My goal is to provide products and services that build sustainable growth for your company.
I love using qualified assessments and have been using and providing them to my clients for over 25 years. I have seen firsthand the value of how using (or not using) the right tools can make a significant difference in resolving people and management issues. Qualified assessments can help create positive outcomes.
An IT manager was having difficulty managing his people; in addition, due to many complaints about his brusque manner, he experienced high turnover. After using a qualified assessment that gauges thinking style, core behaviors and occupational interests, he found he learned quickly despite the fact that he had never completed high school. As a result of this insight, coupled with coaching on how to manage meetings and handle questions, he excelled. He completed his GED, enrolled in business management courses and became a key influencer in his company.
Why Are Assessments Critical?
Using the right assessments the right way helps companies hire, coach, manage and develop great talent while easily resolving issues involving employees, teams, salespeople, boards and executives. The clarity and value of qualified assessments are incredible … assessments provide the million-dollar difference when used appropriately. They help you achieve your intended results, coach with confidence and turn good employees into great ones!
All Assessments Are Not Created Equal
One of the biggest challenges employers face today is discerning a qualified assessment from a non-qualified one, and using assessments appropriately.
First and foremost, a qualified assessment meets the 13 standards in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) guidelines for using assessments to hire and promote employees. (This becomes important to you when the DOL knocks on your door.) To find out if the assessment tool you are using meets these requirements, get a copy of the DOL’s guidelines (request a copy) and a copy of the technical manual for the assessment. Don’t be surprised if your assessment provider cannot provide a technical manual, and do not rely on a letter from a law firm writing about EEO, ADA and other legal compliance. The scientific data, legal compliance and other important information are ALL contained in the technical manual.
Second, understand that most assessments do not meet the DOL’s standards for pre-employment and promotion purposes. There are over 3,000 publishers of assessments in the market today. Most do not meet the DOL’s guidelines—despite what the provider tells you. These guidelines are critical in ensuring accurate, predictive and usable results that produce better hires, and for promoting the right talent into successful roles.
Other Factors to Consider
Three primary reasons non-qualified tools are popular:
- They are quick to use and inexpensive to purchase.
- They can provide fun social interaction in a training event (e.g., characterizing employees using colors, royalty titles, behavioral labels, etc.).
- They offer Face Validity, in other words, the results show how you want to be seen.
The biggest push-back often comes down to cost. Why do qualified tools seem to cost more?
- The truth is, they save you money, time and sleepless nights when you factor in the high cost of hiring mistakes and potential litigation from using non-qualified tools to hire and promote!
Qualified assessments provide bosses and employees with critical information:
- Objective data about the culture and job fit of the person—the key reasons people, performance and profits fall short in an organization
- The strongest validity and reliability studies, along with periodic retests, keep the tools up-to-date
- Predictive validity that allows you to strategically build a solid foundation for a growing business, now and in the future
- The ability to gauge the accuracy of the results
- Selection, coaching, leadership, sales and other important reports for hiring, coaching and training with confidence and clarity
The million-dollar difference is that qualified assessments help build a strong foundation for business growth. These objective tools can replicate results, provide clarity and make a positive impact on the bottom line. Otherwise, the foundation you are building will rock, roll and crumble.
That’s why I love assessments! Why not find out the million-dollar difference they can make for you?
©Jeannette Seibly, 2017
Need to create a strategic hiring system? Get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees, or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.
Jeannette Seibly is laser sharp at identifying the leverage points that will take a business and its team to the next level of performance and success. She has been a business advisor and executive coach for over 24 years; along the way, she’s guided the creation of three millionaires and million-dollar results for employers across the United States. Also, she is a PXT SelectTM Certified Professional and Authorized Partner. Check out her website, or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.