E-assessment: discover where aptitude and potential lie

What is an e-assessment?

An e-assessment maps where someone’s natural strengths lie and what gives them energy. It shows which aptitude and potential someone brings, so you can judge whether a role, growth path or new position naturally suits them.

Concretely, it is an online assessment that candidates or employees complete on their own. It measures personality and intelligence using certified instruments. Based on that, a complete competency profile is built, which makes aptitude, potential and culture fit with the organization visible. The results are available in the platform right away and form the basis of the talent profile.

The difference from a live assessment is the form, not the goal. A live assessment combines questionnaires with behavioral observations by a consultant and provides more depth on specific competencies. An e-assessment is standardized, scalable and faster. That makes it suitable for use across an entire organization.

Why an e-assessment?

An e-assessment is valuable whenever you want to know whether a role suits a person, or a person suits a role. The common thread is always the comparison with the job profile.

• Selection: you see whether someone has the aptitude and potential for a role, and to what extent they fit the organizational culture. For roles with a lower risk profile, the e-assessment is often sufficient. For critical roles you combine it with a live assessment.
• Development: where the aptitude is present but the behavior does not yet follow, you find the most promising growth points. You translate these into a concrete development plan.
• Career development and mobility: by comparing the talent profile with other job profiles in the job architecture, you see which roles naturally fit. That helps employees explore growth paths and helps HR with internal mobility and succession planning.
• Organization-wide baseline: you want to build a talent profile for all employees. That is the basis for matching, mobility and people analytics. A live assessment for 200 employees is not feasible, an e-assessment is.

How does an e-assessment measure aptitude and potential?

The core consists of certified measurements. A personality measurement based on the Big Five model (NEO-PI-R) maps where someone’s natural preferences lie. An intelligence measurement measures learning capacity and potential for growth. The Big Five model is the most researched personality model in the world, and research shows that intelligence and personality together are good predictors of job performance.

Based on these two measurements, competency scores are calculated, supplemented with motivators, readiness for change and team roles. Together they form the talent profile.

E-assessment vs. live assessment: when to use which?

The choice depends on the goal and the risk of the decision.

An e-assessment is suitable for measuring broadly: aptitude, potential, motivators and competencies for a large group. It is standardized and scalable, and the results flow directly into matching and development. The caveat is that it measures aptitude and self-awareness, not demonstrated behavior.

A live assessment is suitable when you need depth: behavioral observations by a consultant, meta-competencies such as authenticity and sustainable effectiveness, and a personal advisory interview. That is valuable for selecting managers, succession planning and critical roles.

The strongest model is the combination. E-assessment as the basis for everyone, live assessment where the decision calls for it. That way you build an organization-wide picture of talent without sacrificing depth where it matters.

What to look for during implementation

An e-assessment only delivers value when the results flow into decisions. That requires a few preconditions.

• Job architecture in order: the competency scores are compared with the job profile. Without a job profile you measure generically. With a job profile you measure in a targeted way and can match, identify development opportunities and make career paths visible.
• Platform integration: the results must flow directly into matching and development. A stand-alone e-assessment produces reports that nobody opens again. Integrated, it produces a living talent profile that grows along with the person.
• Combination with 360° feedback: plan the 360° feedback as a follow-up to the e-assessment. The e-assessment measures the aptitude side, the feedback measures demonstrated behavior. Together they give the complete picture.
• Communication: explain why you are doing it, what is being measured and what happens with the results. Transparency increases the quality of the answers and trust.
• Privacy and GDPR: e-assessments fall under the GDPR. Make sure there is a legal basis, transparency and a right of access. The candidate or employee decides whether the report is shared.