Recruitment and Assessment
The assessment of any individuals knowledge and skill is by no means an easy task. There are however a number of activities that can be used in regards the assessment of skills and knowledge of potential and or existing employees.
Perhaps the most obvious and probably the most widely used form of data gathering is Curriculum Vitae's or Resumes. These usually include data covering details of name, address, qualifications and employment history. However, although these record previous employment activities they do not clearly indicate what actual knowledge and skill an individual has attained or displayed in each of their previous positions. Therefore they are only appropriate as an initial data gathering tool prior to undertaking a more in depth assessment.
Psychometric Tests are another form for measuring an individual's potential in particular areas such as cognitive abilities e.g. intelligence tests, conceptual reasoning and quantitative reasoning tests and personality tests. These tests measure predictive behaviour and can be valuable to determine the likely behaviour of an individual in given situations.
The use of Assessment Centres, which tend to test competencies and actual performance within a given criteria, have become more popular in recent times. However, again on their own, as with resumes, they do not provide the full answer.
Having applicants provide a full and concise Written Summary of their recent work activities, explaining the what, how and why of the particular activities could prove to be a valuable additional tool in assessing their overall knowledge and skill. The written summary would also need to include an in depth analysis of their own knowledge and skills in certain preselected criteria.
Additionally, an Interview using a Behavioural Questionnaire approach (e.g. Targeted Selection interviewing) would provide the opportunity to investigate further with the applicant, any areas of concern exposed in the written summary or resume. Obviously it will also provide an opportunity for the applicant to expand further on issues raised in the written summary. Effectively then the interview allows a closer examination of the individuals knowledge and skill and this can then be followed up with reference checks with previous employers to confirm details supplied by the applicant.
Refer to the 'Reference Check' form in the Employment Law and HR section of this site. (Subscriber access only)
So, what is the answer?
If you are recruiting particularly from outside the organisation, to obtain a full understanding of the an applicants skills, and knowledge, the ideal scenario would be to utilise all of the above tools except for perhaps the assessment centre. Remember the process and cost of staff turnover is high and it is imperative to spend 'Quality Dollars' in the recruitment process. How much and how effective the recruitment cost is will reflect later on in how cost effective employees become.
There are a variety of recruitment forms in the Employment Law and HR section of this site (Subscriber access only)
If you are seeking internal candidates, implementing Employee Development Programmes or are recruiting a number of employees for the same or similar roles (e.g. Management Trainee) the use of some form of Assessment Centre will greatly assist the process.
Whatever you decide to do, or however you decide to recruit, it is important to find out as much as you can about the applicant before you employ them and entrust them with your business.
If you are in need of recruitment advice or further information on psychometric testing, assessment centres, or targeted selection methods, please contact PHA Consultants for assistance.
