Assessments are used in corporations to support various HR functions, including recruitment, selection, onboarding, performance management, training and development, and succession planning. There are personality assessments, cultural competence assessments, and performance appraisals, and many more. Below are several assessments that are utilized in organizations.
Personality Assessments
Personality assessments, such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Big Five Personality Traits, or DISC, are often used to evaluate a candidate’s or employee’s work style, preferences, and strengths.
Cultural Competence Assessments
This assessment measures an individual’s ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment and understand cultural differences. An example of this instrument includes the Individual Cultural Blueprint Indicator (ICBI).
Organizational Culture Assessments
These assessments evaluate an organization’s culture and values, and how they align with employee and customer needs. An example includes the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI).
Cognitive Ability Tests
These assessments measure an individual’s ability to reason, solve problems, and understand complex ideas. Examples include Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test, Raven’s Progressive Matrices, or Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) Assessments
EI assessments measure an individual’s ability to recognize and manage their emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Examples include Emotional Intelligence Appraisal (EIA) and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT).
Skills Tests
Skills tests assess an individual’s competency in a particular skill or set of skills required for a job. Examples include Microsoft Office Suite proficiency tests, typing tests, and coding assessments.
Situational Judgment Tests
These tests present candidates with realistic work scenarios and ask them to choose the best course of action. They are often used to evaluate decision-making, problem-solving, and communication skills.
Job Knowledge Tests
These assessments evaluate a candidate’s or employee’s knowledge of a specific job or industry. Examples include the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) exam for HR professionals and the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam for accountants.
Behavioral Assessments
Behavioral assessments measure an individual’s behaviors, motivations, and values, and how they relate to job performance. Examples include Predictive Index (PI) and Caliper Profile.
Performance Appraisals
These assessments evaluate an employee’s performance over a set period, typically a year, and are often used to determine promotions, raises, and bonuses.
360-Degree Feedback
This assessment collects feedback from an employee’s supervisor, peers, and subordinates to evaluate their performance and identify areas for improvement.
Assessments are used in corporations at various stages of the employee lifecycle
- Pre-employment: Corporations use assessments during the hiring process to evaluate job candidates’ qualifications, skills, and personality traits. Pre-employment assessments may include cognitive tests, personality assessments, situational judgment tests, and job simulations.
- Onboarding: Assessments can be used during the onboarding process to evaluate new employees’ knowledge, skills, and training needs. This helps to ensure that new employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their job functions.
- Performance Evaluation: Assessments are used to evaluate employee performance, identify areas for improvement, and provide feedback on performance goals. Performance assessments may include performance appraisals, 360-degree feedback, and metrics-based assessments.
- Training and Development: Assessments can be used to identify employees’ training needs and provide targeted training and development programs. Assessments can also be used to measure the effectiveness of training programs and provide feedback on training outcomes.
- Succession Planning: Assessments are used to identify employees with the potential to fill key leadership roles in the future. Succession planning assessments may include leadership assessments, competency assessments, and talent reviews.
How a Corporation Used An Assessment to Improve Their Culture
There was a large multinational corporation that had a diverse workforce from different countries and cultures. The corporation had recently been facing some challenges with employee retention and satisfaction. Many employees were leaving the company, and there was a growing concern about the workplace culture and how it impacted employee engagement.
The corporation’s leadership team recognized the importance of understanding the company’s culture and how it affected its employees. They decided to conduct a cultural self-assessment to gain a better understanding of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses.
Leaders appointed a group of employees from different departments and levels to form a task force that would lead the cultural self-assessment. The task force conducted interviews, surveys, and focus groups with employees across the organization to collect data about the company’s culture.
After several weeks of data collection and analysis, the task force presented their findings to the leadership team. The cultural self-assessment revealed that the company had a hierarchical culture that valued competition and individual achievement over collaboration and teamwork. This culture created silos within the organization, where employees in different departments didn’t communicate effectively with each other. The lack of communication and collaboration led to misunderstandings, duplicated efforts, and a lack of trust between departments.
The results of the cultural self-assessment surprised the leadership team, but also made them realize the importance of addressing these issues. Immediately they started to implement changes to the company’s culture by creating cross-functional teams that encourage collaboration and communication between departments. They also introduced team-building activities and training programs to promote teamwork and collaboration.
What was the result of the cultural assessment?
The changes started to have a positive impact on the company’s culture. Employees felt more engaged, and the sense of teamwork and collaboration improved significantly. The company’s employee retention rates also started to improve, and the organization became known for its inclusive and supportive workplace culture.
In conclusion, the cultural assessment was a crucial step for the corporation to understand and address the issues within its workplace culture. By taking action and implementing changes, the company was able to create a more inclusive and collaborative culture that supported its employees and contributed to its long-term success.
Why are cultural assessments important?
Overall, assessments can provide valuable information to help corporations make better decisions about hiring, performance management, training and development, and succession planning. By using assessments, corporations can improve their processes, reduce turnover, and increase productivity and profitability.
To learn more about the ICBI cultural assessments, click here.
Leave a Reply