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Leadership Assessment Rebounding

Posted on June 12th, 2011

According to a survey at the Wall Street Journal the use of external assessments for leadership roles is up again after a very weak 2010. The numbers state that 72% of surveyed companies use some sort of executive assessment as part of their process for hiring and promoting executives. They note that this number is double what it was last year. They don’t mention that the number has historically hovered right around 70%. So rather than rapid growth, we’re seeing a return to normal levels after a not-unexpected dip.

Their are two changes that appear to be riding along with the rebound here at Rogala & Orr. First- many of our clients are looking to more tightly integrate our executive assessments with internal HR processes. Rather than a “bolt-on” activity, there is a desire to more tightly link communication, measured characteristics and output flow with better defined internal HR processes. Second- we are seeing more requests for follow-through coaching of successful candidates. Part of our process has always been to provide feedback to those hired. In many instances we’ve provided on-going coaching, but it’s been on an as-requested basis. We continue to have clients ask us to integrate a 3, 6 or 12 month coaching relationship as an expected part of the assessment/feedback process. It makes sense and is showing solid results in terms of ease of entry and how quickly important issues are addressed.

Assessment has always been a useful tool for bringing on new executive talent. It’s encouraging to see that many companies also seek to apply what’s learned in the assessment process to key outcomes tied to the individual.

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