Hiring, training and promoting employees without objective data is a big gamble. It can be very costly to make employee decisions based on subjective opinions.
Why rely on guesswork?
There are objective tools designed to identify the people with stronger decision-making and problem-solving skills as well as the lifelong learning mindset and work ethic to apply them. Validated metrics are the best way to optimize the performance of employees, teams and departments.
Practical uses of individual and group thinking data
1. Use pre-employment screening data to evaluate candidate skills
Objective reports analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of candidates help HR distinguish candidates with the most potential for success.
Your time is too valuable to waste interviewing candidates who lack the skills to expand your business. The decision-making abilities of job applicants can and should be evaluated.
Measuring critical thinking skills and lifelong learning mindset as part of hiring will 1) provide assurance that the newest member of your team will have the ability to interpret current practices and policies, and to accurately apply protocols; 2) evaluate their effectiveness, within their scope of work, and the attributes that support their work responsibilities.
Do it right, the first time. That old saying for construction, “measure twice, cut once,” also applies to recruitment. Measure twice–critical thinking skills AND the mindset to apply those skills–hire only once.
2. Objective metrics support Equal Opportunity Hiring
Employers need to provide job candidates a level playing field. Hiring decisions are supposed to be based solely on candidate skills, knowledge and potential. Screening academic degrees and letters of reference is not always dependable.
Objective data documenting a candidate’s strength in core reasoning skills, decision-making and work ethic meets this need. Individual assessment metrics reliably differentiate individual competencies in problem solving and decision making needed in key positions.
Blind hiring is possible when scientifically based assessment data allows comparison of candidate strengths.
3. Support onboarding programs for new employees
Orienting new employees to work responsibilities is a necessity. It is a strain on limited resources when new hires subsequently prove unable to perform the work.
One of the most important factors in new hire success is the employee’s ability to learn new skills, new responsibilities and a new culture. Strong thinkers make fewer mistakes, learn faster, understand the importance of policies and drive innovation. A focus on strengthening strong thinking skills boosts new hire adaptability and motivation.
The use of virtual onboarding for remote workers has increased the importance of effective onboarding training. Onboarding is more effective when backed up with metrics describing individual and/or group skill levels. Metrics analyzing the strengths and weaknesses in new hire cognitive abilities, motivation and work ethic provide valuable insights into employee potential.
4. Target training programs to strengthen the effectiveness of employee teams
It’s important to know if employees can benefit from planned employee development programs.
Weak critical thinking skills and mindset is the greatest cause of lost opportunity. Errors in judgment result in serious liability costs. Together these two factors make the difference between a profitable business and one that fails.
Objective data from critical thinking assessments can be used to identify areas of and/or strength and weakness. This allows your training programs to be proactively focused on improving the skills needed by the team.
Every trainee and working professional can improve the quality of their thinking skills. Improvements in thinking skills and thinking mindset can be achieved by employees at every stage of their career. Preparing employees to think better positions them for the future needs and growth of your company.
5. Build leadership development programs
Well made decisions enrich the quality of the work environment for individuals, groups, and organizations. Vision and leadership begins at the top with professionals who are able to determine strategic direction. They can guide their teams to analyze and respond to workplace opportunities that will move the organization forward. Leadership teams that reliably make better decisions are a competitive advantage. The result is a confident and capable executive team and a business culture that resonates with strong values and performance.
Individual reports analyzing decision skills and leadership mindset assist in the identification of future leaders. Talent development programs can then target essential leadership mindset attributes and the cognitive skills required for high stakes decision-making.
6. Demonstrate the quality of training programs
The value of your investment in training programs should not be taken for granted. Group assessment metrics can be used to diagnose the need for training. It can also be used to objectively evaluate the success of your employee development programs.
Data permits scaffolding employee development programs to improve their effectiveness. Studies of learning in workplace development programs have demonstrated the need for a match between the training level and the worker. If training is too challenging, some candidates will hide their failures until errors become apparent. Use entry-level assessments to gauge readiness to enter internships or a workplace setting.
Get the data needed for employee development
The INSIGHT series offers a world-class array of instruments. Each provides accurate reporting and the data you need to identify talent as well as weak links in your organization. INSIGHT enables you to measure the overall reasoning and problem-solving skills of your professionals, staff level personnel, and support personnel.
Engaging problems and making decisions using critical thinking involves both skills and mental disciplines. For a complete assessment of a test taker’s critical thinking, it is recommended that both skills and mindset be measured. Each INSIGHT assessment measures reasoning skills and mindset.
Individual and group reports provide quantitative metrics on 5 critical thinking skills and 10 essential professional mindset attributes.
INSIGHT Development Program includes a critical thinking assessment and training modules. This proven, cost-effective, self-paced program for individuals (and teams) integrates validated metrics to provide an opportunity for employees to focus on self-improvement in the skills valued by employers. Modules focus on specific skills or mindset attributes that are necessary for high stakes decision-making in the business world. INSIGHT Development Program can be integrated into your onboarding training processes or implemented as professional development
Our clients share a common goal: to strengthen the effectiveness of their employee teams. They invest in the training and assessment of critical thinking because it pays off every day in better decisions.
More about how INSIGHT business clients use group thinking metrics
More about how INSIGHT business clients use individual reports
Call us at 650-697-5628 see sample reports and to choose the INSIGHT solution calibrated for your assessment needs.