Ever buy something to solve a problem and not care whether it actually solved your problem or not?
Didn’t think so.
The whole point of spending money on something is to have it deliver results. But sometimes, in order for things to work properly, they require a bit of user know-how. You have the power to obtain the results you’re looking for – you just need the right instructions. Personality assessments are one of those cases, so here’s how to make sure they deliver:
Process Design
Whether you intend to use personality assessments for hiring or development, there are certain processes that they’ll be weaved into. You need to determine at which points they should be applied, how they’ll be used, and who will be the people using them. Usage includes things like getting input for benchmarks, compiling that input, administering the assessments, and providing reports to hiring managers. Process mapping is a great way to go about this exercise so you can spot any inefficiencies and work through them before putting anything in place.
Training and Communication
This is critical. Even if you spend hours developing your ideal process, if the relevant people aren’t told what to do, it’ll never get done. And if they’re told what to do but aren’t trained on how to do it properly, you won’t see results either. Once you identify who will be involved in each stage of the process, you can then determine what kind of training they’ll need, and you can put together a quick communication strategy to let them know. It’s important to inform them of their new tasks, when and how they’ll be trained, and who to contact for support. It is also important to show them how their specific tasks contribute to the overall result you’re trying to achieve. Ensure they’ve bought in to your strategy so that they actually care to go through with it.
Measurement of Results
I know this is sort of a facepalm kind of point, but enough people miss it that I just have to say it: you can’t know if you’re achieving your desired results if you’re not tracking them. If your goal is to reduce turnover, Workable has a great turnover calculator tool, and McQuaig offers a collection of useful formulas, including one for turnover cost. If your goal is to improve employee relations, conduct anonymous surveys before and after using assessments. Whatever your problem is, monitor it to see if it gets better or worse.
Sometimes, it just takes a little direction to get started. But when it comes to personality assessments, you aren’t stuck guessing or reading any complicated instruction manuals. If you’ve chosen a high-quality assessment, your vendor should be more than happy to provide the guidance you need to run with your new set of tools.