The phrase “Fortune favors the bold” is appealing on the surface, especially to those who watch others take extraordinary risks without anything to lose themselves. And, in reality, often times fortune does NOT favor the bold, particularly when starting a new business.

However, that did not deter our friends at IAssessment from launching their business under extreme conditions of risk and uncertainty. And, even in the direst of circumstances, the company has thrived and grown Hogan’s presence exponentially in the Spanish market. 

In the latest edition of the Distributor Spotlight Series, IAssessment’s Managing Partner, Juan Antonio Calles, tells the story of how the company started and the work they’ve done to improve the Spanish workforce.

When we signed our collaboration agreement with Hogan, we were at the dawn of the worst economic crisis in decades in Spain. Our friends and colleagues showed concern and surprise for the launching of a new venture in such uncertain and turbulent times. Now? Why not wait? Are you crazy? These were the words we most commonly heard in those days.

And our answer was the always the same: “Now is when decisions about people in organizations need to be based, more than ever, on scientific, objective, and professional criteria. We can´t wait, because we have spent years looking for a partner to open business opportunities for us and strengthen our consulting proposal to the Spanish market. And yes…we are a little crazy…”.

Eight years later we have among our clients some of the biggest and well-known consulting businesses and organizations in the country, while developing an important international practice. Being a Hogan distributor has allowed us to consolidate our consulting services by offering a mix based on knowledge, proximity to real business issues and professional excellence that only a few can offer. And we have done this through our non-negotiable values: collaboration, transparency, respect, fair-play…and lots of hedonism.

And we have never stopped being a little crazy, imagining a better future…that is almost here, and for which we are already working.

Digital experts agree that hyperconnectivity, netarchy and network-based organizations are key factors in the digital era. We are permanently connected with an average of 150 people, each of whom is connected with another 150, so we can impact 3M people. Threat or Opportunity?

Globalization allows 1,3M professionals in Spain to work virtually today, and we expect 52% of European professionals to work in project mode by 2020. Are professionals ready to work in liquid organizations, to specialize in value-adding knowledge, and to grow a personal brand that brings them business?

Automation is an important issue. It will affect 30% of current jobs and professions in 2025, according to Oxford University, and it will bring coexistence with robots on the job.

This paradigm change has a big and deep impact on how professionals face this new era, as many of them work in non-digital organizations that will need to change their business model or value proposition, thus changing the personal competences and skills needed to perform in the digital era.

Right now, Hogan Assessments can help identify a new career goal to many professionals, leveraging their bright side and values, not forgetting their dark side, to achieve enough digital employability to fit into liquid organizations in which to develop a new successful career.

IAssessment´s main strategic goal is to support professional refocusing to adapt to the new paradigm, by offering digital employability support programs. Based on Hogan methodology, our programs allow professionals to gain awareness on their reputational strengths and improvements, and start developing digital competencies that are aligned with their talent, capitalizing their long previous non-digital experience…in other words, to keep on being a successful professional.