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The Importance of Adjusting Assessment Criteria to the Requirements of Your Positions

When using behavioral assessments to help with hiring decisions many times people will simply default to what they think is the obvious. A Manager or Management assessment equals a management position; seems easy, right? Think again.

The problem with this approach is that it does not take into consideration the actual work being performed by the individual, level of responsibility, level of decision making requirements, interactions with others, etc.

Here are a few questions to help you understand management positions and how to make sure you are using the correct “assessment scoring ranges” for your positions.

• Is the person in this position managing people or things? There are very different behaviors required for each.
• Is the position in a small company where the manager oversees a team of five (or no one at all), or is this person responsible for managing 75-plus employees? Again very different behaviors required.
• What is the level of decision making power?
• Is there a technical, presentation or customer service component to the position?
• Has this position changed over time? Grown or diminished in scope or responsibility?

Make sure you are using the correct level of assessment and desired trait scores for the position; this is critical. Also take into consideration that many times a position starts as one thing and morphs into another over time.

I had this happen last week with a client when we needed to adjust the Position Compatibility Summary overlay to reflect their current IT Managers’ position responsibilities, which have changed from what we originally set up.

Originally this position was a non-people / technical management position. There were no direct reports, and no customer contact; it was a purely technical position not a people management position. Now the company is growing, and the IT Managers have the responsibility of direct reports in the form of System Administrators, so the PCS overlay must be adjusted to reflect this new level of “people” interaction and responsibility. Basically this means there are now slightly higher Interpersonal, Self-Control, and Dedication behavioral trait scores desired for a good fit; interacting well with others demands the change.

Bottom line: Make sure your hiring assessments measure the right traits at the correct and current level for your position, and don’t be afraid to change assessments or filters to capture the changes that inevitably occur with organizational growth, restructuring, and time.

5 Tips to Help You Use Hiring Assessments

Have you ever seen anyone fired for poor knowledge? Possibly...

Have you ever seen anyone fired for a poor attitude, laziness, or an unwillingness to cooperate with others? This is much more likely.

That situation could easily be avoided through the proper use of quality assessments in the early stages of your candidate selection process.

Oh the stories I could tell…

* The new hire who was assessed after she was hired, and who turned out to be a total disaster. She caused a world of disruption within the office, brought an unfounded lawsuit against the company within the first four months and the sad reality was, she would never have been hired (due to her behavioral scores, feedback, and lack of objectivity on the assessment results) had we assessed her before she was brought into the company.

* Then there was the candidate who argued with me. He said that he “successfully completed every project he had ever started.” Really? “Successfully completed every…,” Wow! He argued with me and would not simply get in and objectively complete his assessment. Just think how he will react once hired when asked to redo a task. And who would want to hire someone who would be rude to anyone associated with the hiring organization? It was bad manners to say the least!

The following is an Assessment Checklist to use for reviewing your current hiring assessment process, and will be especially helpful if this is your first exposure to the proper and possible ways of incorporating hiring assessments into your organizations hiring, succession management, and professional development practices.

1. Do you currently have a program in place for hiring and for succession management / professional development?
If so, examine the various ways you are using assessments within your organization. Are you consistent with the assessments used in your hiring and interviewing procedures? Do you utilize assessments in your training and development programs to enable you to train around real development needs not just what you think the needs are?

2. Are you paying attention to the results?
I totally understand, but resist the temptation to undervalue, explain away, or ignore the assessment feedback you are receiving. Use any “caution or concern” areas/scores as a guide for where to steer the conversation during the second or third interview.

3. There are specific assessments that are ideal for various needs within organizations.
Some assessments have gone through validation for their use as hiring tools; others are not validated for use in hiring, but may be used successfully for training and development. There are a few assessments that overlap. Make sure you are using assessments for the purpose they were designed. It is also wise to have an assessment provider who answers questions and is available in providing ongoing support.

4. For hiring, do your assessment results relate to job specific behaviors / skills and are they consistent for all candidates?
When used in hiring, results from assessments must be measured against “job specific” criteria not broad “style” ranges of personality.

5. View your candidates / employees as whole people.

Assessment programs are incredible tools for providing insights and information that would otherwise take you a long time to identify. (Think of those new hires that you discover 30-60 days out, who really don’t pay attention to detail like they lead you to believe!)

It may, at first, seem confusing and a bit intimidating, but by combining assessment with your interview process you will be able to fairly assess and evaluate each final candidate competing for your attention.

Image: istockphoto

Hiring Assessments: First, Second or Third?

I am constantly asked: “At what time during the hiring process should we administer assessments?”

My response: “Honestly, it depends.”

Let’s start at the very beginning. My recommendation to everyone is to screen out the obvious misfits first. These are the people you’ve identified:

• Those who do not have the necessary / desired experience or background.
• Those who have obvious mistakes on their resumes.
• And any other red flags that are spotted within your initial pre-screen process

Granted, with the help of professional resume writers and other online tools offering advice, a few mismatched candidates may be difficult to spot, but you should be able to get down to a select few before doing any serious assessing. (Note: for lower level, hourly positions you may decide to pre-screen a larger number of candidates with a short behavioral assessment simply because their resumes/work experience may not tell you as much as you would like to know about who the person is and what behaviors and attitudes they will bring into your organization.)

Here are the steps most of the people I work with use with their final pool of candidates.

• Have an informal interview (this may be a phone interview). This interchange should be pleasant, short and to the point; it’s a time to get to know a little bit about the candidate before moving on to the assessing and formal interview.

Warning: This informal interview is not the time to fall in love with the candidate!

• Assign skills tests.
• Assign behavioral assessment(s).
• Organizations who hire from a distance typically assign behavioral / skill assessments before they fly a candidate onsite for an interview. This saves on expenses if there are definite red flags, and enables them to interview the candidate in person after they have reviewed assessment results and made sure there is a good fit behaviorally / skill level.
• Compare final candidates and review results with the hiring team (and assessment vendor, if needed, and your assessment vendor provides this kind of support).
• Compile interview questions by identifying your position’s environment and how a candidate’s behavioral trait scores, high and / or low, will affect their success in the position.
  Interview candidates.
• Debrief with hiring team, and if necessary your assessment vendor to identify and discuss any discrepancies between the interview and the assessment.
• If you have more questions for the candidate, formulate them, and set up a second or third interview.
• If a good candidate fit is identified, move forward and make an offer.

Remember, at any time during the hiring process a candidate may prove to be “not a good fit.” This can be because of a lack of necessary skills, a misfit of behavioral strengths and / or weaknesses, interview responses, or conduct during the interview that is deemed to be unacceptable in your organization, etc.

The goal for assessment use in hiring is to help you make knowledgeable, objective hiring decisions which bring competent and confident people into your organization.

 

Nurturance - Why Do We Measure It?

 "Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” Thomas J. Peters 

The Winslow Assessment defines nurturance as: compassionate, sympathetic, kindhearted, benevolent, caring, protective and charitable. Individuals who nurture willingly provide compassion and support to others. These individuals readily communicate their concern for the well-being of others and express their willingness to do whatever they can to assist others.

Too much nurturance and a leader may (inappropriately) take on the problems of others. They may become so caught up in an employee’s problems that they run the risk of making excuses (right along with the employee) as to why they cannot produce / perform their job.

Too little nurturance and you have someone incapable of listening well or encouraging with heart; someone who sincerely may be totally unaware of another’s struggles and challenges.

As in all things, balance is the key. That’s why it’s important to have the measurement of nurturance when comparing the candidates you are screening to hire, evaluating your current workforce or even when you are assessing yourself for professional/personal development purposes.

There are some positions where nurturance will be more important because the position requires the skill of deep listening and then effectively communicating back to employees, patients, customers and account holders. Then there are other positions where less nurturance is necessary simply because of a solitary work environment, or the fact that the job requires working with things and not interacting with others.

Take a moment and think about the positions and people you have currently within your company, then think about the people you want to bring into your organization.

• Do you see a need for more nurturance in some of the positions you are filling?
• Do you see a lack of nurturance in your managers or supervisors?
• How about in current workforce interactions?
• What will the byproduct of a lack of nurturance be?
• What might too much nurturance look like?

 Yes, for all behaviors there seems to be a shadow side — we are not looking for too much or too little — but just right.

When C-players Imitate A-players

 

Whenever you are unsure about a candidate (technically or behaviorally) don't be afraid to dig a little deeper during your interview to identify where their lack of knowledge or low behavioral scores will show up once hired. Before the hire is the only time you will have this advantage.

I read a post on Twitter recently that said: “Beware, C-player salespeople can imitate A-player salespeople during the interview process.” (@Assess4Sales).  This is unfortunately true, and it makes your job as a hiring manager even more difficult.

There will be times when someone has the résumé to die for, plus years of great experience and knowledge, but for some reason they have huge behavioral red-flags waiving. Sometimes this is because the person has “slightly exaggerated” their résumé / work experience or sometimes it is simply because “life happens.” Stresses and strains of relationships, children taxing a parent’s reserve, situations beyond a person’s control and sometimes, as in the case of alcohol or drug abuse, situations within a person’s control all affect a person’s behaviors and their behavioral scores.

Your job (if you really want to consider a candidate with unsatisfactory assessments scores) is to ferret out where the disconnect is between what you are hearing / seeing and what the candidate has identified in their behavioral assessment. This involves probing deeper than a candidate’s first response and typically asking “why?” and “what did you do then?” Followed by “how did that turn out?” and ending with an occasional “who was to blame for that?”

What you are watching for is the candidate’s responses to typical on the job challenges; situations where their identified behaviors might not be a good match for the work to be done.

Remember, the hiring process is all about gaining information and learning what a person is going to contribute to the position you're filling, and to your organization as a whole. Assessment results, when used along with good interview practices, provide insights and information that is invaluable for identifying those best-fit candidates.  

 

The Coached Candidate

Tell me, how do you know if what you’re seeing and hearing from candidates during the interviews you’re conducting is the real deal?

I’ve had this question pop up from time to time, usually when someone interviews very well, but their assessment results identify real concerns in key areas to the position. This seeming disconnect leads me to remind you, if you think your candidates aren’t prepping for their interview with you, think again! There are literally thousands of programs and websites coaching and instructing candidates on how to respond to your interview questions — and believe me, there is no shortage of advice!

Here is a sample of what is available to your candidates for answering your toughest interview questions.

Years ago I had a candidate who appeared excellent in every way. He was articulate and seemed to know just the right balance of logical answers and thought provoking questions, plus his insights and interest in the interviewing manager was captivating and a bit flattering.

I also thought this was a pretty impressive candidate and then I talked to the external recruiter who was presenting him. In that conversation I learned that the recruiter coached the candidate through every step of the entire interview process — instructed him on how to respond to behavioral questions, what questions to ask about the company and basically what information to have at his fingertips (in regards to the interviewing manager) so that he could influence and ace the interview. And ace the interview he did. The hiring manager was slightly flattered and very impressed.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of coaching and have coaching clients I love working with, but as an assessment provider for hiring decisions I wear a different  hat, that of gatekeeper. And as gatekeeper one of my main goals is to help my clients avoid getting caught up in the emotional pull of the interview by remaining as objective as possible throughout the hiring process.

When candidates are extensively coached for their interview I always wonder to myself what is going to happen when the candidate is hired and there’s no coach to hold their hand through the maze of protocol, business relationships and decision making that will inevitably take place? Will they fall flat on their face?

To help level the playing field, I’m a firm believer of integrating behavioral assessment results into your interview process. Having the results from a quality behavioral hiring assessment will help you not only clarify interview responses and develop insights into your candidate’s strengths and areas of concern, it will help you step back and remain focused on hiring the best individual and hopefully not be swayed by a great performance.

The goal with any interview and hiring assessment program is to help you remain focused and identify the candidate’s skills and behaviors as they relate to the job at hand.

Remember, your candidates have a wealth of information at their fingertips, make sure you have a wealth of information (about them) at your fingertips!

How to Choose the Right Hiring Assessment

What type of assessment is the best? Well, it depends on what you are doing.

Personality or behavior assessments fall into three main categories. Some are fantastic communication tools offering general personality identifiers (styles) while others have been specifically created for performance and job / position fit (hiring and employee development / performance). Then there are psychiatric assessments that measure deviant behaviors.

To help you understand the different behavior / personality assessment types, here is a quick overview:

• Category "A" tests can only be interpreted and used by educated, licensed and / or certified professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors). Tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Psychological Inventory (MMPI), California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and other clinical / diagnostic instruments. Instruments that measure such things as psychoses, neuroses, physical or mental disabilities or other pathological issues are prohibited in the pre‐offer stage of a selection process.
• Category "B" tests must be interpreted by certified professionals (in Winslow Research Institute’s case psychologists), however, they can be used by trained / certified laypersons / users under the direction (direct or indirect) of psychologists. Tests such as The Winslow Behavioral Profiles, The 16 Personality Factors (16 PF), The Personality Research Form (PRF), Emergenetics Selection Profile (ESP) and other personality / behavioral instruments.
• Category "C" tests can be interpreted and used by anyone. . .education, certification, licensing and / or training is not required. The DISC, MBTI, Myers Briggs and others are in this category. Using these tests in the selection process makes an organization vulnerable to litigation.

Hiring: To be legally defensible, ANY hiring test has to:

1. Be performance and job‐related and its results appropriate for the employer’s purpose.
2. Provide data showing scores accurately predict job performance.
3. Provide a technical manual (when asked).

When choosing which type of assessment to bring in to your organization, make sure you are clear what your needs / expectations are: hiring, employee development, performance reviews. Then choose the assessment that fills those needs and also provides the ongoing support to successfully and skillfully use the information you are receiving.

 

 

The Importance of Strong Attention to Detail and Multi-tasking Skills

This post starts with a disclaimer; I am terrible at attention to detail! And by this I mean when it comes to letters on a page and / or numbers (you know those critical little things that are extremely important for human life and monetary evaluations in some professions) think healthcare workers, data entry folks, schedulers, accountants, etc., I am not the person you want to hire.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I always thought I was great at multi-tasking and attention to detail; after all I can walk, chew gum and read the street signs. Had I been brought in for an interview at XYZ Company I would have said: “Attention to detail and multi-tasking? I’m great - no problem!”

But a few years ago I found a neat little tool called the ESP – Emergenetics Selection Profile that measures multi-tasking, business communications and attention to detail skills. This was when I discovered that I’m not all that great at attention to detail (or multi-tasking for that matter)! I’m what I like to call an “organic” attention to detail person. You know, I remember directions and places, people’s faces, events, etc. But those darn little letters and numbers? My copy editor (and my bank) can attest to the fact that I am not the person you would want to hire if the job required excellent expertise in these skills.

Here are some examples of questions posed on the ESP - Emergenetics Selection Profile:

1.   Attention to Detail The ability to quickly identify errors in numeric data. This skill is often associated with employees who check documents for errors, edit, proofread and perform order-entry. It often involves working with numbers such as stocking units, inventory, accounting numbers and business reports. 

The candidate has two minutes to examine 20 sets of three numbers and identify duplicates. This exercise is content-valid for jobs that require comparing numbers, completing forms accurately, examining written data for inaccuracies and other tasks requiring an ability to recognize subtle differences in information.

Item Example:

A company assigns SKU codes to each of their products. A valid code should contain three, different seven-digit numbers (i.e., numbers cannot be duplicated). Examine the following SKU numbers and identify which ones contain duplicates:

1.	3709611  3708612  3706612
2	1778652  1776653  1776653
3.	6274531  6265431  6275432

2.     Multi-Tasking Skills 

The candidate is given a total of 30 minutes to complete two separate tests (problem solving and dealing with e-mails and voice messages) delivered concurrently on one computer screen.

On one side of the screen, the candidate is asked to solve 20 business-related problems. Concurrently, on the right side of the screen, they receive 20 notifications announcing the arrival of voicemail and e-mail messages and answer 20 questions about what they read or heard.

The multi-tasking section evaluates the candidate’s ability to effectively solve problems in an active, multi-tasking environment.

Item Example:

You take an inventory of office supplies every week. You noticed that 60 memo pads were used during the first week of August. On average, how many memo pads were used each day that week?
60
50
15
12
None of the above

The interesting thing with this type of test is you can discover quickly whether a candidate has the skill set or not and to what degree.

Trust me, almost everyone will say they are pretty good to excellent at both and you won’t find out until after the hire that their idea of excellent and your idea of excellent are two different things. I never would have believed it about myself had I not taken the test!

 ESP – Emergenetics Selection Profile

 

Why it is Important to Note "Behaviors" When Hiring

 
 

 I always steer people toward thinking in "behaviors" when hiring and more specifically behavioral fit to the specific position / work being done.

The most important question to answer when identifying what a “great job fit” would look like, is to ask: What is the person actually doing most of the time in the position being filled? Best behavioral fit will then be identified and compared to the actual work being done.

Best practice behavioral hiring assessments will identify a person's behaviors in the following areas:

• Interpersonal traits: How they function with others.
• Organizational traits: How they function with tasks and responsibilities.
• Dedication traits: How they handle commitments.
• Self-control traits: Their emotional maturity.

You will then be able to evaluate the candidate’s behavioral assessment results (job specific) along with interview feedback and any skill requirements. The combination of this information will provide you with a well-rounded view of your candidate including their behavior strengths and areas of concern (position specific), their skill set and general personality before making a final hiring decision.

 

Behaviors and Skills

 

Seasoned hiring managers will tell you that it's much harder to coach behavioral issues than it is to teach someone the technical aspects of the job. — Amy Gallo

Skills can be learned. Behaviors, on the other hand, are much more difficult and many times impossible to change. Especially when you’re requiring change from someone other than yourself, you really have no control.

When hiring always remember:

Do:

• Take the time to create clear and accurate job descriptions. I love job descriptions that identify what percentage of time an employee will spend on each aspect of the work to be done. This enables me (as an assessment provider) to be sure that we are measuring accurately the behaviors necessary for a successful job fit.
• Use hiring assessments combined with interview questions to uncover the drivers (motivators and behaviors) behind the candidate's past and future behavior. There are times when someone will have been extremely successful in the past, excellent résumé, etc., but because of personal or professional “issues” they may not be able to perform at their previous level at this time. Behavioral assessments can clue you in to any disconnect a person might be experiencing…and trust me, you do not want to hire a behavioral disconnect! 
• Provide the new hire with early and clear feedback about his / her performance.

Don't:

• Put technical skills over relational (behavioral) ones.Technical skills can be taught / behaviors and relational skills are much more difficult to change.
• Jump to conclusions on a new hire’s fit. Immediately moving an inadequate performer to termination without first considering coaching is jumping to conclusions. Instead address concerns with them and identify any areas that they need more help with or training on. Or, consider the option of transferring  them to a position that would fit their preferred motivators or behaviors better. (E.g. someone who is adept at “sales” and connecting with clients might find the administrative part of managing others to be frustrating.)
• Be afraid to adjust people and / or the position’s level of responsibility if appropriate or necessary.

I think hiring is one of the most difficult jobs for most managers. You are asked to make decisions that impact not only the success of the workforce, but also the company as a whole. Use all the tools you have at your disposal, add a dose of common sense and you’ll do fine.