Assessment: the eight wonders... and the seven deadly sins
When done well, assessment can yield great return on investment, but a poor process can put people off. James Brockett asks the experts for their top tips – and where the pitfalls are
Date:
16 October 2008
Source:
Guide to assessment
Page:
28
DO... be sure about your objectives
“Before you start, it is essential to be certain of the business context and objectives,” says Catherine Hick, managing director of TMS Development International. “What do your stakeholders want to achieve? Do your research and find a tool that focuses on the human dimension of these objectives.”
DO… calculate your sums
Hick advises: “Tackle financial issues. Show how much it will cost in relation to the value to be gained by increasing discretionary effort – for example, achieving goals faster and retaining key staff.”
DO... weigh up the true costs of recruitment
Sophie Pritchard, senior consultant at Assessment & Development Consultants, says: “In putting together a business case for investing in selection, you should consider the financial implications associated with selection decisions. All too often, organisations fail to articulate the benefits that new selection processes may bring, choosing instead to focus on the more tangible implementation costs.”
DO... make sure job specs are up-to-date
“The assessment can be the best in the world but if the job spec is three years out of date, you’ll be lucky if its matches are effective,” says Jeremy Pemberton-Piggott, managing director of PreVisor. “The assessment process begins with a thorough analysis of what the job requires, and a good job spec will capture the six to eight most important competencies needed to do the job. It’s a case of getting the basics right.”
DO... try the tools yourself
“Once you have selected your assessment tools, you should try them out,” advises Pritchard. “This will confirm whether they are pitched at the right level of difficulty for your specific purpose and will enable you to create a benchmark. This step is often dispensed with as it is seen as time-consuming and finding volunteers can be difficult, but it is highly worthwhile.”
DO... use tools early to filter the quality of applicants
“With online recruitment, organisations are fishing from an ocean, not a pond, so they need the tools to manage the volume,” says Richard Doherty, vice-president of operations (UK) at Jobpartners. “Assessment should be used early in the recruitment process – a well-implemented system can enable HR departments to quickly and effectively identify suitable candidates, saving them considerable time and effort.”
DO... give feedback to all candidates
“Remember that candidates are also potential or existing customers,” Doherty says. “If organisations are unwilling to provide feedback as part of the assessment process they run the risk of damaging the perception of their brand, which could result in the loss of business.”
DO... put providers on the best contract
“To get best value from assessment providers, organisations should look to use unlimited licences when looking to assess a vast number of candidates,” says Doherty. “For more qualitative measures such as psychometric testing, they should look at doing it on a pay-per-test basis.”
DON’T... choose a test that takes too long
“In a traditional assessment centre you’ve got candidates there for the day, but online testing is more fickle,” says Pemberton-Piggott. “Too many tests are organised on clinical lines and test every aspect of the personality. Ideally, testing should be short and tailored to every job.”
DON’T... allow the technology to set the agenda
“When choosing an assessment partner, it’s no longer simply about whose assessment model is best or who has done the most research,” says Chris Welford, head of talent and assessment at Penna. “Providers must provide business advice rather than just innovative assessment technology. Successful approaches need to be more business-savvy and focus on commercial outcomes and investment decisions.”
DON’T... overcomplicate the process
“Many HR professionals are increasingly frustrated that assessments overcomplicate matters and produce excessive paperwork and reporting,” says Welford. “This can also make speed-to-hire slower so companies risk losing candidates to more fleet-of-foot companies. To overcome this, employers should look for consultancies that provide clear, quantitative advice that adds value to the business – less is definitely more.”
DON’T... skimp on training
“There is simply no substitute for having professionally trained assessors,” says Ian Newcombe, director of assessment operations (Europe) at Kenexa. “The British Psychological Society has defined competencies for ability testing and personality questionnaire choice, administration, interpretation and feedback (the level A and B standards). In the event of legal challenge to a selection process, one of the first questions you will be asked is whether you have trained appropriately.”
DON’T... stick to an old favourite
“You may have a ‘favourite’ assessment task that you always assign to applicants, but just because you have always asked them to sing My Way doesn’t mean it’s predictive of performance, fair or job relevant,” says Newcombe. “Assessments should first and foremost be designed with the requirements of the job in mind, and ideally be designed by professionals with experience.”
DON’T... assess staff and then do nothing with the data
“In the case of assessing for development, the assessment process will raise expectations whether it feels like a good experience for participants or not,” says Bill Hester, head of consulting at business consultancy DDI. “If the participant returns to work following the assessment and little or nothing happens, it may have been better to have done nothing in the first place.”
DON’T... keep people in the dark about what you are doing
“Often, assessment of managers represents a significant investment by the company in the individual,” says Hester. “However, if they do not understand why they are being asked to participate, who will be seeing their data or what will happen as a result, the benefits of this investment can quickly be lost.” The communication plan is a vital part of rolling out assessments, he adds.