Birkman Respondent Support Policy

It is Birkman International’s policy that every respondent being given reports containing complex data will also get the appropriate level of support for that report from a Birkman Certified Professional (BCP) to ensure that the quality of the instrument remains the best in the industry.

This policy includes any reports containing scoring or descriptions of scales from the Birkman Components, MIndset, or Work Styles data sets. This includes the Signature Report, Advanced Report, Birkman Preview, Birkman Mindset, Work Styles, Advanced Summary, Signature Summary and others.

This policy excludes those reports which are designed to be self-interpretive. This exclusion includes reports from the Birkman Insights, Birkman Basics, and Career Management series. These reports are available to persons/organizations that have not been certified to use the Birkman Signature Suite and are appropriate to send without a specific follow-up conversation.

A Birkman Certified Professional can provide the required support through one of several options, but each must address the individual respondent’s scoring patterns and not just information about the Birkman scales in general. Approved methods are

• A one-on-one conversation that may be delivered either in person or virtually
• As a part of a group discussion or training
• As a part of a series of video or web-based interpretive sessions that a BCP has prepared and has been approved by Birkman as an alternative method of delivery

The BCP cannot delegate the support function to someone that is not certified by Birkman. It is appropriate to provide reports for the respondent to review in advance of scheduled support.

Any offer to deliver a component-based Birkman report must include the respondent support requirement in any printed document, email, newsletter, or website. This will ensure that any person reading or responding to the offer is aware of the inclusion of follow-up in the offer to purchase said Birkman report.

Specifically, the delivery to a respondent of any reports containing scales as identified above, without the benefit of respondent support, is grounds for that consultant to lose their status as a Birkman Certified Professional.

If a violation is noted, Birkman International will:

• Notify the consultant
• Conduct an investigation
• Make a decision on whether to limit that consultant’s account or decertify them to utilize The Birkman Method

Any decision to decertify a Birkman Certified Professional will only occur after serious deliberation. If a BCP is decertified, their clients will have the option of having their data transferred to another BCP account without a transfer fee. There will be no refunds of any fees paid and any pricing or volume commitments will be terminated immediately.