Flashlight or Spotlight = Assessment product or Assessment solution

Imagine this- you’re trying to find something important that’s small and hidden in the dark.  You might even have a deadline to find that small important thing. Would you rather use a small flashlight or big spotlight in your search? Definitely a spotlight!
Evaluation of individuals in a workplace context works the same way. Whether evaluating for selection, promotion or a variety of other goals, as an HR professional you’re looking to find out more about someone’s skills, abilities, knowledge and potential. Human beings are complex and therefore the task of finding out about those competencies can also be complex.
This blog is about shining a light on opportunities to combine the force of two or more evaluation tools (individual flashlights) to provide an evaluation solution that provides you with more critical insights (spotlights).
A well-developed evaluation tool sheds light on specific competencies that you are assessing. For example, an in-basket exercise might be used to determine a candidate’s managerial competencies. This metaphorical flashlight provides insight on important skills and abilities related to results-orientation, communication, interpersonal skills and organization amongst others. As an HR professional (or hiring manager) you now have that information to take into consideration when making your decision. Is that enough though?  Do you have the best candidate for the position?
You have an option, and that’s to employ other assessment tools (one or more depending on the scope) to extend your circle of light and collect complimentary data for a better-informed decision.  For example, take that in-basket exercise you used previously. Given the work and team context of the department you’re hiring a manager for, would anybody with good in-basket scores be a good fit?  Probably not. Chances are you need someone with a personality best suited to establish a new working team or someone suited to managing a team with morale issues, or someone well placed to change organizational culture or any other number of contexts.
Enter the additional flashlight beam, the light to turn your one flashlight into a spotlight- the personality test. This is where using assessment tools morphs into using assessment solutions.  In this particular example you can use the personality test in conjunction with the in-basket exercise to broaden your assessment of an individual. You might look at the same critical competencies with these two distinct assessments; however, each one provides a different type of information that contributes to your bigger picture.
Although the mix of assessment products that you combine can change depending on your requirements, the result is a wider scope of information to draw from.  Resulting in a better decision by you and for your organization.
Do you have questions about combining assessment products for better assessment solutions?  Click here for more info, or here to get in touch with us.
Does anyone out there have any favourite combinations of assessment products they use to arrive at a better view of the bigger picture?  Share it to us!

Meaghan Huet