Solvay: Transforming Talent Identification with Behavioral Intelligence
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Company
Solvay Specialty Chemicals India
Project Type
Assessment & Development Center
Location
Pan-India
Solvay Specialty Chemicals India, a global innovation leader, needed a future-ready method for identifying and cultivating high-potential talent. Traditional assessment tools proved insufficient; the team required a method that could capture in-the-moment behavior, decision-making under pressure, and genuine growth potential in complex team settings.
KEY CHALLENGES
Solvay’s expanding business demanded a shift toward a behavior-first talent assessment model. Relying solely on past performance or seniority was a high-risk strategy for succession planning.
The central challenge was:
- Future-Fit Identification: How to identify individuals possessing the latent strategic thinking, agility, and leadership readiness essential for future business growth?
- Behavioral Data: How to capture dynamic, objective data on leadership behaviors like resilience, adaptability, and collaboration that are typically hidden in day-to-day roles?
- Talent Segmentation: How to create an evidence-based framework for talent segmentation and succession planning inputs for the leadership team?
OUR AFERR BASED APPROACH
Evivve designed a custom Assessment & Development Center (ADC) powered by the immersive Evivve simulation and anchored in the neuroscience-driven AFERR Model. This layered approach delivered a dynamic and deeply objective evaluation of high-potential talent.
The ADC followed the complete AFERR cycle:
- Activation & Forecasting: Participants were primed with Solvay’s growth vision and shared expectations about their strengths and team dynamics.
- Experimentation: Each participant played the Evivve simulation, a multi-player, decision-intensive game designed to surface real-world behaviors under complexity and ambiguity. This provided a live simulation of strategic thinking and stress response.
- Realization & Reflection: Post-simulation debriefs guided participants to observe patterns, gain insight into default conflict styles, and commit to behavioral shifts.
Assessment Framework
Assessment leveraged structured observation, peer behavior tracking, and game telemetry across key competencies:
- Strategic & Cognitive: Decision-Making, Strategic Thinking.
- Behavioral & People: Communication & Influence, Teamwork & Collaboration.
- Adaptive & Resilience: Learning Agility & Adaptability, Resilience under Pressure.
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
The Evivve ADC Lab provided behavioral data beyond verbal claims. This scientifically grounded approach successfully redefined Solvay’s Hi-Po pipeline, shifting talent identification toward future-fit capability.
Key Shifts Observed
- Precision Assessment: 20 high-potentials assessed in a single day through the game-based ADC.
- Objective Data Capture: 100% data capture of behavioral indicators across six core dimensions, using a 9-point scoring framework for comparability.
- Hidden Potential Revealed: Participants displayed hidden leadership potential and exposed default conflict styles not visible in day-to-day roles.
- Leadership Insight: Group-level analysis provided Solvay’s leadership with clear talent segmentation and succession planning inputs.
- New Blueprint Established: The engagement established a new blueprint for high-stakes, behavior-first talent assessment.
Conclusion
The Evivve ADC successfully captured cognitive and emotional immersion, assessing decision fatigue, teamwork breakdowns, and adaptive behavior in real-time. This outcome was a deeply accurate, scientifically grounded method for identifying the right talent before they assumed formal leadership roles. The ADC redefined Solvay’s Hi-Po pipeline with evidence-based insight and set the tone for strategic talent investment focused on future readiness.
AFERR Consulting
Co-create your transformation strategy. We help you design and implement organizational shifts using the neuroscience-based AFERR model.
Evivve Labs
Surface authentic behavioral dynamics. A safe, data-rich simulation environment to observe behaviors and spark critical change.
Evivve Simulation
Test the mechanics firsthand. Navigate the simulation independently to validate the learner journey and game dynamics.
