A-Player: Identify top potential and your future leaders

People often say there's no such thing as a good or bad profile at work. It's true: talent is above all the match between a person and a given context. That said, there is also a fraction of the population with intrinsic characteristics that allow them to make a difference in their field of activity, stand out professionally, progress quickly, and have an exceptional impact. These profiles are A-Players: top-tier performers capable of solving complex problems, taking charge of projects, developing business, demonstrating unwavering commitment, and staying the course when the going gets tough. In short, profiles who tend to succeed and progress easily, regardless of the environment in which they operate. At AssessFirst, our mission is to help you identify the full potential of your candidates and employees. That's why our Science team has worked to renew our understanding of the psychological characteristics of A-Players, measure their impact, and above all offer you an even more reliable indicator to identify them quickly.

Why a new version of the A-Player score

Highly valued by our users, we wanted to go further and offer you an even more powerful score to identify potential. This around 3 key improvements: 👉 Our previous score was primarily built on scientific studies. We now have enough hindsight to complement it with our empirical data. This increases the predictive validity of the A-Player model. 👉 A more refined score distribution. Previously presented as a raw score, we now have a standardized distribution that improves prediction sensitivity. 👉 An optimized algorithm. Our data scientists have found a unique mathematical model to combine SHAPE, DRIVE and BRAIN scores and enrich the prediction.

A solid methodology...

To carry out this work, the first step was to precisely define what we mean by an "A-Player" profile and what characterizes their success. Rather than an ambiguous definition, we chose to define success through "objective" career success, articulated around 5 key indicators:

• Career level or hierarchical status;
• Level of responsibility, in terms of number of people managed;
• Impact on team decisions;
• Impact on company-wide decisions;
• Speed of career evolution and promotion.

We then collected data on samples ranging from 913 to over 13,000 people, in order to study the links between different psychological factors (personality, motivations, reasoning) and these success indicators. What emerges from these analyses is that the most successful profiles possess: 👉 Dynamic motivations: people capable of pushing themselves and stepping out of their comfort zone, with a drive to over-perform daily. 👉 Extreme leadership and an ability to thrive in chaos; 👉 Intellectual capabilities in the top 15% of the population. Without revealing all the secrets, our psychologists and data scientists then designed a state-of-the-art algorithm to generate an A-Player score from 0 to 100% for each person.

...for exceptional results

Career success for profiles with the highest A-Player scores (top 20%) is exceptional—compared to the 20% of profiles with the lowest scores:

• 3X more likely to hold a senior hierarchical level (65% of people with a top A-Player score are CEO, executive committee member or manager, versus 19% among profiles with low scores);
• 5X more managerial responsibilities (on average, people in the top 20% manage 37 employees, versus 7 for those in the bottom 20%);
• Greater impact on decisions: 85% of people in the top 20% have a strong impact, versus only 30% for those in the bottom 20%;
• Faster career progression: on average, people with an A-Player score in the top 20% receive 4 promotions, versus 2 for those in the bottom 20% (at comparable age);
• A salary 120% higher.

Easier to use

Thanks to the new A-Player algorithm developed by AssessFirst, you can easily (and quickly) identify people with the potential to over-perform consistently, regardless of the context in which they operate. This indicator has been purposefully integrated into your new AssessFirst interface. Find, for example, a ranking of profiles with the highest A-Player score directly in your dashboard, or identify profiles marked with a small star, which indicates an A-Player score of 70% or higher. How to use it? Of course, the goal is not (necessarily) to recruit based on the A-Player score. Again, what makes a person successful is the fit between their personality and motivations and the requirements of a specific situation. However, at a time when change is the only certainty and when everyone is expected to take increasing responsibility for their work, the A-Player indicator will give you a complementary view of the profiles most likely to perform in varied contexts, and will also help you open up to (perhaps) different profiles with exceptional growth potential.

Your turn

To discover this new A-Player score, head to your AssessFirst application! Or try it free for 14 days by creating an account here!