest level of assurance possible when deciding on an employee.

We also offer the option of conducting so-called Hearings in certain cases. These are generally used when it is not possible to hold an Assessment Centre.

Our fees for conducting a Development Centre and an Assessment Centre depend on its duration and the number of candidates, and vary between 80,000 and 160,000 CZK. This sum includes all preparation, the program set up and creating the basis for Development and  Assessment Centres, as well as facilitating the event and evaluating the results.

Development and Assessment Centres generally lasts one day.

Fees for Hearings vary between 45,000 and 90,000 CZK, depending on their duration and the complexity of the preparation.

Payment conditions will also be set in accordance with the duration and the complexity of the preparation.

3) Outplacement

Proposition no 1. The first to leave companies that are merging or being taken over are the most talented employees. One of the reasons is that headhunters actively seek them out.

Proposition no 2. Those at the other end of the spectrum stay where they are because they know that no one else wants them.

Conclusion. This is how companies that are merging or being taken over lose the very people they want to keep, and have to find replacements for them. To achieve this, they have to use people they cannot spare.

We shall concentrate here on the group described in proposition no. 2., because these will probably be the people most affected by outplacement.

Most normal individuals react as follows to the news of their dismissal: the immediate reaction is - "…there must be some mistake, they can't sack me!“; followed by a feeling of deep depression - "… how could they do that to me …, …. I must be completely useless …. is this all the reward I get for trying so hard to help them …“. The third stage may entail a move towards aggressivity - " …. I'll get them for this …, they're going to regret they ever set eyes on me …“ (this is the phase at which they take the company to court etc.), and only then comes the fourth stage: " … O.K., I'd better start looking for a new job…but how?….“

Catro's attitude to outplacement is "to help people help themselves“. In practice this means helping the target group to get through the four stages we have described above so that they can again become normal human beings who people will be interested in employing.

There are two basic approaches:

The first is straightforward consultancy which includes workshops, assistance in CV development, the selection of a target group of employers, training in interview technique, establishing personality profiles, 360% feedback, coaching, use of the Catro offices, distribution of CVs, arranging interview times etc., which can cost anything between 10,000 and 150,000 CZK per participant.

Example: A group of 10 employees at a cost of 10 x 5,000 CZK = 50,000 CZK. This sum covers three three-hour long workshops, including 2 hours of preparation time. We base this on our hourly rate of 5,700 CZK/hour. Invoicing takes place in stages.

The second is specifically aimed at top management and is target oriented. The fees equal 25% of the gross annual income last earned by the employee when in the company. The first third is payable on signature of the outplacement agreement, the second 30 days after the date of the agreement and the third represents a success fee, payable when the "person outplaced" signs a work contract with a new employer.

Example: The CFO earned a gross annual income, including bonuses, of 1,800,000 CZK. 25% of this total represents 450,000 CZK. We would invoice 150,000 CZK on assignment of the outplacement, the second 150,000 30 days later, and the final third on signature of a work contract. This price covers personal assistance by one of our consultants and an agreed range of services - see the first approach.

All prices provided are net of VAT.

We should be happy to help you to prepare a project, as well as to prepare a call for offers from other companies offering similar services. This will, however, entail us meeting to discuss all the options together.

It is also important that we should not forget proposition no.1, which shows that an integral part of any outplacement project should also involve keeping those best employees who we do not want to lose. Outplacement that is intelligently and elegantly carried out always pays back dividends in the end.