Talent Stacking: The TalentQuest Story

By the age of 15 Frank knew he wanted to be a psychologist.  At age 16 he graduated high school and began working toward a Psychology degree at Clemson University.  His first degree turned into a Master’s, and finally a Ph.D. in Psychology.

Like many students, Frank would go to class in the morning, and then to pay for school, he worked full-time at Walmart where he honed his business and sales skills.  In his time working at the large retailer, he honed his sales skills by matching needs with opportunities.  By the age of 18, he had over 100 people reporting to him and became the second in charge of the store – all while still carrying a full course load at Clemson.

Frank’s love for technology began to develop during his time at Clemson – before much was even known about computers. He was doing some statistical work on police departments when he realized that technology could make his life easier.

Throughout his life, Frank’s work ethic and good instincts have been key to his success. While completing his residency in a hospital setting to complete his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, he was conducting eight hours of clinical work a day and realized he was burning out.  A chance meeting with a Psychologist named Dr. Robert Bleke changed the course of his career.  Dr. Bleke identified that Frank’s unique combination of business and personality constructs would be of great value to his corporate consulting practice.  It was the mid-80s and using Basic programming language, Dr. Merritt realized that he could use a computer to collect and deliver the assessment results to clients.  Sadly, with the lack of processing speed (and the internet!), Frank’s vision was ahead of its time.

Fast forward to the 90s.  A banking client was having issues with turnover of its tellers.  The bank obviously didn’t have the budget to have a psychologist interview every teller to identify and correct their attrition problem.  Frank suggested that the bank have the tellers complete paper assessments, and then fax the completed assessment back to be scored.  The scale of data that was collected in this process highlighted key behaviors that predicted the likelihood a teller would stay or go. In 1992, at Dr. Bleke’s retirement, Dr. Merritt acquired the firm and with the birth of the internet in the mid-90s, an online behavioral assessment which predicts productivity and retention was born – and in the early 2000s became the successful talent management SaaS company that is now TalentQuest.

In speaking with Frank, he referenced the lyrics of a Janice Joplin song: “…freedom is just another word for having nothing left to lose”.  This mantra has served him well throughout his life and career and is a true reflection that hard work and persistence is the recipe for success.