selection and assessment

Assessment !Everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask

Dr. Wendell WilliamsManaging Director

ScientificSelection.com, LLC770-792-6857

Who am I

• 10 years Executive Management• 10 years VP Positions Training• 20 years Consulting• BSIM, MBA, MS, Ph.D. • American Psychological Association• Society for Industrial and Organizational

Psychology• Association of Test Publishers

Copyright 2008, ScientificSelection.com 770-792-6857

What is Assessment?

• A scary place?• A special program?• A certain kind of test?• Only big organizations? • Unfairly screen-out people?• A blight on humanity?


Assessments

Any method used to evaluate whether a person has skills to perform a job

Applications: – Hiring– Promotion – Job preview– Training needs


Not New!BCE • Aaron suggests assessment process to Moses• Chinese assess for bureaucrats and courtiers• Plato outlines management assessment processCE• c. 1800 Surgeons and Cadets • c. 1850 Government clerks • c. 1900 Streetcar operators and salesmen• c. WWI and WWII officer candidates


Driving Test = Assessment

– Written exam– Eye test – Driving Skills

• Parking• Traffic• Signals • Simulators


“Trendy”

Assessments tend to rise and fall with trends in the labor market


Biggest Obstacle

Human nature encouragespeople to make sweeping judgments about skillsbased on small snippetsof information (Halo and Horns effect)


Rolling the Dice

Information snippets such as interviews generally screen-out blatantly unqualified candidates; but, the odds of hiring or promoting the wrong person are no better than chance.


ROI Often Ignored

The financial impact of interview/resume assessment can be considerable:– 20% of base salary for unskilled– 30% of base salary for skilled and semi-skilled– 50% of base salary for professional and

managerial


ROI comes from…

• More productivity• Less training• Faster learning• Lower turnover• Less training• Fewer mistakes• Motivated employees


Professional Assessment Results

A professionally developed multi-trait, multi-method assessment process usually cuts training, doubles employee productivity and reduces turnover by half.


Screen In

Screen Out

What Does Assessment ‘Assess’?

Job Performance = How + What• How= having the right KSA’s for the job• What = clear expectations, results, products


Tennis Example

What = Win majority of setsHow = Hard serve, accuracy, endurance, agility,

forehand return, backhand return, game strategy


Assessments

Assessments evaluate the candidate’s job “how’s”…


Typical Assessment Areas

1) Cognitive: thinking, learning, problem solving, planning, technical

2) Interpersonal: interacting, behaving, persuading, presenting

3) Motivational: likes and dislikes



Common Assessment Tools

• Handwriting• Age• Education• Projective test• Interview• Grade point avg. • Recommendation

• Personality test• Motivation test• Reference check• Biographical data• Situational int.• Behavioral int. • Mental ability• Simulation


Common Assessment Tools (some good…some not so much)

Off the Wall• Handwriting• Astrology• Pseudo –psych tests

Usually Unrelated• Age • Education• Self assessment• Grade point avg.• Recommendations

Little data –big assumptions • General Interview • Personality test • Motivation test • Reference check

Hard to fake - Job related• Biographical data• Situational int.• Behavioral int. • Mental ability• Simulation

Assessments = Common Sense


Hard to Fake + Job Related• Demonstrate Skills

– Problem solving tests– Scheduling exercises– In-baskets– Participation in simulations

• Give concrete examples– Situational Interviews– Behavioral Interviews

• Self-descriptions– Self-descriptions– Standard interviews



Job Attitudes

Candidate Iceberg

Interviews/ impressions

Job Skills


Look Under the Water Line

Attitudes

Interests

Motivations

Details

Spelling

Communication

Problem Solving

Learning

Self Descriptions Can be Faked


Demonstrations = Hard to FakeWhat You See is What You Get



Workshops?

Professional Assessment Guidelines

• Clearly identify what to evaluate

• ONLY use assessments developed to predict performance

• Make sure assessments are accurate and trustworthy


Example

If a critical element is: • Learning• Problem Solving • Coaching• Persuasion• Planning• Enthusiasm• Mixed elements

Then evaluate (assess) for: • Learning ability• Solving problems• Ability to coach• Persuasiveness• Planning skills• Motivation• Multi-trait/Multi-

method


Getting Started

• Clearly define “performance”• Identify “hows” (job requirement and

business necessity)• Choose proven professional tools• Confirm that “hows” differentiate between

high and low performance • Use a MTMM approach


STOP!

Assessment tests and training tests are NOT the same: training tests evaluate interpersonal differences regardless of performance. Hiring tests evaluate performance regardless of interpersonal differences


Assessments Evaluate “Hows” “Hows” Lead to Performance

Test Score

Performance

+

-


Summary


Professional Assessments

Fairly and accurately evaluate whether a person has skills to perform a job

Applications: – Hiring– Promotion – Job preview– Training needs


Not NewBCE • Aaron suggests assessment process to Moses• Chinese assess for bureaucrats and courtiers• Plato outlines management assessment processCE• c. 1800 Surgeons and Cadets • c. 1850 Government clerks • c. 1900 Streetcar operators and salesmen• c. WWI and WWII officer candidates


Require Discipline

Human nature encouragespeople to make sweeping judgments about skillsbased on small snippetsof information (Halo and Horns effect)


Impressive ROI

Differences between high and low performance are estimated to be:– 20% of base salary for unskilled– 30% of base salary for skilled and semi-skilled– 50% of base salary for professional and

managerial


Multi-trait/Multi Method

• Evaluate critical job activities• Hard to fake• Level the playing field• Fair to all applicants• Based on job requirements and business

necessity• Scores relate to job performance• Pay for themselves in one or two hires


Don’t Stand Alone

Even the best assessments cannot compensate for:– Bad managers (the greatest source of job

dissatisfaction) – Frustrating working conditions– Low pay or benefits– Poor executive leadership– Lack of training


Q & A


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