So how do we do it?

I was looking a while ago for a dental practitioner and came across the following statement on a website, no trouble guessing just who I called first.

"By employing great people up front, by making sure we stay on top of the cutting-edge techniques and technologies that are introduced around the world every year. And by making sure our practice is a warm, inviting place to enter".

You know we spend thousands and thousands of dollars on our businesses  making sure that the gardens are done, the lawn is nicely manicured around our office and that we have the best technology that money can buy, yet we sometimes we forget that without our customers and indeed our people we have nothing!!  So just how we go about getting the right people is it still just a matter of gut feel or is there something else that now counts.

 I also read a passage from a report by the Aberdeen Group around ‘Talent Assessment Strategies' which states:-

 ‘Organisations today are continually looking for ways to make better decisions about talent in order to minimise the risk of a bad hire or promotion and to ensure that individual efforts are aligned with organisational goals.  In this research, conducted between January and March of 2010, over 400 organisations were studied to understand how they used assessments to drive better decisions and impact business performance.  Top performing organisations were found to be using assessments more broadly across employee populations and job roles, as well as more frequently and consistently than other organisations.  Underlying assessment success were strong ties to the business, organisational leadership buy-in and a competency framework to assess against. (Aberdeen Group - Talent Assessment Strategies March 2010)

 I think that sometimes we get confused about just what an assessment is - is it something that displays all of our failings or is it something that if we complete our company will know what we are good at  and just cause us to be loaded with more and more work.  Our take on assessment technology:-

 a)       Tests vs. Assessments

            Profiles are in the assessment business, not the testing business. Assessments are different
            from tests in that:

            a) Tests are Pass/Fail while Assessments are Informative

            b) Assessments Provide Information To Make Better Decisions

• Assessments measure (assess) an individual's attributes and accurately describe those attributes. When a person's attributes are known, they can be compared to the qualities required by a particular job or profession. Thus, Job Match can be achieved
  

            c)  You Cannot Fail Who You Are

                 No one ever fails an assessment

b)       When Should Assessments be Used?

a) Assessments should be an integral part of every business from pre-hire through to retirement

• Good decisions are possible only when executives and managers have good information upon which to base them. The information provided by assessments can be used to allocate a company's "human capital" most effectively.
  

b) The goal is to address people challenges before they impact business operations (be proactive not reactive)

• With the right information, the negative impact of problems can be diminished or avoid altogether.

c) If you are hiring, simply put the right person in the right place

d) For Your Current Workforce

• Determine if all people are well placed
  
  Answers, questions about the most effective assignment of a company's humancapital
  
  
• Gain insight on all employees to better:
  
  Coach
  
  Helping employees improve their job performance
  
  Manage
  
   Helping managers improve their management skills and practices
  
  Motivate
  
   Finding the keys that unlock the motivational power that lies within every individual
  
  
• To develop an ongoing improvement program for:

i. All employees

ii. Management

iii. Leadership

iv. Building an ongoing and positive succession plan

c)         Who Should Use Assessments?

a) Everyone with "people" responsibilities

b) They must understand themselves and their people by knowing their own:

•  
  • Capabilities
    
  • Capacity
    
  • Style
    
  • Behaviour
    
  • Compatibility
    
  • Perception of Management

Peter Hosie

National Sales Manager

Profiles International Australasia