McBer and Company

McBer and Company
Name	McBer and Company
Type	Private
Industry	Human resources consulting
Founded	1930s
Founder	Donald W. McBer
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts
Products	Psychological assessments; leadership development programs

McBer and Company was an American human resources consulting firm known for pioneering personnel selection, psychological assessment, and leadership development in the 20th century. The firm worked across private sector industries, government agencies, and academic institutions to develop selection tests, competency models, and behavioral assessment tools that influenced later organizations in organizational psychology and management consulting. McBer's work intersected with psychologists, industrial engineers, military personnel offices, and corporate executives in shaping practices for recruitment, promotion, and training.

History

McBer and Company traces origins to mid-20th-century personnel consulting and industrial psychology practices associated with figures like Donald W. McBer and contemporaries in organizational psychology. The firm built relationships with universities such as Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University through collaborative research and practitioner training. Over decades McBer engaged with federal entities including the United States Civil Service Commission and branches of the United States Department of Defense to adapt selection methods for public service and military contexts. The company responded to post-war expansion in corporate management by partnering with corporations in the Fortune 500 and professional associations such as the American Psychological Association and Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. As management consulting evolved alongside firms like McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group, McBer occupied a niche emphasizing assessment techniques and psychological measurement. Mergers and acquisitions in the late 20th century brought changes in ownership and integration with personnel testing publishers and consulting conglomerates, reflecting consolidation trends influenced by firms such as Mercer and Willis Towers Watson.

Services and Products

McBer offered services spanning executive search support, managerial assessment, competency modeling, job analysis, and customized training program design. Its product lineup included standardized psychological inventories, situational judgment tests, structured interview protocols, and developmental feedback reports used by human resources practitioners in corporations like IBM, General Electric, and AT&T. The firm produced white papers and manuals for organizations including the United States Postal Service and state civil service commissions, and licensed assessment instruments to professional associations such as the Project Management Institute and accreditation bodies linked to American Medical Association-affiliated institutions. McBer's training curricula were deployed in multinational corporations with operations in markets involving European Union regulations and in regions covered by United Nations development initiatives. The company also published case studies used by business schools such as Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School.

Methodologies and Assessments

Grounded in psychometrics and job analysis, McBer developed methodological frameworks combining behavioral event interview techniques, competency frameworks, and validated scoring rubrics. The firm adapted concepts from pioneers in industrial psychology and assessment, drawing on constructs employed by Herman Aguinis-type researchers and measurement traditions dating back to work associated with Stanford-Binet scales and personnel selection paradigms used in World War II personnel testing. McBer emphasized criterion-related validity, reliability indices, and norm-referenced interpretation consistent with standards promoted by the American Educational Research Association and American Psychological Association. Assessment centers organized by McBer simulated managerial tasks influenced by military staff exercises such as those used in Fort Leavenworth training and incorporated situational leadership scenarios akin to frameworks used by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey. The firm's methods supported succession planning, talent pools, and performance prediction with tools interoperable with human capital information systems sold by vendors like SAP and Oracle Corporation.

Notable Clients and Projects

McBer's client roster included multinational corporations, government agencies, and academic medical centers. High-profile engagements involved executive selection initiatives with corporations such as Honeywell International, leadership development for divisions of Ford Motor Company, and competency modeling projects for state governments including collaborations with the New York State Civil Service Commission. The firm advised health systems associated with Mayo Clinic and university hospitals linked to Johns Hopkins Hospital on physician leadership development. Internationally, McBer contributed to organizational capacity projects for agencies within World Bank programs and labor force development initiatives coordinated with International Labour Organization missions. In higher education, McBer ran faculty leadership workshops used by schools like Columbia University and University of Chicago.

Corporate Structure and Leadership

McBer operated as a privately held consulting practice led by senior psychologists, management consultants, and former civil service administrators. Leadership typically combined practitioners with doctoral degrees in industrial-organizational psychology and executives with backgrounds from firms such as Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young. Boards and advisory councils included academics from institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Pennsylvania and former public officials from agencies such as the Office of Personnel Management. The organizational structure featured regional practice leaders overseeing client service teams, research directors managing psychometric development, and implementation consultants handling change management engagements comparable to roles in Deloitte and KPMG practices.

Impact and Legacy

McBer and Company influenced practices in personnel selection, competency-based human resource management, and leadership assessment throughout the late 20th century. Its instruments and methodologies informed corporate HR policies at companies including Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola Company and shaped governmental selection protocols used by the United States Army and state civil services. Academic programs in industrial-organizational psychology and executive education curricula at schools like INSEAD and London Business School incorporated McBer-derived case materials. The firm's legacy persists in contemporary assessment center designs, competency dictionaries used by consulting firms such as Hay Group and in psychometric standards upheld by professional bodies including the International Test Commission.

Category:Management consulting firms