As HR and talent acquisition practices mature, savvy leaders of companies both large and small are finally realizing the value of talent assessment to their bottom line. Be it part of a comprehensive integrated talent management program or a stand alone point solution, talent assessment is an essential ingredient in the recipe for business success.
But making talent assessment work for you can be tricky. Many have started their assessment journey with the best intentions, only to see their efforts crash and burn. When it comes to success with assessments, there is simply no free lunch. The path to success requires the discipline and planning to navigate through mission-critical questions such as:
Answering these questions can be difficult to be sure. But following a coordinated and dedicated effort that is based on five simple concepts will ensure that you gain solid footing on the path to success.
The old adage — “If you are selling hammers, every problem is a nail,” definitely applies to the talent assessment market. Every vendor is going to tell you their solution is exactly what you need, but all solutions are not created equal. Aligning with the right vendor and an optimal solution can yield millions in incremental value, so outline your needs before you go shopping.
Before speaking to any outside parties it pays to undertake a thorough internal discovery process that yields a clearly defined picture of what is needed for success. This typically includes information such as:
Expecting one test to magically solve your talent issues is just plain unrealistic. After all, hiring is a process with many interconnected steps and systems. For assessments to have value, they must be in harmony with their surroundings. The best way to ensure assessment compliments your hiring workflow is to cultivate a true business partner mentality — ensuring that key stakeholders such as …
… are all involved in the development of an assessment charter that clearly outlines goals and expectations. Failure to engage stakeholders in defining success will create gaping holes in your game plan into which your assessment budget will crash and burn.
When it comes to assessments, the low-hanging fruit can taste really good! Success is best found via taking baby steps, the first of which is finding a clear business problem that is isolated to one job or job family, and undertaking a proof-of-concept study with agreed-upon success criteria.
Beware of shortcuts such as:
The best assessment scenario is to invest in a targeted tool that measures a few simple but critical outcomes that can be tied directly to a data focused picture of business success/value. The learnings from this initial investment provide an excellent foundation for broadening your assessment program.
Quality of hire begins with collecting structured and standardized data from Square 1. One of the benefits of a simple assessment approach is that it is easily moved up the funnel so that quality data can be harvested from the very start of the hiring process. Starting the hiring process by collecting reliable insights into important characteristics will set your hiring professionals up for success. Making a good hire is all about collecting enough data to reveal insights and collecting solid data early on in the process.
Failure to properly evaluate an assessment program is the ultimate waste of resources and can spell disaster. Yes, proper evaluation requires dedication to large-scale data collection efforts and continual process improvement. But without a feedback loop to show the value of your investment, you are flying blind.
In today’s business world HR data and analytics functions are making program evaluation much easier, leaving less room for excuses. Evaluation requires a disciplined approach to identifying, collecting, and analyzing the data that is associated with a successful hire. Developing an assessment program without measuring and reporting out on the key business metrics that will be impacted is a textbook case of letting the tail wag the dog.
Talent assessment is your friend. It does not have to be a dark art that provides a negative candidate experience and red ink on your balance sheet. Success with assessment is easy if you take the time to understand your needs first and pay attention to a few simple concepts before you dive in.