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Employee selection and development are so critical that they can no longer be left to chance/guesswork. Increasingly, companies are feeling the effects of the mobile global economy, and so they must be able to rely on a flexible, competent and dedicated workforce that is committed to continuous growth and change. How can a company be sure that it is recruiting or promoting the right people for its environment? The assessment method chosen for recruitment and people development is one of the most valuable investments it can make, as the hidden cost of poor selection and development decisions can be enormous for a company.
Three kinds of assessments are commonly used by companies in the recruitment and selection processes:
* An assessment test that asks the candidate to state how well they think they perform. These self-report instruments are problematic for two reasons:
The candidate can figure out the intent of the statements or questions and bias their responses (either consciously or subconsciously). Thus the candidate can give the answer that they judge is "expected" rather than the answer that truly reflects him/her self. What candidate desperate for a sales job is likely to "agree strongly" that they are passive as opposed to aggressive?
The candidate may not know themselves well enough to answer accurately.
* An assessment test that asks other people to describe the candidate's performance.
This kind of assessment is usually known as '360° Feedback'. These are excellent measures of how another person claims to view the candidate in question. They are not, however, reliable pictures of how the candidate actually is. At best they are another person's perception of the candidate being measured. At worst, they are opportunities for subjective biases to impact another's career.
* An assessment that observes the candidate directly.
Assessment centres utilise this kind of process. They put the candidate into situations calling for certain skills and behaviours, and observe directly how the candidate responds. Assessment centres use professional, objective observers to provide an accurate assessment, but are of necessity considerably more expensive than the other methods.
Of the three types of assessments, an assessment that observes the candidate directly is the most indicative of actual performance potential.1
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