Smart Thinking: To assess or not to assess? Important considerations for behavioral testing

by Cathy Atkins

June 27,2008

True employee development cannot be forced or mandated. For a company to become company, individuals must be committed to "looking in the mirror" and being willing to make a sincere effort to change.
The journey to becoming a better company, employee, leader or person always begins with the desire to improve. Behind every great breakthrough is a strong sense of passion, a steel-toed conviction in what can be. In the heart of growth lies an element of intellectual humility, knowledge that a person can do it…but not alone.

Transforming a team or company happens when individuals can scrutinize themselves, recognize their unique contributions to the whole and make changes.
A popular and convenient way to identify growth opportunities is the use of behavioral style assessments. They are typically affordable and easy to administer. Assessment tools offer an objective look into inherent strengths and weaknesses of an individual's behavior and personality.

In a world where the success or failure of an employee is most often associated with temperament rather than technical skills, this perspective cannot be underestimated. Management roles are changing as well, requiring not just a supervisor, but a coach, trainer and mentor also. To do this successfully, a manager must know specifically how that individual perceives the world around him or her and how he or she operates within that world.

This need exists with current employees, but should begin as early as the hiring process. No longer is it enough to simply have the requisite technical knowledge and skills to do the job successfully. Instead, other questions and issues become preeminent:

• Will the person give the organization an honest day's work?
• Will the individual get along with team members?
• Will the person continue to grow, develop and stay current?
• Will the person be flexible and adjust to rapid changes in work processes and procedures?
• Will the person provide quality service to both internal and external customers?

Most organizational leaders today are trying to find answers to these questions. Personality tests assess this important component of job behavior and performance.
If your organization chooses to use behavioral assessment tools for its employees, it is important to select a methodology with a track record of success. In selecting an assessment process, there are a few important considerations.

• First, make sure the tool has demonstrable statistical validity and reliability.
• Second, the results should be easy to understand and the diagnostic model should be easy to apply. If leaders have to invest too much time in simply understanding the tool, they won't use it.
• Lastly, it is important to ensure that the tool is designed to identify a person's natural styles, and not their adjusted styles. Many adjusted style instruments allow the respondent to influence the results and, hence, to avoid addressing the true areas of development that can have a significant impact on performance.

Once an employee's assessment results are complete, the next step is to work with a certified assessment coach to help guide establishing individualized benchmarks. Use "feedforward" instead of feedback. You can change the future, not the past. It can be more productive to help people be "right," than to prove they were "wrong." Develop an action plan, with the input of the individual. This dialogue creates a process in which both parties are focused on improving the relationship, not on judging each other. Ongoing reinforced training and feedback are the keys to incremental growth and change.

A Chinese proverb states: "He who knows others is learned. He who knows himself is wise." To help employees achieve their best, one must first understand their uniqueness. What used to be guided by hunches and gut instinct is now available through the marriage of psychology and technology. One of my coaching clients, after working over time with his assessment results, said, "It didn't just make me better in business, it made me a better person."

Now that's a win-win.

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