In the previous part Blog 2: Psychometric Assessments for HR Leaders and Blog 3: Psychometric Assessments for Talent Acquisition Leaders, we took deeper insights as to the importance of psychometric assessments for HR and Talent Acquisition leaders and how they can use these assessments across the lifecycle of employees including hiring.

In this blog, we would explore the significance of psychometric assessments for Organizational Development and Learning and Development and how OD and L&D professionals can use these assessments for effective succession planning, preparing the next generation of leaders and defining the ROI of learning programs.

Traditionally, the focus of Organization Development Interventions is on creating a coherent structure and processes for teams to work efficiently in an organization and enabling people at the workplace to be successful by removing barriers to success. The definition and perspectives have evolved over time but what remains constant is the focus on the greatest asset for any organization i.e., People. In this blog, we would look into the people aspect of organizational development and how psychometric assessments can help us understand the personalities in a scientific manner.

Similarly, Learning and Development is about developing the skills of people in the workplace so they can be effective in their jobs. A question being continuously asked from L & D professionals is in terms of the ROI of the training investments. Psychometric assessments not only offer a reliable and valid way of benchmarking the skills, aptitudes, and personality of an employee but also offer insights into the development roadmap. Post-training assessments help estimate the ROI of training programs.

Psychometric assessments application areas in Organizational Development

A big responsibility for organizational development leaders is to build the organization with the right set of people with the right skills and personality. Two primary responsibilities for OD professionals include identifying the employees with high potential (HiPo) across their employee life cycle and doing succession planning focussed around future leadership development.

(Willis Towers Watson - The State of Psychometric Assessments in India)

Psychometric assessments are being used in organizations across geographies, industries, and job complexity to identify employees with high potential Similarly, psychometric assessments have also been used to identify the employees with the potential to develop those skills to be a future leader.

Psychometric assessments application areas in Learning & Development

There are multiple areas where psychometric assessments can be used by the L & D teams.

1. 1. Identify and Evaluate Training Needs
2. In order to identify the training needs of employees, organizations need to measure the gap between the current skillset that each employee has, and the skillset each employee needs to have, to be successful at the job.
3. Accurate assessment of skill-gap and training needs requires the use of valid, scientific and reliable tools that are specific for each job role. Some of the most prominent tools used to identify training needs include psychometric assessments and 360-degree feedback. The assessment process should aim to evaluate a person's cognitive ability, functional skills, personality traits, and motivators to be able to accurately predict their strengths and areas of development.
4. 2. Measure Training Effectiveness
5. 

6. CEO's Expectations from L & D

   *LinkedIn Learning Report

7. With the rapid change in the technology landscape, the necessity to re-skill the workforce is a big challenge necessitating the need for further investments in training. However, as stakes become higher, so do the budgets, influence, and expectations from L & D process. There is a growing demand from the economic decision-makers to understand the ROI of any training program and budget management.
8. Luckily, there are well established and demonstrated methodologies for measuring training effectiveness. One of the most popular being the Kirk-Patrick Four-level training evaluation model, which is designed to objectively measure the effectiveness of the training. The four levels being Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results.
9. Assessments conducted before the training and 3 months post-training help in measuring the learning part of the Kirk-Patrick model. Similarly, behavioral changes are better measured using a 360-degree loop to identify an individual's change in behavior based on the manager, peer, and subordinate feedback. Psychometric assessments help in measuring the impact of the training in a scientific and unbiased manner.
10. 3. Re-Skilling/Learning Agility
11. Organizations are witnessing difficult times to meet the in-demand skills requirements across business verticals. Organizations are focused on re-skilling and upskilling existing employees to bridge this gap and also solve the attrition challenge due to the non-alignment of skills. Psychometric assessments help identify the learning agility of an employee so that the employer can measure the following before making the next level of investments in re-skilling or upskilling.

1. The extent of employee motivation towards learning..
2. How can you accelerate skill enhancement?
3. How can you encourage your employees to build learnability so they can acquire critical skills?

Learning Agility will soon become a critical defining factor of employment for all the professionals, across several geographies and industries.

If you do these well you will be able to be more confidently assess the right candidates for the job and organization and meet their KPIs of hiring ratios and cost while still improving the employer brand.

Watch out for our next blog in the Series " How Psychometric Assessments are Enablers for Candidates?". If you liked what you read, do like and share the blog in your network and follow our page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/armezo-solutions/