19 of March, 2025

Every staff selection process requires a series of strategies that the Human Resources Department must implement to find the right professional. The Grönholm method of staff selection is one of the best known.

But, what is the Grönholm method of staff selection and how is it carried out? At Sesame HR we want to help you in your search for the right professional, so we have prepared this article with all the necessary information. Keep reading!

What is the Grönholm staff selection method

The Grönholm method is a personnel selection technique that aims to find the best candidate through different group tests. In practice, this is very similar to role-playing games, where the idea is to place candidates within a context where they must reach a common goal.

This way, entities can understand how they behave, identifying various aspects of the candidates that will allow them to evaluate if they are right for the position or not. In the test, each person must act in a specific way according to a particular interest, aiming to achieve a common goal.

In other words, it raises a duality between the personal and collective, one of the most difficult aspects to manage.

This is one of the most common selection methods in the United States and is increasingly being used in Europe. With it, they want to see certain facets and aspects that are difficult to detect in any other way.

What is the purpose of the Grönholm staff selection method

The main idea of the Grönholm method of staff selection is to reveal certain characteristics of the candidates, which are not usually exposed in the curriculum, making it especially interesting for the Human Resources Department.

Among other skills, leadership and teamwork are mainly evaluated, two qualities that evaluators focus on when starting the challenges. At the same time, different points are taken into account such as:

Handling stress.
The ability to make more effective decisions.
Properly handling certain complicated situations.
Having a communicative ability and the ability to relate to other people.

How to implement the Grönholm method

The Grönholm method of staff selection is a personnel recruitment strategy, which consists of making a preliminary selection of candidates so that a challenge can be assigned to them. The winner of this test will be chosen for the position.

But, how to apply this personnel recruitment strategy in your company? If you are still not clear about how to apply this challenge to the selection process, here are some tips to help you implement it correctly.

Conduct a screening of candidates

The first step, as in any other personnel selection process, is to carry out a screening of staff with interviews with potential candidates. At this stage, the remaining number of applicants will be reduced.

For this, you must establish what criteria influence this screening. In these situations, personnel management software like Sesame HR’s can be very useful.

In some cases, several interviews will be necessary before deciding who the most suitable candidates are to undergo the Grönholm method of staff selection.

Choose the space and how the test will be carried out

To carry out the Grönholm method of staff selection, a closed environment must be chosen where the candidates themselves can operate without a problem. At the same time, they must be evaluated by the recruiter.

Choosing the right space will make a difference when carrying out the Grönholm method.

Propose a complex situation

The Grönholm method of staff selection is a complex and deep dynamic that can be performed in different ways. Simply, candidates must be proposed a complex situation, which could happen in real life. It generates a stressful and competitive atmosphere similar to that which arises in real life.

For this, the elected individuals are put in a group situation or objective that will enable them to show both their personality and their skills and the way they face these conflicts.

The difference with other techniques is that in this case the candidate excludes himself, while the evaluators watch from a distance the various interactions that occur. However, at the beginning of the test, candidates should be told what the common goal to achieve is.

Observation and control of the test

Once it begins, both the behavior and the forms of interaction that arise among the participants will be observed carefully. One of the fundamental pillars are the soft skills, as well as their aptitudes.

At the same time, you must ensure that the Grönholm method of staff selection is carried out properly. Thus, in case of any setback, it can be resolved immediately and prevent participants from giving up on the dynamic before it ends.

Advantages of the Grönholm staff selection method

The Grönholm method of staff selection offers different benefits both for companies and candidates. Among them are:

Helps candidates put themselves in potential real situations that could happen in performing their work, allowing them to know what a common workday would be like.
Allows to see beyond technical knowledge, as certain aptitudes possessed by the candidate are known and adapted to the offer. This reveals both their leadership ability and the values that come to the fore in stressful situations.
You can see emotional management in different pressure situations.
In turn, it is a good way to confirm the technical knowledge that appears in the curriculum and the experience they have.

The Grönholm method of staff selection is increasingly used by companies due to the advantages of implementing it. Interesting, isn’t it?

If you want to know more about this and other recruitment methods, check out our blog. We are your benchmarks in HR software, and much more!

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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cristinamartin

HR Content Specialist

Implementing the Grönholm method in companies from HR