Behavioral assessments are a growing trend amongst hiring managers and human resource departments. Essentially, a behavioral assessment is a tool to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of how an individual handles a given situation. There are many different assessments out there for a variety of different job roles, but overall, they help management understand where someone excels and where they have room to grow within their job responsibilities. Behavioral assessments are often misunderstood, so to help clear up some confusion, here are some of the ways behavioral assessments can help you.
Behavioral Assessments Give You A Starting Point For Feedback
When you have intermittent behavior assessments of your employees, it can help when it’s time for their periodical review or when you need to give feedback on their performance. When you base your feedback on your own subjective observations, it can seem harsh and judgmental. But when you have the results of an assessment, you have the data to back up what you know to be true.
Also, it can give both you and your employee a pinpointed area for improvement. For instance, if you notice that an individual’s sales are down, a behavior assessment can give insight into why that might be. Because behavioral assessments measure someone’s responses and not the results of their actions, it gives a fuller picture of the way a person is succeeding or failing in their job.
Behavioral Assessments Are A Non-Biased Benchmark
When you give feedback that’s not based on hard evidence, it’s harder to measure progress. The great thing about numbers is that they keep track of both where you have been and where you are. Having employees take regular behavioral assessments allows you to see their progress from a non-biased perspective. Having these numbers also means you can take stock of the overall progress of your team or department.
These benchmarks can also be used to track the efficacy of a training program or learning initiative. If you want to see if the training is working in the way it’s intended, instead of having to wait for long-term change, you can simply test for specific behaviors in a behavioral assessment. All in all, these assessments are one of the top ways to objectively evaluate your team.
Behavioral Assessments Are Relevant To The Job
There are many different behavioral assessments out there, and many of them are tailored to particular industries or job roles. Even the more personality-based behavioral assessments available have strong relevance to many different jobs. This availability of choice and direct application to each job role is one of the reasons behavioral assessments are so vital. Unlike having your team read general business books or undergo a company-wide workshop, behavioral assessments are directly relevant to each job role, so you can avoid wasting time.
Also, when you’re interviewing new candidates for the job, behavioral assessments show their suitability for the actual job they will be performing. Interview questions, while still useful, only give us a glimpse of what a candidate is capable of, while a behavioral assessment can give you a fuller picture. It also gives the interviewee an idea of what the details of their job might actually look like if they were to get the job!
These benefits of behavioral assessments are just the tip of the iceberg. Behavioral assessments are growing in popularity for a reason.