Assessment tools can be a great way to help improve your workplace. They help you measure employees’ natural abilities, so that you can optimize your workplace and increase employee satisfaction. They can also help you identify areas where employees may need additional support and training. However, if you have not previously used assessments in your workplace, they can initially be a little daunting to employees. Here are a few steps you can take to help your employees embrace the assessment process.
- Make sure your employees know why you are introducing assessments. Many employees worry that new assessments mean restructuring and job losses. What they should mean is optimizing your existing workforce and looking for ways to fill gaps with future hires. Making sure your employees know that you are introducing assessments as a way to help plan out their professional development and not to try to eliminate employees can really help increase their buy-in for the assessment process.
- Assessments can make sure everyone is on the same page. There are a ton of buzzwords in the modern business environment, but not everyone uses them the same way. If all employees are using the same measurement tool, then they all have the same idea about what you mean when you use a certain term. This can help clarify goals, not just for the company but for individuals in their performance plans and other feedback.
- Use the assessments as they are intended. Many companies make the mistake of paying for a battery of assessment tools, get those results, and then do nothing with them. An assessment tool is only as good as your implementation strategy, so take the next step and use those results to help coach your employees. If you do not have the resources to provide the needed coaching or training in-house, find a reputable outside training source.
- Get universal buy-in. Employee assessments are not just for management or just for workers, they are for everyone. Your workplace works best when employees feel happy, fulfilled, and like their jobs are preparing them for advancement opportunities. Using assessments for all employees is one way to meet those goals.
Will using employee assessments solve all of your staffing challenges? Of course not- no tool can make your human resources worry free. They will, however, help you get the best out of the employees you have and direct you towards the right types of new hires when you expand.