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ASSESS: AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT
ASSESS is a state-of-the-art, computer driven expert system that produces psychological evaluations for use in the business environment.
Developed by organizational psychologists and written in business language, ASSESS assists managers and professionals in two critical human resource functions:
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Making effective personnel selection, placement, and promotion decisions.
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Providing objective developmental feedback and suggestions to current employees.
The ASSESS system operates in three modes — Selection, Development, and Career Manager:
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ASSESS Selection Reports provide information in a concise, straightforward manner and allows employers to evaluate a candidate’s assets and liabilities relative to a job, to determine potential fit, performance, and management needs.
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ASSESS Developmental Reports cover many of the same topics as the Selection Report but are written in a developmental tone so that the report can be given to the individual assessed to provide constructive, objective feedback of assessment results — both assets and potential liabilities — and specific suggestions for addressing and improving liabilities.
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ASSESS Career Manager Reports are used with individuals who are considering a job transition to a different job, working group, company, and so forth. The Report guides the individual through exercises designed to aid them in making smart and informed career choices, based on the findings and insights offered in the Report.
ASSESS is different from other computer-assisted evaluation software for three reasons.
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It integrates standard, well-researched personality inventories with widely used intellectual ability tests. Seven different ability tests can be used, so an employer can tailor an evaluation to specific job requirements.
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The expert system compares individuals to others in similar job
positions. There are norms for professionals, managerial, sales, administrative and general population comparisons. In addition, the system can be easily tailored to include special client norms.
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ASSESS stands out for the depth of its reports and its multi-scale or profile level orientation to individual evaluation, as well as for its cost effectiveness and speed.
ASSESS AS A SELECTION AND PLACEMENT TOOL
As a selection tool, ASSESS allows employers to obtain a preview of a potential employee’s traits and characteristics in areas such as intellectual abilities, work habits, style of dealing with people, and emotional consistency. It highlights areas where the individual is notably strong or stands out from other candidates. In addition to providing descriptive information on key traits, ASSESS Selection Reports flag topics for further interviewing and reference checking, and provide specific questions to ask so that managers can incorporate assessment information into other aspects of the selection process to make the best, most informed decisions about candidates.
Using the information provided by ASSESS, employers can also do a better job of placing an individual in a position that best fits him/her. It allows managers and human resource professionals to identify individuals who have potential for higher level responsibilities and individuals who may need special attention from management to be most productive. Suggestions for managing the person are provided in a special section, Management Suggestions.
The ASSESS Selection Report Contains:
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A summary of key abilities and personality factors.
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A detailed description of the candidate’s intellectual abilities, thinking style, work approach and motivations, emotional style, and style in dealing with people.
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Interview and reference probes for following up on and obtaining more information on potential problem traits.
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Management suggestions for optimizing an individual’s effectiveness.
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A graphic profile of results for 27 personality traits plus selected ability measures.
ASSESS Selection Reports Cover The Following Dimensions:
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Intellectual abilities including: critical thinking skills, reasoning abilities, verbal and math skills, mental quickness.
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The application of intellectual abilities including: receptivity to information and ideas, ability to recognize and solve problems, and practicality in thinking.
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Attributes that facilitate or hinder the accomplishments of work objectives including: energy and pace, planning and thinking, need for recognition, need for organizational freedom, attention to detail, etc.
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Emotional style and its impact on the individual’s work and interpersonal effectiveness including: optimism, restraint over feelings, objectivity about criticism, handling stress, displaying anger or temper, etc.
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Interpersonal style factors which affect the way the individual interacts with others including: sociability, assertiveness, first and lasting impressions, perspective towards others, competitiveness, agreeableness, etc.
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The tools and techniques each individual is most likely to apply in managing others or persuading others including: desire to persuade or influence others, reliance on personal strength, negative factors that could impact dealing with other people, etc.
NORMS
ASSESS test scores can be compared with one of five standard groups.
Managerial personnel (including mid-level management, line supervisors, management candidates and other exempt positions requiring people or project management skills)
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Professional personnel (primarily white-collar, college educated, exempt personnel without supervisory or management responsibilities)
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Administrative and secretarial personnel
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Sales professionals
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General Population (high school graduates)
The expert system also provides a choice of more than two dozen job templates (from Computer Programmer to Emergency Room Physicians to Executives), which offers additional interpretive guidelines.
Additionally, norms can be developed for specific job titles within a company when a sufficient number of incumbents are available for testing.
BACKGROUND
The ASSESS Expert Evaluation System was developed initially in the 1970’s as an internal tool for assessment report writing for psychologists conducting personnel assessments. Programming input included nearly 30 years of professional assessment experience with in-depth interviews, test batteries, and assessment reports.
In the 1980’s, as organizations began to face the challenge of increased cost pressures and greater competition, it became apparent that with the adaptation of the system to PC software, ASSESS could be a valuable selection tool for cost efficient evaluation of job candidates below the executive level..
Refinement of the system could not have been better timed. Changes undertaken by many organizations generally demand more from their people. The general trend toward flatter organizations with fewer layers of management and more authority and responsibility at lower levels; the emphasis on teams and self-directed work groups; downsizing; and other factors have greatly expanded the demands placed upon the individual. Managers, supervisors, and team members at all levels must possess/develop broader skill sets, be more flexible, and exercise more initiative than ever before and must do so in
work cultures that require better interpersonal skills of all people. ASSESS is
a valuable tool for selecting and developing people in the current demanding business environment.
VALIDITY
The ASSESS battery includes standard psychological tests designed for use with normal people in a business environment. These tests have been well researched and provide a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and potential liabilities that an applicant or employee is likely to bring to a position.
While the specific ability tests an individual takes depends on what is required in the job, the core test battery is composed of adapted versions of the Guilford Zimmerman Temperament Survey and the DF Opinion Survey. Many studies have documented the relationships between test scores and job performance.
VALUE-ADDED OPTIONS
For any hired candidate the data set from ASSESS/Selection can be re-run to produce either an ASSESS Developmental Report or Career Manager Report to assist the new hire in addressing specific developmental needs or better understanding their personal fit with their newly acquired role.
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