In an earlier blog, the topic was mashing myths around assessments. This blog addresses another “M” word shadowing assessments and that is “mistakes.” To be more precise, mistakes in the use of assessments, mistakes in understanding the language in assessments, mistakes in using the information in assessments to its best advantage, and not using the right assessment.

In the Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” two weavers formulate a ruse by deceiving the emperor into thinking they have made him a beautiful new set of clothes. Despite having on only his underwear, when the emperor looks in the mirror, he believes he sees himself in these new garments. Are our blind spots much different?

The short answer is neither. The longer answer is a bit more complex. Nor is any organization likely to find the perfect workforce regardless of whether they use assessments or not.

The debate over the usefulness, accuracy, and even the legality of assessments has raged on for a number of years. For those who like to categorize everything into the black and white, right or wrong, good or bad piles, the true answer may not be that clear cut. According to recent research by Aberdeen Group, there is a shortage of critical talent and replacing an employee can carry a price tag of upwards of five times a bad hire’s salary. Therefore, it is evident that making good hiring decisions is crucial for an organization’s bottom line. Moreover, the use of assessments can have a positive impact on not only hiring, but retention, performance, and engagement.

Aside from measuring a potential candidate’s interests, backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses, assessments provide other bonuses.

• Best-in-class organizations are 45% more likely to use pre-hire assessments
• Best-in-class companies are 95% more likely to have a consistent competency model used for hiring, [including using assessments consistently as part of the model].
• Companies that use assessments are 36% more likely to be satisfied with their new hires
• Organizations using pre-hire assessments with performance results are 24% more likely to have employees who exceed performance expectations.
• Businesses using pre-hire assessments in conjugation with performance results have employees who are 17% more likely to rate themselves as engaged.
• Assessments can provide information as to whether or are not an employee is a good cultural fit. Best-in-class companies pass this information along to manager
  You can read the full report, Pre-Hire Assessments: An Asset for HR in the Age of the Candidate, at www.aberdeen.com

Those of us who tout the use of assessments as a critical tool in combating turnover, for increasing productivity, and improving customer satisfaction are also aware that cautionary measures must be taken in the use of assessments. So, no they are not the Holy Grail nor are they a wholly failure. Assessments are designed to be used in conjunction with the entire hiring process of implementing good search techniques, establishing performance standards, using good interviewing techniques, reference checking, and drug testing. Here are some other ideas to consider.

Operating a business is no piece of cake. When you begin adding people into the mix, business operations become even more complex. In short, as a business grows, so does business complexity. In any given recipe for success, any business owner, consultant, or human resources executive will always have people as an ingredient. Here is the sticky part, people are not only part of the problem, but they are also part of the solution. How can that be?

Long ago and far away the foundation for assessments began with Empedocles, 490-430 B.C. who founded the school of medicine in Sicily and Hippocrates, 460-370 B.C. from Greece who we consider as the father of medicine. However, he was also an observer of people. Despite what my children tell you, I do not know these two gentlemen personally. Even with this long history, many myths, mistaken ideas, and misuses of assessments exist and persist. The point of this blog is to dispel the myths, correct the mistaken ideas, and better redirect the misuse of assessments.