← Return to Posts

How to Select Elite Talent (Part 4 of 5): The Assessment Sciences

May 5, 2016 Chris Steer

 

assessment_sciences.jpg

Admit it; you’ve been waiting all day for Part IV of our eQ blog series on elite talent! Well, wait no longer. As promised, today, we’ll take you beyond the benchmark and into the assessment sciences.

Beyond the benchmark of what the job is, and what a common definition of ‘good’ is, there are several critical pieces that must be considered when selecting top talent. Assessing candidates is imperative to get the complete picture of each individual’s profile. Beyond intelligence, cultural fit, and experience; individuals bring a unique combination of attitudes, behaviors, emotional intelligence, and skills to the job. (And if you’ve been a frequent reader of our blogs you know how important emotional intelligence can be)!

Each of these factors has a direct impact on performance and determining whether the employee is average or exceptional in that particular role. While a person’s behavioral profile is crucial for determining that they are an appropriate fit for the job, it’s a mistake to rely on behavioral match only. Just as hiring candidates with prior relevant experience is not enough to guarantee top performance, assessments that only describe workplace behaviors are not inclusive enough to most accurately predict potential performance.

Hiring managers commonly hire for behavior only, or rely on poor predictors. This isn’t always the best avenue to take. A comprehensive assessment process includes an analysis of the underlying attitudes and world view that motivate a person to action.

My recommendation: stick with the assessment sciences. Think of your organization as a puzzle and the job opening as your missing piece; stop jamming the wrong piece into the open hole just because you like the way it looks. You need the right piece to complete the puzzle, not the piece with the best resume.

Come back tomorrow for the final installment of our eQ blog series on elite talent where we tackle the talent eQuation.

TOPICS: Business Growth, Employee Engagement