TM - April 2008 - (Page 31) Avoid the Consequences of Employee Misunderstanding Mary Clarke CEOs and HR leaders know employees are only human. No matter how well trained, even the most able senior-level staff can make mistakes. Employees may misunderstand their roles and responsibilities or incorrectly apply what they think they know to get a job done. An average 23 percent of employees do not understand at least one crucial aspect of their jobs. Misunderstandings can lead to safety failures, security breaches, shareholder mistrust, lost revenues and customers. Consider a finance manager who does not fully understand the products he or she is selling, or an EMT not mastering emergency medical procedures. How about a sales manager incorrectly explaining the terms of a services agreement to a key customer? In the U.S., corporations are held responsible for employees’ failure to meet government regulations, industry standards or reasonable stakeholder expectations. Conducting regular employee assessment can mitigate some of this risk. Surprisingly few companies engage in this form of assessment on a regular basis. Yet without assessments, companies are ill equipped to identify whether employees truly comprehend how to fulfill their job requirements. Talent managers cannot, with any level of confidence, be sure their employees are capable of performing their jobs, or of making the big decisions they are likely to make for the company. Useful assessments provide access to vital but previously unattainable workplace data — objective measurements of employee understanding. Useful assessments also identify levels of employee competence and confidence and help businesses see the strategic and financial impact of misunderstandings. Too often, corporate assessment systems rely on management to make a subjective assessment of an employee’s performance using personal development plan data. Worse yet, some rely on employees to make these judgments themselves via self-assessment. Subjective methods fall short because they cannot be sustained over the long term, nor can they provide concrete data for management and employees to measure improvement after each assessment phase. Customized assessments designed by subject matter experts can highlight where knowledge gaps lie in a specific topic area or vertical market. Talent managers can analyze weaknesses by course, individual, group, team, geography, office location, service and product line, culminating in an enterprise-wide view of workforce capability. Pairing assessments with psychometric testing can add a complete, highly detailed summary of the precise skills and competencies in a workforce. Assessments can be integrated into an existing corporate development and learning framework as tools to determine whether individuals qualify for exemption from certain requirements relating to training. For example, for a global bank that wants to improve customer service across several regional markets, a well-crafted assessment gives it access to a complete, highly detailed database of the precise skills and competencies of its entire associate structure, from tellers to banking center managers. Many employees do understand their jobs, but lack the confidence to make the right decisions. Assessments identify these employees, and talent managers can then adapt work to help promote confidence and empower them to make decisions. Managers may provide more opportunities for leadership or stretch assignments, enabling them to improve their individual performance. Conducting regular assessments is the first step in a process that substantiates potential so employers continuously improve business performance. The saying “knowledge is power” has never been more relevant to businesses. Organizations can rise or fall based on the decisions and actions of their employees. Implementing a proven and scalable employee assessment plan can help savvy companies maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of their workforces. Mary Clarke is the CEO for Cognisco, a custom assessment provider. She can be reached at editor@ TalentMgt.com. talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com 31 http://www.TalentMgt.com
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