Psychometrics Understanding Assessment Sciences Simply stated: Psychometrics is the science of assigning a numerical value to various behavioral and personality traits. "Hiring someone without using a behavioral and motivational assessment is like buying a computer without an operations manual." ASSESSMENT SCIENCES The use of assessments to solve work-place problems encountered in hiring, developing, motivating, and communicating with employees has its' roots in the work of Dr. Carl Jung who in 1921 published "Psychological Types." Jung categorized the types as psychological functions, Thinking, Feeling, Sensation, and Intuition; he further divided these into two segments; extroverted and introverted. In 1928 Dr. William M. Marston published "The Emotions of Normal People" in which he described the theory used to define the DISC system that categorizes behavior according to how the individual views the environment (antagonistic or favorable). This "view" affects four behavioral patterns listed as Dominance, Inducement, Steadiness, and Compliance. In the 1930's work continued by behavioral psychologists Raymond Cattell and C.R. Rogers. In the late 1940's Walter Clarke developed an instrument called the "Activity Vector Analysis" that expanded on the work of Jung and Marston by applying "Personality" or behavioral patterns to the work environment, namely using adjective based tests to determine the suitability of people to various kinds of jobs. In the 1980's the work of Dr. Marston (DISC) was computerized and marketed by Target Training International. The work of Walter Clarke was marketed to Corporations for "in-house" testing. In 1984 The Windsor Consulting Group discovered that the most profitable companies were those who had the ability to place the right person in the right job. Windsor group determined that the Education, work related skills, and contacts were not the key factors to success on the job as had been previously assumed; rather, it was determined that MOTIVATION and TEMPERAMENT were the driving factors. Windsor Group launched extensive studies to find what behavioral traits were necessary to achieve job success and proceeded to categorize them. Over 60 major job classifications were studied which were then refined into 40 key categories. In 1989 Profession Profiles in collaboration with Windsor Group, built on the work of Marston and Clarke and developed the Success Factor Analysis system (SFA). This was one of the first assessments to take into consideration the examinee’s level of education and work history as it applies to the requirements of the job. In 1990 Profession Profiles developed the "Activator" input form that, for the first time, allowed the test administrator to custom configure the test report to exactly match the candidate to the needs of the job (as the job exists within that specific organization). This also allowed the program to rate and rank the candidate and provide a percentile rating showing the examinee’s suitability to the job. The Profession Profiles SFA system uses over 367 behavioral (not personality) categories, along with 40 validated, comparative databases, and EXPANDS upon the Marston and Clarke system by matching and "rating" the candidate's suitability to the job. Additionally, it provides training and development information. In 1998 the SFA program enhanced system accuracy by adjusting both the statistical databases and report responses according to the current employment status of the examinee. Employment status is defined as pre-hire, post hire, or long-term (at the same job more than one year). This enhancement adjusts the impact of "Natural" as opposed to "Adapted" traits based on employee work status as it incorporates work experience, job history, education, plus input from other assessments (when required) to compile an overall job suitability rating. In 1999 the system was further enhanced through the creation of the "Analyst-Link Commentary” (ALC) in a cooperative effort between Profession Profiles, Windsor Group, and Human Resource Development Technologies (HRDT). In 2008, HRDT began converting the SFA to use the Prevue Benchmarking System. Prevue assessments are now available using both the Prevue and SFA process model that includes Analyst Reviews. HRDT recognized that computerized assessment systems were too generalistic . . . ..yet analyst driven programs were too time consuming and costly. Although the SFA system is extremely accurate and heavily used by consulting firms, there was a need for an assessment system that was easier to implement, read, and understand. The Analyst-Link Commentary (ALC) was developed for that purpose. An “Activator” form is not required as standard job settings are imbedded in the program. Furthermore it was noted that in sales, service, customer service, call center operations, and semi-skilled jobs, reliability was an issue and turnover was a problem. It was then decided to merge the ALC with the “Reliability Register” an instrument that measures reliability, integrity, and work ethic. For many small firms "Analyst-Link" combines the benefits of the SFA and a Reliability assessment, into a seamless, effective, inexpensive, and amazingly accurate system for pre-hire screening and post-hire performance development. The HRDT SFA and Analyst-Link system is the culmination of 81 years of psychometrics and industrial psychology and is considered to be one of the finest, and most accurate, psychometric program available today. UNDERSTANDING ASSESSMENT PLATFORMS Assessment Platforms are the method used acquire information that is used to evaluate an individual's approach to the job, their attitudes, behavioral and motivational traits, and job related competencies. We avoid assessments that are totally computer generated other than those that test for skills. When evaluating "people" we prefer to use various computer assisted models supplemented with an analysis and review by one of our trained specialists. Easily, quickly, and inexpensively, you can: • Identify candidates with outstanding initiative and work-ethic. • Screen out troublemakers and those who are unreliable. • Find salespeople who know how to sell. • Hire and train people who are worth the effort. • Initiate “Human Capital Management” techniques to develop your employees. • Talk to a “real, live, person” if you have a question. Our assessments are presented in three separate series or “platforms.” I. The budget friendly “Analyst-Link Commentary” series (ALC) II. The extremely versatile “Success Factor Analysis” (SFA) III. The premium and highly customized Prevue system. Each report platform is configured for both, pre-hire selection, and post-hire performance appraisal, review, and coaching formats. Defining Assessment Platforms There are three separate assessment platforms: 1. Analyst-Link Commentary (ALC) The ALC series consists of three formats designed to assess: • General Staff including Management, Administrative, or Service Personnel* • Executive, Owner, President or CEO • Sales Personnel.* • The ALC series can be configured for pre and post-hire use. • No set-up is required. A variety of job types and benchmarks is embedded in the program. You can start today! • ALC includes a job suitability percentile rank. • The ALC is also designed to be used as a training and orientation tool for new hires. The ALC is available in the following pre and post-hire formats: • 1 = Owner, CEO, Executive • 2 = Management • 3 = Technical Specialist (IT, Engineer, Accountant) • 4 = Administrative and Office Personnel • 5 = Customer Service, Call Center, Service positions • 6 = Factory, Labor, Semi-skilled • 7 = Inside Sales, Counter Sales, Retail Sales, Relationship Sales • 8 = Outside, Territory Development Sales and Telemarketing * These formats include a Free Reliability and work-ethic assessment to assist in reducing turnover and identifying the most reliable candidates. 2. The Success Factor Analysis (SFA) The SFA system is the choice of some of the most prominent consulting firms in the country. The SFA modular system is job specific, highly customizable, and infinitely flexible. • SFA is custom configured for the job through the use of our custom "Activator", you select five traits most important to success on the job and the one key trait. This information allows the SFA program to use a system of weighted averages to provide a clear percentile rating showing the Examinee's suitability to the job as it exists in your organization. • The SFA rates and ranks job suitability as it compares the examinee to successful people in the same type of job. It is computer assisted, not totally computer generated. • Every report is annotated and reviewed by a trained analyst who is available to discuss the report with you. It includes access to free employee development worksheets. • The SFA uses 67 comparative databases and 367 work-styles to provide a report with uncanny accuracy and versatility. • To examine the SFA "Activators go to www.analyst-link.net and click on the navigation link labeled "Administrator." • The SFA modular system allows it to "merge" with other assessments that measure Cognitive Reasoning,(useful when assessing Technical and IT positions) Selling Skills, Reliability, and more. • SFA includes a detailed development guide as a basis for interview questions and performance management. Best of all the SFA takes just 10 minutes to administer. 3. Prevue Assessment Reports - Premium Analysis - Benchmark Driven. The PAR is the most powerful, complete, and thorough, assessment available today. Prevue measures behavioral and motivation traits, the ability to use words and language, the ability to work with people, reliability, cognitive reasoning, and the ability to solve problems.. When used for technical and IT positions Prevue also measures abstract thinking and spatial concepts. Using custom benchmarks, and an individual review of each report by our analysts, PAR reports provide overall job suitability percentile rankings with uncanny accuracy. Prevue uses an extremely powerful Bench marking system where a custom benchmark and testing criteria is established for each job. The data comes from a Job Description form completed by management and/or assessment of top performers (or both). There are two basic Prevue formats: 1. Pre-employment Selection * (Includes custom interview questions for each candidate). 2. Post-hire performance development Performance Appraisal and Review * (This report is delivered in two parts, one for management and one for the examinee. The management portion includes development and facilitation questions and guidelines). * Prevue pre-employment and development report ratings are customized and job specific. The Prevue program compares the examinee to a job specific custom benchmark. It uses the benchmark data to create a "job suitability" range and percentile rating for each position. Most Prevue reports take one hour (or less) to administer and include behavioral, cognitive reasoning, math, spatial, abstract thinking, and personality segments. Prevue reports are available in two report styles: 1. Automated report with instant delivery 2. Prevue with Analyst review (PAR) [delivery in one business day] Prevue Analyst Review Reports (PAR) include both the Prevue rating AND the opinion and job suitability rating of our analyst who uses a combination of the examinee's education, work-history, and our proprietary statistical job rankings. PAR is an outstanding instrument for Executive, Sr. Management, Professional, IT, and Engineering positions. When configured for sales, the PAR can be merged with the Sales Skill Index. Other Prevue Reports: • .CORPORATE COACH Corporate Coach examines the behavioral and motivational profile of the individual. We produce a two-part report; one for management and one for the examinee. The Management report includes coaching questions and facilitation guidelines. • LEARNING AND REASONING REPORT This report measures the ability to learn and reason. It can be combined with the ALC or SFA for Technical Specialists, IT, Engineering or Programming positions. This report is included in the Prevue pre and post-hire assessments. • PREVUE SUCCESSION PLANNING This report measures the suitability of a number of applicants to a particular job or it measures a particular job against a pool of applicants. As Consultants, we focus on solving hiring, turnover, attitude, & performance problems through the use of assessments and evaluation instruments. We can prove that it is possible to take the guesswork out of hiring and employee management. Unlike "testing" companies we are not pressured to sell one product. Since we are HR Consultants, not salespeople, we are open to recommend the right product for you. We provide a wide range of assessment tools in three distinct "platforms." Each platform contains a variety of options for pre-hire selection and post-hire staff development. Today's competitive business environment negates the ability to carry employees who are unmotivated and unproductive. Together, we can improve performance and productivity while we increase sales and energize your organization. To accomplish organizational change we find that: The first step in any solution process is to measure the problem. We use a variety of assessment tools to evaluate candidates, the job, and/or existing employees; this allows targeted training. or remedial action programs to be implemented with outstanding effectiveness!