Resolving conflict

Physics alumnus Andrew CHAI vividly remembers being inspired by Oscar Schindler, who in spite of having amassed enough wealth to buy the entire State of California, gave everything up to save lives in the Holocaust.

The passion to touch others’ lives is what drives him as an entrepreneur. This belief, and the agility to overcome challenges, are what set Andrew on his path to success as he seeks to address one of the most complex problems in the history of mankind: conflict.

Drawing on years of experience in the business world combined with psychological insights gained from his life experiences and failures, Andrew developed Drawmetrics, a proprietary drawing-based tool for the psychometric analysis of human behaviour.

He says, “Limiting mindsets, beliefs, value systems and blindspots – these get in the way of people communicating well with one another, creating conflicts. I hope to impact the world by reducing conflict in professional and personal relationships.”

At the height of the SARS outbreak in early 2003, Andrew pioneered a remote manpower outsourcing consultancy to link “the best people” with clients looking for talented manpower. The tool was tested by psychologists over a 15-year period, which validated the understanding of how people make decisions, and their value and belief systems.

Drawmetrics is even more relevant now as the COVID-19 pandemic has paralysed numerous industries, halting face to face recruitment.

“Today, many interviews are conducted on Zoom, making interpersonal assessments a lot harder,” Andrew says.

The tool is customised to every candidate – no two candidates have the same interview questions. From here, employers will gain insights into who the candidate is as a person (which may not be what their resumes say), providing a basis for better-informed hiring decisions.

Andrew believes that the rigorous psychometrics process reduces business costs which stem from hiring errors. And for start-ups partners who work together, only to break up, this tool could potentially avoid the hassles and costs from disputes.

He says, “We create a better hiring experience by preventing the wrong fit between employer and recruits. Ultimately, this helps employers with talent management and retention.”

Drawmetrics was trademarked last year and is now used by clients in the aviation industry.

Watch Andrew’s interview here: