Assessments and Testing

Psychometric testing

Psychometric testing is now used extensively in the workplace to assess the relative suitability of people seeking employment, and also to strengthen existing teams - and individual contribution to those teams - in existing office environments.

Two of the popular assessments (both of which have champions and detractors) are:

• the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and
• the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

  Some argue that psychometric testing provides invaluable insight into how an individual works and is likely to conduct themselves in a work environment in the future.

 Others argue that it is a measurement of the immeasurable, using quasi-scientific frameworks to judge individual behaviour and attitudes and beliefs.

 Whatever the case, these forms of assessment and testing are not going away, and are being used by many organizations and institutes for recruitment and also professional development.

Other Methods of Assessment

Other methods of assessment include:

organisational entropy which seeks to calculate the risk to businesses of unmotivated staff or dysfunctional work environments

benchmarking, which assesses staff groups against leading competitors to see who is getting what right and wrong, and what skills development is needed to stay ahead of the competition.

Is Assessment A Good Thing?

Any form of assessment or testing in the workplace may raise concerns about management expectations and preferences. For some, it is just another means of getting rid of staff who don't conform to an organization's culture or mission. For others, it opens doors, ensuring that the right person gets the right job, and that the right person gets the right sort of coaching or mentoring or support they need to develop.

Coaches use many different forms of assessment and testing. How and when the results of these assessments and tests are used in coaching should always focus on individual needs. With a focus on the individual, it is vital that coaches use assessment and testing to help people to see how they can be right, rather than 'proving' that they are wrong. 

More For Coaches