Assessment Success: Eye of The Beholder
Many actions have unintended consequences. Assessment programs are no exception. When conducting assessments for development, most companies are looking to provide useful feedback to employees and to get them on the road to performance improvement. But other things have been known to occur, including:
Positive Internal Movement. After providing feedback, people may come back and say, "Now that I know what's really expected in this job, maybe I belong somewhere else." Besides requiring a lot of guts, this type of statement also reflects tremendous insight and is an opportunity for the company to retain a potentially valuable employee who is not being properly utilized.
Resolution of Employee Conflict. A client recently indicated that he thought an assessment program was a particular success. Was it because they had made better hires? Or that the supervisors had improved so much? No. Rather, there was one supervisor who thought that his negative performance reviews were do to his race, not his actual performance. Having a third party evaluate his skills and abilities apparently convinced him that he wasn't being picked on, but really needed to improve. The client indicated that the problems and conflicts with this supervisor were drastically reduced.
Improved Morale. A frequent finding with employee attitude surveys is that people want more training and development. Putting people through an assessment program for development (and following-through with the development) shows them that the company is investing in them. Clients indicate that this leads to increase commitment and loyalty.
Fortunately, we are not always as smart as we think we are when anticipating the outcomes of programs we implement. While it is important to consider potential negative consequences (e.g., what happens when there is assessment for development but no resources to back it up), be open to other good things that may come from evaluating the skills and abilities of your employees.
For more information about assessment centers and employee development, please contact Warren Bobrow.
Back to School
September is time for going back to school…with all of those fresh erasers, new notebooks, and a cool new outfit to wear. Perhaps, it’s time to think about a new start for you too. Think “continuous learning.”
Repeatedly, we see new roles and responsibilities popping up in the work place as new software, processes, and procedures are implemented. In order to succeed in these new arenas, there is often a need to acquire additional skills. But, how do you know which projects are here to stay versus a flash-in-the-pan? Aside from an educated guess, based on the information at hand, there is no way to tell.
In order to hedge your bet, carefully consider what new skills will be valuable to your organization and of interest to you, at the same time. Just like poor selection decisions, a half-hearted attempt at learning a skill that holds no interest for you will eventually have negative results. As such, it’s important to consider what training (whether formal training or mentoring) would position you for current and future job opportunities. If you choose wisely, your skill will be transferable to a variety of projects (or companies) and become an important tool in your toolkit.
To learn more about training and development or employee development, please contact Kammy Haynes.
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