After They're Hired ... Don't File Away Those Assessments!

It was a long, challenging search but you've finally identified the ideal candidate. You used a thorough process to define the requirements of the position. After a second round of interviews, you administered a well-validated selection instrument and ran several reports. After reviewing all of the information, the answer was clear...the candidate is perfect for the role! Now what happens to the information that you gleaned from this process? Once the candidate has accepted the offer, many organizations I know will promptly file the assessment results in their recruitment files and close off the search. As helpful as the reports were in the selection process, they then gather dust. In my work as a Leadership Coach I have found inordinate value in the use of Assessment results AFTER the selection process is complete. Once the new hire is in the new position, powerful insights can be gained from the reports, providing further value to the organization and new hires alike. I recently coached a sales executive, Peter (not his real name), who had moved into a challenging new role. Within the first week of joining the organization, Peter and I met for the start of a 3-month executive onboarding program. One of the first steps in the process was to have a full debrief of the model underlying the Assessment tool and the reports that were produced, based on his input. In our initial meeting, it was evident that Peter was inordinately fired-up about charting a new course for the sales organization. He was like a racehorse charging out of the gate, eager to have his direct reports embrace the ideas he had, based on his experience at his former company. We walked through Assessment. His particular profile revealed that he was a highly results-oriented, driven individual, who verbalizes a lot and displays an extremely fast-pace. As we talked, he began to see that rather than creating a connection with his direct reports... something he was very interested in doing... he was in effect shutting them down. Peter was so excited to share his ideas that he was coming on like gang-busters. Peter's direct reports were shaking their heads saying, "Who does he think he is? I wish he would simply LISTEN to us and we could tell him about the challenges we face in this company and how they need to be addressed." In many organizations it would be months down the road, when the proverbial car is already in the ditch, that Peter's manager would contact Human Resources with the command to "give this guy some 360-degree feedback so he can see what he's doing to his people!" Building in a confidential, one-on-one debrief of the Assessment up-front, before the pressures are too intense and the leader has already created a "name" for himself... is a proactive investment in preventing derailment. In my research on success factors and derailers in the first 3 months with a new employer, "listening and observing" is one of the most important behaviours for leaders to demonstrate. Providing the benefit of this research, coupled with information from the individual's own profile, is a powerful way to help the new hire internalize the messages they need to get right away. Peter and I were also able to spend time with his Manager, helping her to appreciate where she might need to help Peter to course correct in the first few months, because of his particular profile. So... what could you do to more proactively and deliberately build an Assessment debrief into the process of transitioning a new employee into their new role? What additional support could you be providing to the new hire's manager? How might this set them both up for success? In my Clearing the 90-Day Hurdle