Services > Competency Assessment
Overview
"The competency assessment tool adds one more important layer to the competency assessment work of an organization. It provides for a standardized methodology to facilitate and move a discussion forward around performance and best fit in a job or within the organization."
The Competency Assessment Tool is a fast, easy to use, reliable tool for the managers in the workplace. It provides a standardized methodology to profile competencies to support a host of activities.
Here are some of the ways this assessment tool can be applied in the workplace:
- Assess job candidates for best match to a position;
- Select for best team fit;
- Assess leadership and management styles;
- Identify potential leaders for succession planning;
- Create a competency profile of high performers in various areas jobs;
- Develop 360°feedback;
- Coach employees around a set of competencies; and
- Facilitate a performance review discussion.
Background
The Essentials Assessment tool is based on the Adjectives Check List (ACL) which was first developed by Harrison G. Gough in the early days of the Institute of Personality and Assessment and Research at the University of California, Berkeley and has been used since 1952. As a result of extensive research and collaboration, it has become one of the most frequently used and cited tests in psychology. The reasons for this include the ease of administration, the intuitive understanding it lends itself to and its many applications within the field of psychology. It may be administered to an individual to elicit a self-evaluation or a characterization of someone else; or it may be used by observers as a standardized method for recording personal attributes of clients or research subjects.
The first significant development of the ACL was accomplished through a collaborative effort with Alfred B. Helbrun, Jr. who developed a series of experimental scales and together with Gough, they gathered normative data for almost 10,000 subjects and interpreted findings to produce the foundation for development of subsequent assessment tools. For more in-depth information on the development of the adjective list, refer to the Adjective Check List Manual, by Gough and Heilbrun, published by CPP, Inc.
Although the tool has always been used in the field of clinical psychology, it has more recently been developed for application within the world of human resources and organizational development. For more information on the development of the specific tool used by N.J. Hess Associates, refer to the Essentials LLC website at www.essentialsllc.com and click on “white papers”.
N.J. Hess Associates has been involved in the field of human resources for over 25 years and for the past 15 years has been actively building competency models with clients from the ground up. This experience has enabled Nancy Hess to work directly with managers and employees on the development and application of competency concepts, tools and models. She has focused on group process and creating shared understanding of core competencies that drive the mission, vision and values of the organization. She has coached managers on the use of competencies to support performance, hiring and compensation practices, and the alignment of these programs with business strategies.
The competency assessment tool adds one more important layer to the competency assessment work of an organization. It provides for a standardized methodology to facilitate and move a discussion forward around performance and best fit in a job or within the organization. On the one hand, it can offer powerful insights for the individual being assessed; on the other, it can generate dialogue and feedback around critical competencies for job success.
In some cases, the assessment will be used to quickly determine best fit for a job or the organization. The assessment is particularly useful in this respect because it can be completed in roughly ten minutes and the results are available within minutes. If the job requires a high competency percentage for "support" and "mentoring" to fill a supervisory position, the assessment tool will be provide an excellent read on a candidate. There is a built in safety device; if a person tries to slant the assessment results, or essentially "fool" the assessment, the validity score will reveal that the data should not be used.
Product Delivery
N.J. Hess Associates is a co-branded with Essentials LLC to deliver this product to clients. She offers a secure, confidential, portal web-site where the assessment can be completed. Reports will be sent from N.J. Hess Associates directly to the client within minutes, or as requested by the client.
Although proposals will be prepared to meet the specific needs of the client, and while not exhaustive, the product may be packaged with consulting services in the following ways:
Individual ReportsClients may request that individuals complete the assessment and the report will be sent directly to the client. This is appropriate for in-house use in a variety of uses to include selection, performance review, individual and team development and coaching.
Consultative FeedbackClients may request that the consultant provide confidential consultative feedback for an individual who has completed the assessment. The session will incorporate development of a competency development work plan which will include a summary report for the client.
Candidate AssessmentThe consultant will develop a competency profile for a job in the organization, provide interpretative feedback of assessment reports from candidates and in consultation with client, recommend "hire" or "no hire".
Supervisory Training and DevelopmentA team of supervisors will complete the assessment and the consultant will provide "generalized" interpretive feedback regarding the tool in conjunction with facilitating a session around development of supervisory feedback skills.
Management Training and DevelopmentThe consultant will work with management to develop a more in-death understanding of interpretive elements of the assessment tool. Managers will receive instruction on the use of the assessment tool to select best candidates, coach and develop employees.
360° Performance FeedbackThe consultant will work with the client to develop a 360° performance feedback event for an individual or a team. Results will be reviewed confidentially with the individual(s) and a summary report will be provided to the client.
Job Competency ProfileThe consultant will profile top performers in a job class using the assessment tool, provide an interpretive report and in consultation with the client, prepare a competency profile for use in coaching and screening for top performers within a job class.
Leadership Training and DevelopmentIn conjunction with the assessment tool, the consultant will provide training on leadership styles and facilitate a session on ways to build leadership skills in the organization.