We are focusing on our last myth from our previous webinar ‘Busting the Myths of Talent Assessment’. If you missed the webinar and want to learn more click here to register and review.
MYTH: Assessments are ONLY useful for hiring
The fact is, you’ve already asked your candidates to spend time completing the assessment, you have learned quite a bit about their aptitudes and preferences, you have identified gaps between each candidate and the job’s requirements… So why throw all that out once you make the hire? In this case of Kelly Berryman in the image below, you have an employee who took a behavioral assessment as part of her application process. Through the assessment, we learned where she falls on a variety of characteristics. We can see that she is :
- is very Disciplined
- probably has a low preference for teamwork (low sociability, low team Orientation)
- and has an average Attention to Detail.
In addition to learning about Kelly, we also learn about how well she aligns with the job she applied to – in this case, an Operations Technician. So if we look at the green bands as the ideal amount of each characteristic for success in the job, we can see where her strengths and liabilities lie. This information is very useful in building a cumulative picture of how well a job candidate fits the role, but why stop there?
TRUTH: Assessments are part of an integrated TALENT STRATEGY
Especially right now in this job market, most companies don’t have the luxury of selecting only the best of the best. So you’re likely to end up hiring candidates with some significant gaps. Why not use what you have learned about these gaps to choose targeted learning content? Still using Kelly as an example, Kelly’s natural predisposition is probably to prefer working alone, but this job will require her to work as part of a team sometimes. To help Kelly succeed, you can present her with some targeted training content to help her function as effectively as possible in team environments.
You can also use the assessment to see if future positions could be a fit for Kelly. Let’s say the Operations Manager in Kelly’s area leaves or is preparing to retire. To find a backfill, you don’t need to limit the search to outside candidates or to rely on Kelly’s performance as a Technician. Rather, we can take the same behavioral assessment information we already have on file for Kelly and compare her against the ideal targets for the Operations Manager role to see how well she fits in that role.
This is what we mean when we talk about Maximizing Human Potential. It’s about using what we can learn about people’s core preferences and tendencies and helping them thrive. Maximizing Human Potential through selection AND BEYOND: that is what we at Talent Science strive to help you do.
