Approaches to learning and development assessment: getting the right fit

Self-discovery is a tempting prospect. There’s something irresistible about digging into our subconscious selves in order to illuminate the idiosyncrasies that shape and drive us personally and professionally.  It’s also an essential component of any well-planned corporate learning and development (L&D) strategy. 

Employee assessments

At qpeople, we field lots of requests for employee assessments – some to whittle down unwieldy candidate pools, others to benchmark individuals’ aptitudes and abilities or to measure the impact of a training programme. It’s not uncommon for clients to ask for a specific type of assessment – MBTI or Saville Wave, for instance – although we’d always recommend tackling any such project from a problem-solving perspective, rather than a solutions-shopping one. Here we have listed a few of qpeople’s preferred psychometric tools and providers: 

• Safe2Great (Growth Mindset and Leadership assessment, 360s) 
• Meta Team (Team Development)  
• EQ-i 2.0 & EQ360 (Emotional Intelligence – Individual, Leadership, Team and 360s) 
• Talogy (Ability, Trait-based personality, EI, Resilience, DE&I, Leadership Climate, 360s) 
• Saville and SHL (Ability, Trait-based personality, Leadership assessment) 
• Insights and MBTI (Type-based personality) 

When deployed effectively, assessments will bring clarity and illumination to the challenges of recruiting, retaining and developing of a modern workforce. But how do you know which approach to take? 

Psychometric testing 

Psychometric testing falls into two broad categories: personality profiling, and ability and skills testing. Carrying out this type of assessment will offer valuable insights into how individual employees work and communicate and show where they are likely to fit and flourish in the workplace.  Psychometric tests are most commonly used as part of the recruitment process, in concert with interviews, skills/knowledge evaluation and references, but they can also be helpful when conducted as a precursor to personal development or coaching, and team building. Whatever the context, it’s important to review the results of any psychometric testing within a wider assessment framework to provide a rounded picture of aptitude, ability and potential.  High-quality psychometric testing can help to: 

• Inform better hiring decisions based on multiple data points, such as ability and working styles.
• Increase employee engagement and alignment to the culture of the organisation. 
• Offer individuals fair, fresh and helpful personal insights. 
• Establish robust, effective and fair recruitment and onboarding processes. 
• Tailor ongoing development to individual employees’ needs.  
• Minimise cognitive hiring bias by combining data and intuition. 
• Create a benchmark for future hiring processes and professional development programmes.

360-degree assessments 

By contrast, 360-degree assessment is a peer evaluation system. It relies on anonymous ratings from an employees’ manager, colleagues and direct reports on the subject’s workplace behaviours and competencies and is designed to measure their strengths and development areas.   It’s an approach that is very much focused on behavioural characteristics such as leadership, Emotional Intelligence and communication styles – like teamwork, character, and leadership effectiveness – and, as such, can’t measure performance goals or other objective targets like sales quotas. Rather, it harnesses peer power to drive both employee development and organisational growth. While some 360’s have the rigor of psychometric tools, not all 360’s are cut from the same cloth. 

360-feedback

When used effectively, 360 feedback can help to: 

• Create actionable short- and long-term employee development plans. 
• Design and refine employee training opportunities. 
• Establish a positive feedback culture. 
• Promote trust, fairness and accountability. 
• Identify and encourage in-house talent/potential leaders. 
• Improve team- and relationship-building skills. 
• Boost employee motivation, productivity and retention. 

We know from experience that cultivating soft skills – like effective decision making, relationship building, teamwork and delegation – is important for career growth and for organisational effectiveness. A 360-feedback review provides valuable insights into core skills and behaviours, often uncovering the blind spots that are impeding growth, at the same time revealing fresh opportunities for development.   Importantly, it offers the chance for people to look through an unfamiliar lens – to make sense of the world from another perspective. Some may be blithely unaware of how others perceive them and wonder why they’re overlooked for promotion or are encountering pushback from colleagues, while others may be pleasantly surprised by how their peers feel about them.   With self-awareness as the goal, the evidence of multiple colleagues can provide a powerful impetus for change – either to elevate the skills and qualities that are in deficit or to amplify existing strengths. Once someone knows how they are seen, they have the choice to do things differently. 

Optimising growth opportunities 

As with any assessment, the value of intel is directly correlated to the quality of the testing framework. Whatever the approach, it’s vital that tests are conducted fairly and comprehensively, and that data is properly analysed and interpreted, with developmental recommendations tailored to individual needs and mapped into the organisation’s broader business strategy.  There’s also a better prospect of change if a defined cohort – a leadership group, for instance – can experience this process together, holding themselves and each other accountable for their actions. It’s important, too, to link behavioural changes to measurable outcomes. If leaders can see that an adjustment in their approach will directly affect employee performance, they’ll be mindful of the consequences of their actions and more likely to stick to their commitments.  At qpeople, we know that greater self-awareness can be the key to unlocking personal growth and professional performance. Experience also shows that this impact is further intensified when it’s practised at leadership level, rippling through an organisation, promoting improved employee engagement (and retention) and enhancing productivity and profitability.   At its most effective, the assessment-feedback cycle can underpin cultural transformation, empowering companies and their employees to grow and flourish, even in a challenging economic climate.  Need help with psychometrics, 360-degree assessment or your broader L&D Strategy? Click here Contact us to book a no-obligation exploratory chat.