As companies are required to do more with less, talent decisions take on greater complexity. The mandate for greater efficiency with fewer resources draws attention to the power of assessments. The data derived from these tools can help to maximize performance and productivity while reducing the cost and risk associated with bad hires. Assessments also can inform workforce and succession planning.

A report by the Aberdeen Group, a business research company, called “Talent Acquisition Strategies 2010” revealed organizational fit was the top factor in quality of hire two years in a row. The report also found best-in-class organizations believed team fit was more important than a candidate’s skills when evaluating overall organizational fit. This can lead to a broader use of assessments across the employee lifecycle.

Defining Best-in-Class
Aberdeen Group conducted similar research for its “Assessments 2011: Selecting and Developing for the Future” study in April with more than 640 organizations. It divided study participants into three categories — best-in-class, average and laggard — and used a maturity class framework with three main performance criteria to distinguish best-in-class companies from other organizations:

• Hiring manager satisfaction: How much satisfaction with new hires has improved in the last 12-month period indicates how well the recruiting and staffing function is doing matching new employees’ skills, talents and behaviors to hiring managers’ needs.

• Bench strength: The number of key positions that already have identified at least one willing and capable successor shows how good organizations are at identifying and developing the next crop of talent, based on future needs.

• Employee performance: How many employees received an “exceeds expectations” rating on their last performance review demonstrates how well organizations are at aligning individuals’ efforts with organizational expectations.

Best-in-class organizations represent the top 20 percent of aggregate performance scorers and demonstrate their dominance with the following scores:
• 19 percent year-over-year improvement in hiring manager satisfaction.
• 69 percent of key positions have at least one willing and capable successor identified.
• 73 percent of employees received a rating of “exceeds expectations” on their last performance review.