AUGUST 2022HR TECH OUTLOOK9for hiring decisions include measures of competence (i.e. skills, strengths), motives or work ethic, and/or emotional intelligence. They can provide valuable and objective insights into communication styles, motives and drivers, emotional competencies and more. These data points can subvert unconscious biases and provide an objective baseline across all candidates, particularly when we are considering non-traditional or diverse hires. When integrated properly into people processes, we can compare results to existing team members and ensure we are making complementary hires that make the team more dynamic and resilient. Additionally, it should provide an engaging experience for candidates. Usability of the tool and applicability of the results are important factors in the candidate's experience. Innovations have come a long way and a mobile-friendly assessment, for instance, is a minimal requirement. Ideally the candidate will receive a digital copy of the results they can leverage for their own self-awareness and development. In the best-case scenario, even if a candidate is not selected, they will walk away feeling they have gained something valuable from the experience. SAP is a market leader in enterprise software, delivering integrated solutions to customers of every size around the globe, to help the world run better and improve people's lives. As part of the dynamic, ever-evolving high-tech industry, SAP must invest in hiring and cultivating a vibrant, diverse workforce reflective of the customers we serve. In particular, the Workforce Transformation & Readiness team which I represent is charged with diversifying our salesforce through hiring early career professionals, 50 percent of whom are female. Data-driven hiring and promotion decisions have become table stakes in our ability to find the best fit, diverse talent in the market and assessments have played a central role in these processes. Here are 5 lessons we have learned over the last 8 years: 1. FIND YOUR NORTHSTAR: Be clear about your business goals and ask yourself what you need to get out of the assessment. There are many assessment tools from which to select. Pay attention to the use cases of the tool as well as the validity and reliability of the results. Get customer references. Choose accordingly, always keeping your end goals in mind. 2. DEFINE OPTIMAL: Conduct internal validation against your role model employees to create a benchmark of "what good looks like."While an assessment vendor can support this, this effort to create your optimal profile will largely be internal. Some tools include external benchmarks of competencies to compare candidates against; these can be universal, transcending roles and industries.3. ESTABLISH GUARDRAILS: Recognize that critical thinking and judgment also play a role in hiring and promotions as data may not tell the full story. Humans are nuanced. There will be moments when other factors may supersede assessment results, and it is helpful to have clear guardrails for what variations are acceptable. For instance, a candidate may fall outside of the "what good looks like" profile in terms of their motives and drivers. But the assessment can reveal they have strengths and competencies to benefit them in the work environment in which they will be placed. 4. REFINE THE APPROACH: Plan on revisiting the profile periodically to examine the quality of hires ­ who is staying, who is most successful. Pull in relevant insights from the HRIS or other systems of record, such as average tenure, experience level, attrition and promotion rates, gender statistics, etc. You may determine the profile needs to be adapted until you find your "sweet spot."5. THINK BEYOND THE HIRE: Consider the assessment results beyond a single hiring or promotion decision. In addition to informing us about the profile of the candidate, the data can help us to determine whether their motives and competencies will complement the existing team. For example, in a high-tech organization, the willingness to take risks and innovate is important. The right assessment tool can show whether someone is higher or lower on the risk-taking dimension, which might be an important factor in selecting candidates to build the optimal team. With a robust assessment methodology and practice in place, not only will it give diverse candidates a more level playing field in the process, but it can also serve us in building a more dynamic and vibrant workforce and culture--one better equipped to deal with the challenges and complexities of today's world of work. Self-assessments are a highly practical, and often affordable, way to introduce data-driven decision-making into hiring and promotion processes
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