Many companies have added assessments to their talent management strategy in order to reduce turnover and drive engagement through workplace satisfaction. Forty-nine percent of top companies in a study conducted by Aberdeen indicated they had a formal assessment strategy, and while those organizations used the assessments as a filter during the hiring process, they also put the results to use to onboard, guide development, and predict who would be the most successful in their career with the organization.
Best-in-Class organizations were 79% more likely to use pre-hire assessments than their laggard counterparts, and nearly one and a half times more likely to use assessments post-hire. The assessment you used to find the right candidate may also be used for the entire lifecycle of your new employee.
Onboarding Process
A study in the Academy of Management Journal found that the first 90 days of employment is pivotal to building rapport with the company, management, and coworkers—explaining why turnover rates are the highest within the first 3 months of hiring, and underlining the importance of a structured onboarding program. Assessments and interviews can and should be used to ensure a candidate will be a good fit with the company, but the onboarding process is where they become acclimated to the culture and the people they’ll be working with.
Behavior assessments give insight into a new hire’s preferred communication method, and that should dictate the interactions that take place with managers—especially in the early days when attitudes about support levels and company loyalty are being formed.
Top performers are those who are most self-aware—they know their strengths and limitations and how their underlying motivators drive them to perform, so share your new hire’s assessment results with them and establish a communication plan from the beginning.
Training and Development
Whole person assessments give you a clear picture of someone’s strength and improvement areas—allowing you to create an individualized coaching and development plan that both parties will benefit from. Sharing the results helps people use their new self-knowledge to grow by giving them perspective, and can help them understand why they connect easily with some co-workers, while others might drive them crazy. It also shows them that the organization has their best interest in mind, improving their engagement and willingness to be coached.
When a new hire is unsuccessful, the problem can often be traced to the management they’ve received. There isn’t a blanket approach to coaching, and effective leaders understand that they must adapt their coaching approach to each individual team member. Assessments allow for a salesperson’s training and reinforcement to be tailored in a way that “speaks to them” in the clearest way possible.
For example, if an employee is motivated by being largely autonomous, they likely won’t excel with a “micro-managing” coaching style. A manager can use that information to adjust their approach and communication. The key is finding the right balance so that productivity stays high, and employees can be themselves—which results in higher engagement and a decreased likelihood for burnout.
Career Pathing
When asked what assessment data was used post-hire, 57% of best-in-class organizations in Aberdeen’s study responded “identifying high potential talent.” We typically bring someone onto our teams based on the skills and traits they have at the time of hire, but it’s important to also consider their capacity to grow and develop as your organization does.
From the beginning there should be conversations with team members about their future within the company. That clear picture will allow both parties to focus on developing the skills needed for future positions.
Promotions go wrong when a candidate is selected based on their success in their current role, rather than their fit to the new position.
Data from assessments can predict whether someone is right for the role they will be promoted to— whether they have the skills, behaviors, motivation, and adaptability to meet the challenges ahead.
Organizations that get the most out of their assessments consider them a tool to enable better talent decisions throughout the entire lifecycle of the employee, not only the selection process. Position your organization for ongoing success by incorporating our three-dimensional Brooks Talent Index® assessments into your talent management strategy.
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