Reflections on How 2019 Was a Transformational Year for SHL
Product innovations, advanced technology, and the forward thinking and energy of our teams have driven this year’s progress at SHL.

Transformation is not easy. There are times when it is thrilling and other times when it is defeating. Lately the world has felt like it is in a constant state of transformation with the major innovations and technology advances that disrupt our daily lives and jobs – often for the better. So many opportunities exist for us all amid transformation, but often we need the right tools to help us navigate the full potential of the greatness in front of us.
This year, 2019, has been a year of transformation and evolution for SHL. We started on a journey to help organizations drive performance and better outcomes through deep people insights. It required long hours, our team of highly skilled staff, and a refreshed scope of work… and doing all of this as we stay true to the heart of SHL which is our passion and commitment to the scientific rigor of our products.
As we near the end of the year and plan for 2020, it is a good time to reflect on how SHL has evolved.
Here are a few highlights and challenges from my perspective.
This year, 2019, has been a year of transformation and evolution for SHL.
Our People
Starting with our people as that is the basis of our business, without great people we will not be a great business. We continue to build a really strong team, ensuring we have the right people in the right roles and onboarding new talent with fresh ideas and energy.
I appreciate all the hard work that all of our people have put into 2019. Our customer obsession has been amazing and our desire to create more advocates around the world incredibly impressive. The spirit of SHL is very strong.
In addition, I was particularly pleased this year with the engagement of SHL teams across the world when we hosted our Community Impact week. Our teams worked hard to bring awareness to community challenges, build gardens, raise money for community projects, pack food for people experiencing hunger, and much more. The work didn’t stop with that week, as many of our teams continue to participate with these programs throughout the year!
And the best part of all… our team is growing! I’m delighted to welcome our new friends from Aspiring Minds. A great team of people who share our values and I am confident will have a positive impact on our culture globally. Aspiring Minds is highly complementary to the SHL business and brings us new assessments, additional platform capability and new Artificial Assessment skills.
Digital Innovation
Driving more innovation in our products and services was a big focus for this year. I’m very pleased that we have been able to release more new and refreshed products this year than the last previous years combined. OPQ reimagined being the most impactful globally, and Verify Interactive is now starting to gather momentum including winning one of Human Resource Executive’s Top HR Products of 2019 award.
Our development of a Video Interview solution takes us into an adjacent market. Further broadening the tools and solutions we offer for our clients to provide deep people insight. This is further enhanced with the Aspiring Minds Video Assessment that uses AI in a transparent and responsible way.
Our offering of video interviewing gives the market the advanced technology they are searching for while maintaining an ethical and rigorous scientific underpinning that is unmatched. Our teams are incredibly proud of this tool, which will be available in early 2020.
We have been able to release more new and refreshed products this year than the last previous years combined.
Talent Central Platform
Finally, We have continued to advance our Talent Central platform. As expected, the needs of the market have changed. In the past, online technology platforms were only used to administer, play and feedback on an assessment, and now the market requires an immersive experience, workflow to support a candidate or employee journey, integration with other parts of the HCM lifecycle, and data visualization to support informed decision making.
We are evolving our platform to make this possible across an entire organization. We are building a platform that supports all this functionality AND drives people insights from the entire workforce.
This is the coolest, nerdiest (in a good way), and most advanced platform that allows any organization to build a talent strategy based on the personalities, motivations, abilities, etc. of everyone in their organization. It provides the opportunity for leaders to not just hire and develop based on fit in the current role, but also for how the candidate’s potential meets the company’s future talent needs.
The Future
Once again, SHL is becoming a market leader – using our science, technology and most of all our people to design tools for our customers to truly optimize the potential of their greatest asset – their people!
To learn more about how our teams can help your company realize the true potential of its people, then contact us today!