Professional Assessments: Are You Getting What You Need?

How is your organization using professional and leadership assessments?

Self-assessments, 360 degree feedback, assessment centers, and other similar tools are widely used in the workplace. What's your experience with them?

A lot of information is generated during the assessment process. I was reviewing some feedback that was coming in for a client and realized that there are lots of good uses for it. And we may not always be taking the best advantage of the information and the potential process. So:

Would Some of These Help You and Your Organization?

Assessment feedback, by definition, is given to the subject of the assessment. That person is often asked to reflect and decide what, if anything, to do with it. That's fine. Making behavioral changes is an individual's choice. But here are some other ways to get the most from the data. You may be doing some are all of them now. If not, here are some thoughts that I hope you will find helpful:

1. In the case of 360 feedback, encourage the recipient (I'll use the word "Manager") to get together with the group that generated the data. It's an opportunity, at minimum, to acknowledge the time and energy they put into the activity.

Suggest that the Manager share the themes and take-aways from the data. 360 activities have some of the same dynamics as surveys. Participants want to know what happened with their input--and what will change as a result. This is a chance to do just that. And, if the Manager has misinterpreted something, the group can add clarity.

Yes, I know that the feedback is anonymous, blah blah. However, the act of inviting the respondents to come together also invites a deeper level of candor. And the fact of the matter is: These are people with whom the Manager has to work. Sooner or later it will be time to increase the honesty of conversations. This is an ideal framework in which to do that.

2. A Good Reason For A Good Conversation with "The Boss."

If you're the Manager, make an appointment with your boss. Tell what you think you want to do differently. Ask if the boss sees the data and your intended changes in the same way. Or differently. Here's the principle: Giving straight feedback is difficult for a lot, if not most, people. Including the boss. If you provide the data and ask for suggestions, you've done the work that your boss my find tough. It may be the most meaningful conversation you've had with that person.

3. A Good Reason For a Good Conversation with Your Reports.

If it's a 360, some or all of those folks provided feedback. I wouldn't call a departmental meeting and declare "Let's share." I would do one of these two:

• Make it a point to informally share what you learned and are working on with each person. Do it in the course of normal conversation.

• If you have a full group meeting coming up soon, take 10 minutes to talk about the assessment, the process, what you learned, what you are working on, and what kind of support you need to do those things. The payoff? You get help. You set the model that getting feedback and doing assessments is a valuable activity.

4. Self Assessments. Any or all of the above will be helpful to validate your self perception. We have ways of deceiving ourselves on both scales: positive and negative. Have the conversations that will give you an accurate picture.

Let's assume that you--or whoever is being assessed--will use the info for development. Here's the payoff you don't want to miss: the data provide an "objective" reason to have a "subjective" conversation. When you rally around the information, you are in an arena that's focused on performance factors and not necessarily you as a person. (That may be a result. Why not find out while you still have time to make changes?).

Most of all: an assessment offers  a legitimate reason to have the kind of conversation you've been missing.

Go for it!

Comments

[Clayton Anderson]

Steve, thanks for this post. We administer and coach through a variety of assessments. One thing we've found at The Soderquist Center is re-visiting results periodically is important for behavior change. It's easy to go through the assessment and coaching process. And the tendency is to file reports away, out of sight. But we encourage people to keep it in a place where they see it routinely or create calendar reminders to review their results/feedback in the future.

Just a thought.

[Steve Roesler]

Hi, Clayton

It is easy--and common--to view assessment feedback as an "event" rather than an ongoing "how are we doing?" conversation. I'm with you: do anything you need to in order to keep the ball rolling.

[Matyas Sustik]

I wish all the managers would understand the above. However not all do or want to...

A friend's workplace had a survey circulated to measure employee satisfaction. My friend (self) scored between 3 and 4 on a scale of 1-5.

Meanwhile, they were interviewing for a position that opened up 2 months before, and my friend was also a applying (this would have been a promotion). Incidentally, he was actually filling in for that position's tasks for those 2 months (this is in healthcare). The manager said that my friend will not get the position because the survey indicates that he is not happy enough doing it anyway.

He ended up filling in for another 3 months before they hired someone else. A few weeks later he was forced out and a week after that the manager got promoted to a regional position.

Draw your own conclusions.

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Matyas

That's not a story with a happy ending, for sure. Obviously I don't know all the facts but I can comment on:

a. The idea of him not getting the job because a survey indicated he wasn't happy. Huh? Was he interviewed and asked that question directly?

b. He performed the job for what appears to be a total of 5 months. How was his performance? If it was good, was he asked if, in his opinion, the job was a good match and something he would like to continue?

If it is true that his manager based a conclusion on survey results only-and not on a real discussion--this thing would certainly be way off the scale when it comes to both effective and ethical business practices.

The good news: experience with incidents such as these tell me that your friend will end up somewhere else that will probably treat him better and whose practices will be more ethical. I wish him well.