Read the Reports Before Buying a Talent Assessment Tool

Detailed_reports A talent assessment tool is only as effective as the actionable information it provides for you to base decisions upon.

If you’re considering a talent assessment tool one of the most important things you can do is review the reports you’ll be receiving.

You want depth and richness of information from your tool, absolutely, but if that information comes in a form that’s difficult for you to use, it has limited value. Ultimately, the reports coming out of your system should empower you, and your hiring managers, to make sound hiring decisions. They should also assist managers in onboarding, coaching and developing staff. If the reports are difficult to understand you’ll struggle with them and your hiring managers will ignore them.

Ask your prospective providers to see samples of their most commonly used reports – if possible, take their tests and see reports based on your assessment. Try to understand the reports yourself and imagine how you, or a hiring manager pressed for time, would use the information as it’s presented. Better yet, get a hiring manager involved. Let them see the reports and talk about how they could use them.

Most talent assessment companies provide training and certification to equip customers to use the data that their systems provide. Based on a review of the reports, how much training do you think you’ll need to actually use the reports?

What you, as a user, must decide is how much time and money you’re willing to invest to maximize the value of your chosen system. And when considering this, remember to also factor in future training requirements due to staff turnover.

Training is recommended for all assessment tools, but some tools have reports that are easier to work with than others.

You should also ask for references and ask existing customers what they think of the reports that the tool provides and how they use them.

This is just one area to explore when considering a talent assessment tool. You can read more in our eBook, Ultimate Guide To Choosing The Right Talent Assessment.