Getting the Job to Talk

Return to Blogs

Keyline Company started benchmarking jobs over 10 years ago. At the time, the process was new to me, and it took some time to master the process and produce useable results. Before we adopted our current benchmarking process, we used a wonderful tool (at least, we thought it was wonderful at the time) called the Work Environment. Two of the publishers I have been associated with had one of these tools; nevertheless, I discovered that the assessment from Target Training International was the best. Their test measured 56 factors. However, the only efficient way to use it was to ask a manager to complete the test with a view in mind of the ideal benchmarks for a given job.

It was very easy to ask managers to do this: they were looking for any tools that would help them defining their jobs better. However, as enthusiastic as many of us were about benchmarking, we soon discovered the process was badly flawed. Managers, we realized, held biases that prevented them from appreciating what a job truly called for. I came to this realization when an employee told me that he was being held to a standard that did not apply to his position. I showed him the ideal benchmarking report, and he asked me who had completed it. I told him his manager had. He was very quick to tell me that his manger had never performed the duties of the position. Moreover, his manager had never visited him in his work environment.

Well, this situation played out many more times, through many similar responses. However, it served a useful purpose: it led to dialog between managers and employees – discussing differences in the view of the position between the two parties. Both sides always gained a great deal from these discussions.

Today – many years later and after thousands of evaluations were completed – we now have an assessment from Target Training International to produce a consensus benchmark to measure the personal talents needed for any position. Our clients select company stakeholders to come together to review and discuss the key accountabilities for a given position. When they finish the discussion, they complete an assessment that measures 37 job-related factors. We then rank these factors in order, based on the consensus view of the stakeholders. With this report in hand, the manager has a clear understanding of what the organization expects from the position. The result is that the manager now has the tools to hold the employee accountable for the performance that the position truly requires.

Call me today at 610-458-3511 for more information.

Return to Blogs

• Hiring (8)
• Retention (14)

• Assessments (19)
• Technology (1)

• Talent (11)
• Selection (10)