EcoSci Food, Inc. is an importer and distributor of frozen food products, offering over 30 varieties of meat and seafood.
Since its establishment in 2013, the company has earned the trust and confidence of many food service establishments, hospitals, and commercial customers across the Philippines, steadily working towards its vision of becoming a world-class importer and industry leader.
With its strong emphasis on cultural fit, the organization sought to enhance the screening aspect of its recruitment and hiring process.
To learn more about how Profiles Asia Pacific (PAP) and People Dynamics Inc. (PDI) bolstered its efforts, we met with Janice Uy, EcoSci’s Human Resources (HR) & Admin Manager, who graciously shared her experiences and insights throughout our meaningful conversation.
Optimizing screening for applicant volume and cultural fit
“We get a lot of applicants, so we need to screen for those that really meet our standards. With Profiles, we’re able to address all the different levels in our organization, from unskilled workers to management.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
According to Uy, prior to implementing our assessments, EcoSci’s hiring and recruitment was done with the support of its sister company, E&L Faster Food Imports, Inc. However, the previous screening process lacked depth, as it only consisted of initial interviews.
Before Uy worked for the company, it also needed someone who could interpret our evaluations effectively – an aspect that her background in psychology greatly helped with.
Her quick grasp of our assessments streamlined their administration as well, as she clearly understood why they were necessary and how she could teach EcoSci’s recruitment staff.
“It’s not just about skills. It’s really the behaviors and personalities of the people so that we build the culture that we want.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
But, given the large number of candidates vying for unskilled to managerial roles, EcoSci needed an efficient way of identifying individuals that met its standards and matched its culture.
A referral that transformed EcoSci’s recruitment and hiring
“When I came in, I actually had to undergo the same tests. The initial feedback, coming especially from me, is that Profiles’ exams are very extensive. They’re able to address both cognitive and personality concerns, and I’m very happy with it.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
Once EcoSci could support itself, E&L introduced PAP and PDI through a glowing endorsement. Then, the company started incorporating our assessments into its screening process in 2019.
Uy fondly went into how, before starting with EcoSci, she had to undergo our evaluations, then revealed how pleased she was with their thorough nature. Ever since, our partnership with EcoSci has been going strong.
Finding individuals whose values and personalities aligned
“The personality tests, especially PEOPA, help us determine who would fit our culture and be able to adapt, which is of primary importance. For rank and file employees, we give them the CWBP to screen for those with red flags in certain areas, even at that level.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
To strengthen and optimize the company’s recruitment and hiring efforts, PAP and PDI provide extensive assessments that measure the candidates’ cognitive abilities and personality traits. These allow EcoSci to:
- Weed out those with undesirable qualities in areas like work ethics, honesty, and integrity
- Hire individuals who are more trustworthy and comfortable to work with
Uy highlighted a couple of assessments that took hold of her attention as well:
Profiles Ethics-Oriented Personality Assessment (PEOPA)
This helps EcoSci pinpoint candidates that are suitable for its culture, which is its main concern. PEOPA examines a person’s Big Five personality traits, namely:
- Openness to experience
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Emotional stability
The test covers ethics-oriented items, and provides EcoSci a picture of the moral principles that guide an applicant’s behavior. It’s especially helpful for roles that deal with sensitive company matters as well.
Counterproductive Work Behavior Profile (CPWBP)
This, on the other hand, is used by EcoSci to assess candidates for rank and file roles. It helps the company recognize people with detrimental tendencies and ensures individual quality even at the organization’s lower levels. CPWBP, in fact, gauges six behavioral traits, including:
- Aggression
- Business ethics
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Sexual harassment
- Substance abuse
By evaluating characteristics that can significantly impact the workplace, EcoSci is able to look into a person’s general disposition, as well as their attitude on counterproductive issues.
Solutions that are relevant, timely, and easy to administer
“What I like about Profiles is that, first, it’s self-administered. We’re able to see results in real time. Secondly, we have the flexibility to determine which exams are appropriate for particular positions.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
Uy mentioned that, since their implementation, the company has been attracting talent that fits its culture personality-wise, has a better growth trajectory within it, and helps move it forward.
What she appreciates the most, however, are three key characteristics that our solutions possess:
- Relevance: Our assessments are validated through local norms, meaning they’re better adapted to the Philippine setting compared to those conducted by international providers.
- Ease of administration: Every open position has unique requirements, but our solutions allow EcoSci to choose the tests that fit them. Not to mention, each assessment can be self-administered.
- Timeliness: Uy enjoyed another strong advantage of our self-administered evaluations: the ability to gather results in real time. Due to this, EcoSci no longer has to wait a day or two like it would with other providers.
Uy proudly shared that the company has been receiving stellar feedback from applicants as well, as they frequently mention how it’s the only organization that rigorously screens for rank and file roles.
Candidates even say the assessments give EcoSci an edge, as it’s rare for organizations to uphold such high cultural and behavioral standards even at its lower levels.
Tools and services that earned a perfect 10/10
“It’s very easy for us. You’re a call, text, or email away, and the response is very immediate. That’s why I’m very happy with your service.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
PAP and PDI’s comprehensive tools allow EcoSci to seamlessly assemble a workforce of talented individuals that meet its standards. But with customer success being our priority, we strive to go the extra mile and deliver outstanding services as well.
Besides the exceptionally smooth implementation of our assessments, Uy praises the fact that, despite the instances being rare, we’re able to address technical issues immediately and have tests back up and running within a day or two at most.
She also highlighted that, when recruitment staff needed to learn about our evaluations and how they’re conducted, we accommodated her request for a reorientation. Uy even appreciated us recommending an extra test for a more thorough screening process.
“I’d really rate PAP and PDI a 10. For the past 2 years, we’ve tried looking out for other possible providers. You always come out on top because none of them are able to give us the services that you do.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
EcoSci greatly values the solutions we deliver, particularly because of their ease of administration and the timeliness of their results. They’ve been delighted by the overall service experience as well.
At the end of our conversation, PAP and PDI even received an extremely humbling review, with Uy giving us a perfect 10/10 and expressing her deep appreciation for what we do.
A partner for establishing future performance baselines
“We foresee ourselves continuing to use Profiles as our screening partners.” – Janice Uy, HR & Admin Manager
EcoSci firmly believes in PAP and PDI’s competencies, as Uy attests that she’d recommend us to other organizations.
In terms of the future, the company has begun efforts to create baselines for its top performers, which they’re looking to use as a basis for hiring new employees.
Then, to take these endeavors a step further, EcoSci wants to look into partnering with us, then enlist our services once the time is ripe.
If your organization would also like to tighten its screening process, and optimize its recruitment and hiring practices for cultural fit, simply get in touch to maximize our library of best-in-class assessments. We offer a deep array of HR solutions that can match your needs as well.
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
