How can career assessment tools help you identify your strengths and weaknesses?

Employees are looking for more than a paycheque. Creating employee motivation, engagement, and retention are not by-chance exercises. Employees are looking for employers who are committed to their development and reciprocate that commitment. Employees who can "see" a career path are more like to stay. A well developed assessment tool assists an employee meet the expectations they have set for themselves in their current position and achieve their longer-term career aspirations.

One of the most challenging questions often asked at interviews is, around identifying your strengths and weaknesses. A great way to help you get ahead of this type of question is knowing yourself. A simple way of doing this is to ask yourself, what is one thing I really enjoy doing? Is it writing reports, crunching numbers or something else. Then, by turning this question around and asking yourself what one thing you have to do but don’t enjoy. This gives you a simple way of knowing your strengths and weaknesses

Career assessment tools are also valuable when making important decisions about future career direction. The information they provide will make us more aware of our skill set and overall preferences. This information is so important to consider when making decisions about future career direction as it will help us to focus our search on finding a position that aligns with our identified interests and skills and would be a good fit.

Employee performance can be measured in three areas: in the job against a comprehensive and up-to-date job description; against established and well defined Core Values or, more succinctly, Core Behaviours; and, against well defined, and achievable, SMART goals set in the previous period. The weight given to each of the measurable areas, however, can vary; for example, an organization that has mostly long term employees might put more weight into goal achievement whereas an organization with higher turnover might choose to put the most weight on measuring employees in the job.

Any tool chosen should be fully transparent and credible. Ratings and measurements should be fully defined. Timelines should be established. The appraisal should require the input of both the employee and their supervisor, especially those "move forward" areas such as goal setting and action plans. The tool should ensure that no appraisal is ever delivered without first being reviewed by the "next" level of supervision as a means to avoid bias.

Be consistent! Whether you are conducting appraisals monthly, semi-annually or annually, be consistent. There is always a fire in some part of the business. Employees are a business' greatest asset. Do not take your assets for granted. Invest in your employees, take the time to conduct appraisals, take the time provide meaningful feedback and move forwards, take the time sit down and solicit meaningful feedback from your direct report, take the time to train on the tools each year. Be consistent and take the time.