The Truth About Behavioral Assessments

Behavioral assessments are often used in the workplace to determine whether potential and current employees fit the mission and values of the company. Misaligning employees and companies wastes time and money that could be spent moving your business forward. While employees might be hesitant to take a behavioral assessment out of fear of being let go, taking the assessment can help the company refocus on its success—even through something as simple as shifting responsibilities of employees.

But companies often don’t use assessments correctly. Executives are sometimes afraid their HR leaders will rely too heavily on the assessment, while others think the hiring manager might rely too much on their own judgment and not actually use the assessments.

Here a few ways you can make the assessments work.

Choose one that’s not time-consuming.

Taking more than 30 minutes out of an employee’s day for a behavioral assessment is a waste of everyone’s time. The longer the process, the more tedious it will be to collect responses and assess the results.

Make sure it’s easy to understand.

If an employer can’t make head nor tail of the results from a behavioral assessment, how can they implement changes? The employees should know what they are responding to and how to respond to it, in addition to the company’s understanding of how to place each individual based on the results.

Choose an assessment that aligns with the relevant position.

If the assessment isn’t geared toward a specific role, how will you know if a person is fit for that exact role? Blanket assessments won’t help a company figure out if they need to shift an employee’s focus, keep them in the same position, or separate them from the company.

Choose the right assessment for your company or industry.

Behavioral assessments should be conducted by an expert who knows the needs of the business it’s serving. It’s important to have an objective view for assessment; inside managers sometimes have clouded judgment because they work with these employees every day. While there may be concerns about disrupting current behaviors and cultural practices around the office, it may be time to bite the bullet and assess employees.

Employees might be quick to avoid taking a behavioral assessment out of fear of job loss; but the assessment can redirect employees to a position where they can excel and are more likely to want to retain. Assessments can be great for hiring people and understanding whether the candidate fits the position, another position within your business or doesn’t fit the values of the brand at all. With that in mind, make sure you conduct research on which tests are the best to use for your goals and positions available.

To better understand recruiting new hires and redirecting stagnant employees, check out our guide, Defining Your Small Business Brand to Attract Like-Minded Talent.