subject: Assessments: Helping you to build a more diverse organisation [print this page] Assessments: Helping you to build a more diverse organisation
Many organisations take on staff because they resemble people who have succeeded in the past, with the result that the best candidates are often unnoticed.
By focusing on the demands the employer is trying to fill, on the other hand, employers are not likely to predict candidate's performance more accurately but also to select people from a more diverse range of backgrounds.
Its significant to include in your selection process that to identify the values, behaviours and motivation of the candidates. You may need to look at a broad range of attributes to make assessment processes fairer and more reliable. But no single test can do this lone.
Employers need to start using a range of selection tools, such as interviews and work sample tests. Today, many organisations already use detailed interviews, assessment centers and similar tools to select graduates and senior management staff. But the costs involved have generally discouraged the wider use of these techniques. Alternatively organisations are beginning to use cost-effective alternatives. Developing a number of assessments could be helpful, such test ask candidates what they would do in realistic work situations set out in videos or texts.
Selecting the right assessments, it is essential to implement them properly. The best test on the market are only as good as the process of which they form a part, and flawed decisions can be made based on sound and verifiable data.
A well designed policy on assessment is therefore essential to ensure good practice and that the maximum benefits build up from its use. Many observers however, argue that while the quality and objectivity of assessment processes have improved in recent years, this is not in itself enough to create a truly level playing field for all candidates.
It is important to note that candidates come from different cultural, social and economical backgrounds, and the whole assessment process needs to take that into consideration if employers are going to increase the diversity of their organisations. So instead of making interviews as difficult as possible and putting candidates under pressure, appreciative interviews aim to get the best out of candidates by asking them to discuss their own strengths.
You should always aim to look at the quality of the individual. Instead of asking the same old question, where do they see themselves in the next five years?' Amend it by asking why do they want this specific role and what their intention is once they are in that position. Next, you should look at their self-awareness and ask them to describe what they see as their strengths and areas for development.This may all sound too straightforward but it works and does provide you with good results.
