Individual assessment: what is it?
When it comes to talking about individual assessments within the company, numerous doubts, many dilemmas and various difficulties always seem to arise. In fact, it is not clear what it is, nor what it entails. A sector that, despite the rapid growth in popularity, still remains hidden from most people today. The individual assessment represents, in all respects one of those concepts that should not be ignored, especially if you want to carry out an effective and complete management of the company from a thorough point of view.
An individual assessment is only carried out under direct observation and by qualified professionals. Alternatively, an individual assessment can be done in other ways, like group tests or individual ones – as long as they have been specifically designed to help the emergence of some particular skills.
Therefore, we can talk of individual assessment as an excellent method of investigation, capable of providing incredibly accurate results. It is no coincidence then that it is currently one of the most used tools in a company (and not only there). Thanks to the individual assessment it actually becomes possible to understand what the development and growth skills of a single individual or a group are. This means of research can focus on managers and other professionals. If desired, it is even possible to carry out real individual assessment campaigns. In this way we try to fully understand the potential of single individuals, trying to avoid as much as possible the usual errors and problems which are common in an individual assessment phase that is carried out badly.
In order for this not to happen, it is advisable to always entrust the work only to those who can in all respects be considered as real professionals. Those who are able to deal with all the factors of individual assessment, preferring an innovative and avant-garde approach to the traditional one. More recently, online individual assessment is increasingly fashionable, based on a purely digital functioning. In this case, diagnostic tests are combined with direct observations. Technology can certainly provide a great helping hand to anyone who wants to carry out a high-quality individual assessment. The important thing is, as always, to rely only on professionals.
Individual assessments: the objectives
The objectives of an individual assessment can be very different, but in general they revolve around the desire to evaluate the potential of the employees who work in a particular department within the company. In many cases, the individual assessment processes focus on those who within the company are destined to occupy positions of a higher level than the primary one. For example, an individual assessment may concern an employee who is promoted, going on to play a role of greater importance for the benefit of the company. The individual assessment is particularly useful for carrying out a complete phase of analysis of the skills of a person who is a candidate for an important position. This objective can also affect a business group and is a mandatory step to take in order to complete the planning of the resource development strategy. In addition, the individual assessment is particularly useful for measuring the level of soft skills possessed by the various members of the managerial group. This step is particularly useful for understanding the level of a company’s employees before starting a specific training course. Finally, among the various objectives of the company assessment, one cannot forget the support for the group selection processes. These are particularly useful when seeking to reduce the number of candidates and understanding which of those are well suited to fill some positions rather than others. This phase, for example, is almost mandatory when looking for experts who can hold clear managerial positions.
The characteristics of individual assessments (also called managerial assessments) or group assessments (also called assessment centres) change according to the objectives to be achieved and can even vary from company to company. In general, however, it is required to develop a certain analytical vision of the basic methodology. The latter must be oriented towards judgment and it must be as precise as possible. An individual assessment must also be started early and the reason is simple – it takes a certain time to identify the positive or negative characteristics that govern working relationships within the company.
Why is it performed? for what reason?
It mainly serves to obtain a picture as complete and objective as possible both of the skills possessed by a person and of his / her managerial style. The quality of the individual assessment is directly related to its accuracy and it would be useless to think the opposite. The more information the individual assessment can provide, the better the results will be. Speed doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality, far from it. It is certainly better to spend a little more time in obtaining more accurate information rather than focusing solely on speed and then losing all the other information along the way. This data also helps to thoroughly investigate the candidate’s various personal attitudes, finding out which roles he is best suited to, understanding his strengths and so on. All this makes the method in question perfect for collecting a complete dossier with information relating to the person and being able to subsequently decide whether he is suitable for a particular role or not.
But even this is not all. We must take care to carry out a Gap Analysis as deep and complete as possible. The latter is always performed in relation to the key skills required for a particular role. Thanks to this tool it becomes even more possible to identify those employees who are mainly in line with the demands of a role at a superior level. A 360 ° assessment of all the skills and varied knowledge of the professional in question is then conducted.
As for the use of individual assessment on a sample group, the tool in question permits carrying out a profound assessment of each individual’s abilities as well as offering the opportunity to evaluate the weak points (in addition to those of strength) of each individual participant. However, there are requirements to be respected for executing this type of work without making mistakes. Group assessment, for example, can help identify gaps in teamwork.
Online individual assessment: is it possible to do?
Quite wrongly, it is thought that it is not possible to carry out a complete individual assessment phase online due to the obvious limitations. This is not exactly true: thanks to modern technology and numerous digital tools, nowadays it is more than ever possible to carry out a deep and complete analysis phase, even online. The important thing is, as always, to address only those who can in all respects be considered professionals.
The individual online assessment, just like the normally performed one, must follow a whole series of steps. In particular, it focuses on identifying, often in agreement with participant observation, his / her ability to carry out the work and concentrate on certain aspects of it.
A reference grid is created online, which makes it easier to understand what the problematic parameters of the observed are and what the latter should improve. Finally, thanks to various online tools, it is now possible to carry out a full and complete day of targeted assessment by combining various activities, tests, trials and so on.
