Surveys can measure personality, style, competency

Where does 360 feedback fit in the world of human resources assessments?

Most individual assessments used in business fit three categories. All three types are discussed below. Performance Programs offers products in the first two categories.

1. Assessments of process-based competencies

Most published or customized 360 feedback surveys fall into this category. This is where 360 feedback fits in the world of measurement. Clark Wilson Group'sTask Cycle® Surveysare an excellent example.

These instruments are based on observations of skills or behaviors that will lead one to say, "Mary can, or, is able to . . . ." The assumption is that skills and behaviors can be learned and developed. This category of instruments strives to identify skills that distinguish between high and low performers in designated roles. The instrument must illuminate areas that people can change as a result of training and development. See a history of the Task Cycle Surveys, first of their kind.

2. Personality inventories

Performance Programs offers four personality instruments from Hogan Assessment Systems, selected for their excellence as measurements of workplace "fit" and because their mathematical basis is very similar to that used in theTask Cycle® Surveysfrom the Clark Wilson Group. All of these instruments are useful for introducing people to the range of traits included in what is called personality. They are excellent for helping to determine motivation. They can be very helpful to employers in assessing a candidate's potential fit with a job or organization.

For training purposes within an organization, however, their usefulness is limited. Self-assessments do not give the information needed to guide changes in behavior. Participants are often left without any direction for what they can do to make themselves more effective on the job. Sometimes they ask, "Now that I know my type, what do I do next?" This is why it is useful to combine personality assessment with 360 feedback.

3. Measurements of styles and attributes

The well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator fits in this category. These assessments reveal general characteristics or attributes, and patterns of personality traits. They result in such statements as "John is a . . . participator, driver, analyst, pacesetter." These abstractions give one a basis for self-understanding, understanding of others, and the dynamics of interaction. They generally do not give direction for training and development of role-specific skills or behaviors.