This is the case of the “Grönholm Method”, a system that reveals to the HR department how the candidate handles himself in difficult situations.
Why do you want to work with us? What virtues would you highlight about yourself? What do you think are your limitations or main areas for improvement? Anyone who has gone through a personnel selection process has faced these types of questions, very focused on getting to know the candidate. In the Human Resources department, personnel selection techniques have the main mission of getting to know the individual in depth in order to find the perfect profile for a given position.
However, there are many occasions in which, to the surprise of the candidate, individual questions are replaced by a group interview. It is the system known as the “Grönholm Method”, a technique that was born in the form of a play and that today, however, many companies use to specifically measure the leadership capacity of the candidate.
How has the Grönholm Method made the leap from fiction to the real world? How does this technique help companies find the ideal candidate? How to apply it successfully? In this post, we give you all the answers.
Grönholm Method: from play to reality
The Grönholm Method has been the common thread in countless plays, films and books in recent years. The idea was born from the playwright and screenwriter Jordi Galceran, under the title “El mètode Grönholm”. The story begins with four people summoned in the anteroom of a Swedish company for a job interview.
The Grönholm Method analyses human interactions in extreme emotional situations.
The Grönholm method in fiction
This is the plot. In a war scenario, prior to the Second World War, Germany decides to apply unorthodox personnel selection techniques to find the perfect war officer. This system, known as the Grönholm Method, begins to spread to England and the United States, and ends up being adopted by a Swedish company, at the forefront several decades later.
Thus, a technique, initially designed to select high-ranking war officers, ends up becoming a formula for selecting executives within a large corporation. But what does the Grönholm Method really consist of?
Candidates must pass tests that go beyond the conventional.
A kind of “Big Brother” sets these tests to the candidates, who want to access (at all costs some of them) a job with very juicy conditions.
The result of the tests will reveal skills, deficiencies, ability to work in a team, willingness to help or let down the rest of the candidates, etc.
As the interview progresses, the tests become increasingly difficult, leading some of the candidates to play dirty tricks to “survive” the selection process.
One by one, the candidates are eliminated (either by their own will or by decision of the rest of the group), until only one remains.
The last candidate will be the one who gets the job.
The method in fiction includes several tests (form, choosing a leader from the group, identifying the mole, meal time, etc.), but they all have the same objective: getting to know the candidates in extreme situations.
The Grönholm method in real life
From fiction we make the leap to reality. And the fact is that, currently, many companies that want to grow are saying goodbye to traditional personnel selection methods. Today, more than ever, strategies focused on getting to know the individual in a group environment are sought.
So, now, the Grönholm Method serves as inspiration for consulting email list many companies to get to know aspects of the candidate that are difficult to detect through conventional systems.
How to use the Grönholm method in staff selection?
The Grönholm Method is presented as one of the most effective strategies in staff selection in the real world. How to use it?
1. From a group perspective
The interview fits into a context of common objectives, where each candidate must behave in a specific way to achieve a goal that benefits the entire group. And this group represents the company in question. Therefore, the balance between the personal and the collective is valued, a situation that is not easy to manage.
2. Combining emotional and professional aspects
Since this system is aimed at choosing management profiles, emotional intelligence plays a fundamental role. We are talking about skills such as listening ability, teamwork, empathy, quick adaptation to different situations, etc.
In this sense, the Grönholm Method uses techniques in which the candidate is urged to find effective solutions to extreme problems. These solutions must also be comprehensive.
