Any individual is a complex assortment of behavior, personality, aptitude, ability, emotion and potential. This assortment has a significant influence on human activity, including the way we work. Understanding this spectrum of individual capacity has become key for organisations looking to optimize their employee efforts. Understanding what drives human action ensures that roles within the organisation are filled by people who will excel in them, everything being equal.
Understanding this spectrum requires some objectivity, and over the years, different objective measures have been developed. These measures are called assessments.
In the work environment, these assessments belong to two broad categories: professional and behavioural.
Professional competencies relate to specific work-related areas, and are used to determine the proficiency of employees in their current capacity. The results of these assessments help to demonstrate that individuals are in the right roles, what roles might be right for them and what development programs might be needed to bring their proficiency up to the required level. Examples of this type of assessments include the Managerial Assessment of Proficiency (MAP), High Performance Trait Indicators (HPTI) and the General Intelligence Assessment. MAP, for instance, identifies the managerial strengths and development needs of individuals, while GIA predicts an individual’s capacity to respond to learning.
Behavioural competencies encompass all the elements of an individual’s personality, emotional intelligence, and cognitive abilities. Just like professional assessments, there are also an array of behavioural assessments such as the Thomas International Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) and Test of Emotional Intelligence (TEIQ) which focus on innate traits that relate specifically to how individuals see themselves, see others, and how they manage and regulate their emotions.
Administered by skilled users, these assessments give organisations more certainty about the potential and output of its employees. Capacity development is more pointed and effective. Employee engagement and retention increases. The impact of the bottom line is naturally tremendous.