The Skills Hi-Pos Need to Succeed in 2025
Top 10 Skills for 2025 According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. And,
Science-based talent development assessments so you can grow people faster, retain top talent longer, and spend your budget wisely.
Talent development assessments are diagnostic tools that allow you to match people to the right growth opportunities. Likewise, leadership assessment tools allow you to pinpoint exactly what skills the person needs to develop and what strengths they can lean into.
When done right, talent assessments provide an objective, unbiased evaluation of a person’s natural way of thinking, feeling, and acting. For the individual, the process increases awareness of strengths and opportunities and serves as a catalyst for change. More broadly, the results can be leveraged for succession planning, talent reviews, career pathing, and determining L&D priorities. Whether you’re looking for leadership assessment tools or a talent development assessment that you can use at all levels, we’re here to help.
"The PCI team has served as a great partner in my executive
advising and coaching work. Their objective and holistic assessment approach allows
my clients and me to focus on their most impactful strengths to leverage and their
development needs that require the most attention. The executive report
is personalized and actionable and serves as a critical component in creating a
development plan."
Marty Gervasi
Senior Advisor, MyNextSeason
(Former CHRO, The Hartford)
A Science-based Approach to Talent Development
The benefits of talent development assessments can only be realized if the results of the diagnostic tools are reliable and accurate. That’s why our process includes psychometric aptitude, personality, and leadership assessment tools. The results are interpreted by a psychologist who also interviews the participant and writes a development report.
Personality Assessments
While popular type indicators are well-liked by many due to their “feel good” impact, they do not reliably or accurately measure personality. Some people recognize that these surveys aren’t scientific and believe that they are good for development and team building but not selection. However, the reason they aren’t good for selection is that they do not accurately measure personality. So, how could they possibly be helpful for development or team building?
Personality assessments for talent development should be based on the Five-Factor Model of personality (aka the “Big 5”). And, better yet, is a tool that measures the two aspects and multiple facets that fall under each of the Big 5 domains. This is because each facet, aspect, and domain has been proven to predict different work outcomes, including turnover, Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWBs), Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs), and leadership effectiveness.
The Scientific Structure of Personality
The science is very clear. People can't be put in a box or accurately described by a few letters.
Leadership Assessment Tools
Some personality traits are good predictors of leadership effectiveness, including the Assertiveness aspect of Extraversion. However, research shows that a person’s preferred leadership style may be even more predictive of their success. That’s why our leadership assessments include a survey that measures leadership style.
Specifically, the survey is based on the Ohio State model of leadership, which has stood the test of time. It measures how often a person is inclined to engage in behaviors related to Consideration for People and Initiating Structure. This helps you to determine what type of leadership behaviors the person will need to exhibit more (or less) frequently to be effective.
Specifically, the survey is based on the Ohio State model of leadership, which has stood the test of time. It measures how often a person is inclined to engage in behaviors related to Consideration for People and Initiating Structure. This helps you to determine what type of leadership behaviors the person will need to exhibit more (or less) frequently to be effective.
Developing Effective Leaders
The science is pretty clear in terms of what makes a leader effective. And much of it is developable .
Analytical and Decision-Making Assessment Tools
You have the option to include some psychometric tools that measure cognitive aptitudes. There are benefits to including these. For one, if the person is bright but has weak soft skills, it provides positive results regarding strengths to balance out their opportunities. Second, if you are assessing the person’s advancement potential, it gives you an accurate read on how much complexity they can handle. This becomes more important with increased job complexity.
Talent Development Assessment Deliverables
Developmental Report
The psychologist writes a fully customized report for the participant, describing the results in detail. The report also includes suggestions for developmental activities and action-planning tools to get them started.
Numerical Ratings
The psychologist and a peer reviewer assign ratings on critical competencies and determine an overall assessment of potential. These are only shared with management – not the individual.
Assessment Debrief
The psychologist meets with the person’s manager and often, HRPB, to discuss the results and on-the-job observations. This prepares them to discuss the report with the employee and provide appropriate support.
Getting People Excited About Their Assessment
The word “assessment” can be scary. This is especially true for people who haven’t participated in them before or when organizations have used them improperly in the past. By telling people what they will do and what they will get from the process, we alleviate those concerns. Sharing this graphic can help to alleviate concerns and get them excited about their development journey!
The Business Case for Investing in Talent Development Assessments
Talent development has emerged as a top HR priority as organizations compete to attract and retain top talent. In fact, professional growth is now an essential part of an attractive Employee Value Proposition and effective business strategy. And, it’s not just about leadership development. More and more, organizations realize that developing their individual contributors leads to higher job satisfaction and better business results. The ladder is now merged with a lattice, opening doors for all employees to develop new skills and add value in different ways.
