Pif testing how to pass. Testing when applying for a job. Observing applicants during the test

Why assess potential

Potential model

• Versatility: the level of potential should predict efficiency in any new professional activity. Therefore, it cannot be determined by knowledge and skills associated with a specific job: in unpredictable new conditions, they may turn out to be useless or even harmful.
• Sustainability: potential should be based on abilities and personality traits that are difficult to change.
• Delayed effect: the potential should influence the effectiveness in the medium term (1-3 years) and long term (more than 3 years). Therefore, it can be quite different from the "actual" - the current performance of the employee.

• Thinking speed- the ability to quickly process large volumes of relatively simple, uniform information. An example of such actions is working with simple, but urgent requests from other people, communication "according to the algorithm", answers to standard documents and emails... According to our research, thinking speed is associated with learning success at the 0.31 level.
• Critical thinking- the ability to work with complex information. This requires deep analysis, the ability to make informed assessments and draw correct conclusions, including in a situation of lack of data. Critical thinking is associated with learning success at the 0.26 level.

• Motivation for development- the desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. This quality is also associated with a willingness to recognize one's own weak sides and to see opportunities for self-development (it is difficult for a person who perceives himself as an omniscient expert to learn new things). According to our research, motivation for development is associated with career success at the level of 0.29.
• Open thinking- the absence in a person's thinking of cognitive errors that hinder the perception of new experience. Cognitive errors are stereotypes or worked out patterns of thinking. Our research confirms the relationship of this scale with performance in new activities at the level of 0.24.

• Motivation for leadership- willingness to lead others, regardless of the costs associated with a leadership position (such costs include, for example, the need to answer for the mistakes of their subordinates). Motivation for leadership is associated with career success of employees at the level of 0.38.
• Social intelligence- the ability to correctly understand the social context, motives and actions of others and choose adequate methods of influencing other people. According to our research, social intelligence correlates with performance in a new position at the level of 0.26.

Capacity Assessment Tool - PIF

Potential and Talent management system

• A person "cannot": the current position is “too big” in terms of its potential. Perhaps, to achieve a result, he lacks fundamental abilities ("Analysis", "Changes", "Communication", "Drive"), or maybe he lacks specific skills, knowledge and work experience to be successful in this position, because did not have time to buy them.
• The person "does not want": current position is “too small”. The source of demotivation can be a person's feeling that their potential is underutilized, burnout due to stress at work, personal and family problems, imperfection of the system for assessing achievements and motivation in the organization.
• A person has no opportunity. Maybe the organization initially did not provide the person with the necessary resources, authority or management support to solve the assigned tasks, or external circumstances changed, so that the previously assigned tasks became clearly unattainable, but were not adjusted in time (for example, the implementation of the sales plan approved on January 1, 2008 , by the end of the year it became a demotivating task).

• Potential- a set of fundamental abilities that determine the success of an employee in a new activity. If the changes to come are large, the potential should be high. If the new position is only slightly different from the previous one, the average potential is sufficient.
• Knowledge, skills and experience. Any position or job presupposes a certain minimum foundation: it is unlikely that a person without experience and training will be able to manage a large team of salespeople, modern production or company finance. Yes, skills can be developed and experience can be acquired, but all things being equal, it is wiser to prefer a more experienced and skilled candidate. However, some organizations operate contrary to this principle: they rotate people with high potential in completely unfamiliar professional areas, sacrificing short-term performance in order to accelerate their development.
• Motivation for a specific job or position. Let's say a person has successfully passed all the filters, has high potential and the necessary minimum of knowledge and experience. is that enough? Not always. Let's say the candidate is a brilliant financier who loves working with numbers and has built a team of equally passionate professionals in his department. We offer him a higher position: Sales Director. But ... he doesn't like this job. I don’t like it so much that it “turns me back from my heart”. And this must be reckoned with. As Steve Jobs said: "The only way to get done work that requires a lot of effort is to love what you are doing."

Capacity building

• Compensation. In this case, a person organizes his activities in such a way as to bypass the weaknesses of his potential. For example, he can select a deputy with developed critical thinking for the team or develop decision-making algorithms to compensate for the low speed of thinking.

• Development. In this case, a person sets himself the goal of developing his fundamental abilities and personal qualities. Implementing this strategy takes a long time (years) and requires a lot of persistence. The effectiveness of development increases when a person solves problems from his zone of proximal development and receives positive feedback from people who are significant for him, which reinforces success.

Modern psychodiagnostics of Russia. Overcoming the crisis: collection of materials of the III All-Russian conference: in 2 volumes / editorial board: N.A. Baturin (editor-in-chief) and others - Chelyabinsk: SUSU Publishing Center, 2015.Vol. 1. - 380 p.

From pp. 192-199

UDC 159.9-051 + 159.9: 005
BBK Yu956.6

POTENTIAL IN FOCUS ( PIF ): COMPREHENSIVE POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT TEST IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Lurie E.V. 1 , Popov A.Yu. 2
E- mail: Lurie@ ecopsy. ru

1 ECOPSY Consulting, Moscow

2 Perm State Humanitarian Pedagogical University, Perm

The article is about the testPotential in Focus ( PIF) developed by ECOPSY Consulting to assess professional potential. The construct underlying the test and its operationalization are described. The current results of the research program are presented, according to which the relationship between the scalesPIFand the data obtained in the evaluation center is 0.39 (p<0.001, n= 751). The general directions of further research of the test are discussed.

Keywords: employees, personnel assessment, professional potential, learning ability.

HR managers are invariably interested in such characteristics as the potential of an employee. When hiring a person, they want to know how much he will be able to "grow" professionally in a few years. When deciding on the formation of a talent pool, they want to know how successfully the employee will be able to cope with the decision

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We take tasks of a higher position. When planning a career path, they want to know what is the best way to connect people and tasks. Moreover, "potential" employees, as it turns out, are given preference over already established employees (Tormala, Jia & Norton, 2012). However, the concept of "potential" belongs to the category of concepts that are very popular in everyday use, but very vague in operationalization.

Since 2012, ECOPSY Consulting has been developing and implementing a comprehensive potential assessment tool - testPotential in Focus ( PIF). This short article will outline the construct underlying the test, the key findings of psychometric research, and the main directions for further development of the instrument.

TestPotential in Focus ( PIF) is a complex tool built on a modular basis. It is a battery of 8 tests that are complementary to each other in terms of predicting the success of a candidate or employee.The scientific foundation of the test is a comprehensive research program.

VIn accordance with the theoretical approach that underlies the tool, we understand potential as a set of stable characteristics of an employee that predict his success in solving new professional tasks for him in the medium and long term.

VtestPIFfour key elements are evaluated that give a holistic characteristic of the employee's potential for promotion, for expanding functionality or development: "Analysis", "Changes", "Communication" and "Drive". Each of these elements, in turn, includes 2 scales.

1. Block "Communication "(Readiness to work with people). The motivation and abilities of the participant in the field of working with people are assessed: the ability to understand intentions and interpret the behavior of people in various situations, as well as the skills of influence. The motivation of the participant to work with people, in particular to work in managerial positions, is also taken into account.

1a. Leadership motivation scale. The scale is based on the construct of leadership motivation.Chan & Drasgow(2001), which assumes division into three more specific subscales (Affective motivation, Social-non-normative motivation, Lack of prudence) and which was investigated by foreign authors from the point of view of its predictability in relation to future effectiveness in the role of a leader. Similar foreign instruments have shown their consistency in the study of relationships with the results of the Assessment Centers (Chan & Drasgow, 2001). The scale is a three-factor personality questionnaire.

1b. Understanding and Impact Scale is a tool for measuring abilities, more precisely, "soft skills". The scale is based on a number of concepts of emotional and social intelligence (D. Goleman, K. Albrecht, H. Marlowe, O’ Sullivan & Guilford, K. Jones & J. Dayand others), but in a special wayZom emphasizes: (a) situations that are not directly related to the management of people, but express the same basic archetypal challenges as situations of management; (b) the idea of ​​evaluating managerial qualities even for those candidates who did not have any managerial experience. The scale is a case test with the Likert scale format: respondents evaluate each option within the case in terms of its effectiveness.

2. Analysis block (readiness to work with information). The speed and quality of information processing is assessed. This block presents tasks that require the manifestation of a variety of analytical skills. For a high result, precision is required in the processing of verbal, numerical and abstract graphic information. High scores also indicate the ability to maintain concentration and efficiency while working with data at a high rate.
2a. Information processing speed scale includes a variety oftasks of different content related to speed characteristics. This includes computation tasks, verbal analysis, spatial reasoning tasks, and attention span. Among the tools that are close in meaning are tests of verbal and numerical intelligence by different authors.

2b. Information processing quality (criticality) scale contains tasks assessing the degree of formation of the respondent's universal educational operations. The scale is based on the list of universal learning operations described in the US Expert Consensus on Critical Thinking(Facione, 1990).In terms of the concept of learnability, the scale characterizes the effectiveness and depth in acquiring new experience in situations where old experience contributes to understanding. A large list of universal training operations is systematized in the US Expert Consensus on Critical Thinking(Facione, 1990). A similar logic is implemented in the critical thinking subtest of the testGMAT - Graduate Management Admission Test (Killoran, 2005).

3. Block "Changes" (willingness to develop and change). This block also includes a motivational component - motivation for development, and a special class of abilities - openness of thinking. Motivation for development is a desire to learn and develop, to change ideas about the world and work. It is an inner drive for change and overcoming difficulties. Openness of thinking is effective decision-making in conditions of uncertainty, the ability to act rationally, overcoming

own stereotypes, the ability to rebuild and adapt to new conditions.

3a. Development motivation scale is a personality questionnaire with a Likert scale. The scale expresses dispositional readiness for learning, i.e. basic personal readiness for change, overcoming stereotypes and gaining new experience. Some of the similar tools include the following: Subscale of openness to ideas (NEO- PR, Costa & McCrae, 1992), Subscale of openness to values ​​(NEO- PR, Costa & McCrae, 1992), Scales of dogmatism (Rokeach, 1960), Scale of categorical thinking from the Test of constructive thinking (Epstein & Meier, 1989), The Counter Factual Mouse ScalelazinessStanovich & West(1997). ResearchStanovich & WestshowingIt is believed that these scales correlate with each other and are combined into one factor during factorization.

3b. Open-mindedness scale in the most general terms, assesses whether the respondent is able to effectively adapt old experience to new conditions. For this, the respondent's behavior is investigated in the presence of stereotypes - heuristics and cognitive distortions. The ability to overcome these stereotypes is also an indicator of openness of thinking. Under some conditions, this scale can also be interpreted as an indicator of flexibility, adaptability. From the point of view of the concept of learning, the scale characterizes the effectiveness and depth in acquiring new experience in situations where old experience contradicts new conditions. This scale was developed on the basis of a large number of foreign scientific studies in the field of decision-making in a situation of uncertainty (A. Tversky, D. Kahneman and their followers).

4. Block "Drive" (willingness to act and be responsible for the result). This element is basic for any type of professional activity. Drive is purposefulness, readiness to achieve results. This quality is necessary in order to supplement the remaining components of the potential with the necessary energy.

4a. Scale "Focus on results" is a questionnaire,in which tasks of the normative and normative-ipsative type are used approximately equally. This composition of the scale allows you to optimally combine overcoming the tendency towards social desirability and the compactness of the instrument. The scale expresses the participant's personal attitude towards setting ambitious goals and preserving energy on the way to achieving them. Although they are not used to calculate individual points, in order to maintain a sufficient level of substantive validity, the scale retains three semantic manifestations - "ambition", "responsibility" and "persistence". Since the scale is a questionnaire, the results on it are relevant to personal

attitudes, attitudes and self-esteem - i.e. in combination “I want” and “I can” within the Drive block, this scale refers to “I want”.

4b. Scale "Overcoming Barriers" is a labyrinth test. It reflects the tendency of the participant to set serious goals and achieve what was set, despite the difficulties that arise. It differs from the previous scale ("Result orientation"), first of all, in that here we are talking about real behavior in the presence of the risk of loss, i.e. "can". Participants who score high on this scale are characterized by the fact that they maintain a high level of difficulty of the tasks they choose for a long time, have a high threshold of tolerance for periodic failures, and work in their own "zone of proximal development." It is based on a bank of tasks, consisting of simple arithmetic problems that must be solved for a while (one minute per task).

Blocks "Analysis" and "Changes" together form an independent construct called learnability(learning agility).The ECOPSY product line includes a learning testPIF LATe ( learning agility test), which is an abbreviated version ofPIF.

When designing the potential components, the emphasis was placed on the consideration of modern meta-analyzes and the search for indicators that are most predictive in relation to the effectiveness of professional activity, including as a leader. The main sample of the study for July 2015 - 3702 people. The main sample of test rationing includes employees of companies operating in the retail industry,FMCG, transport,B2 Bservices, insurance, mining and processing industries, energy, communications, chemical production.

In relation to all scales of the described instrument, multistage psychometric studies were carried out. In a typical case, the research program looked like this:

(a) The meaningful validity of the scale was first ensured. For this, for all scales that are not fundamentally innovative, a meaningful comparison was made with those analogs that are already used in the practice of personnel assessment. So, for example, in the development of the scale of critical thinking, the experts relied on foreign experience in developing the critical thinking subtest of the testGMAT ( Killoran, 2005). A number of cognitive biases most studied in Western psychology were used in the development of the Open Thought Scale. The selection of these distortions was preceded by research work, during which 14 were selected from an extended list (about 30 distortions).- those for which the results of our studies are the most

(b) The scale was then modified until acceptable Cronbach alpha reliability indicators were achieved. In order to prevent artificial sublimation of reliability, the quantitative composition of tasks was observed in all subscales included in the scale. So, for example, the scale "Motivation for leadership" consists of three subscales (Affective motivation, Socio-normative motivation, Lack of prudence). Subscales, however, are not used on their own.

The calculation of the results and the formation of the interpretation for the client occurs only on the basis of the total scale. Already at the initial reliability check, it turned out that a simple way to increase the reliability of the Leadership Motivation scale to very high values ​​is to saturate it with points from the subscale of affective motivation and remove a large number of points from the other two subscales. Such situations were avoided. All scales of the instrument currently provide a meaningful variety of tasks due to this kind of subscales.

(c) Next, we investigated the characteristics of validity, primarily construct (correlations with other scalesPIF, as well as with other assessment tools) and structural (factorial structure of the scale tasks and the degree of its correspondence to the theoretical construct).

(d) Then, special attention was paid to the characteristics of criterion validity, which is especially important in the context of organizational psychology.

All results of psychometric studies are described in the technical manual for the test. Here we will dwell in more detail on the key characteristics of criterion validity.

We have studied the predictive ability of the components of learning (when combined) in relation to the assessments in the Assessment Centers (EO). For this, a kind of meta-analysis was carried out: data from various assessment projects were collected, in which the learning capacity scales were used simultaneouslyPIFand Assessment Centers, the necessary alignment procedures have been carried out. The overall data matrix ended up with 751 participants and 23 different competencies. The most frequently used competence is result orientation (AC estimates were obtained for 521 participants). Less than 40 people were assessed in 12 competencies.

Of particular interest is the correlation of the total learning score (blocks "Analysis" and "Changes") with the total score for AC (final assessment rating). For different assessment projects included in the meta-analysis, this correlation ranged from 0.27 to 0.43 (p < 0.001). Это хороший результат, в целом соответствующий мировой практике. При этом известно, что максимальный эффект должен достигаться от объеди-

assessment of AC and ability test results. They assess different aspects of potential, complementing each other. Thus, the most cited meta-analysis on this topic indicates that the predictive validity of AC is 0.37, and when this information is combined with the results of the ability test, it increases to 0.53 (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998).

Vaverage for all completed projects (n= 751) relationship between scalesPIFand the total score received by the participant in the assessment center wasr = 0.39. Vin practical terms, this means that:

(a) When using an instrument for the purpose of barrier measurement, i.e. dropout of the worst participants: 88% of participants who passed the dropoutPIF, really show average or high indicators in the AC.

(b) When using the tool to select the best participants: 87% of participants who did not score sufficiently on the testPIFreally do not fall into the group of “best” AC participants.

In addition to data on relationships with AC results, data from a special research project were also used to study the criterion validity of the instrument. In it, abbreviated scales from the "Analysis" and "Changes" blocks were used within massive online courses (MOOC) on the platformCoursera... This research project is carried out jointly with the Higher School of Economics (Moscow). At the moment, regularities have been found that indicate that all the scales used are associated with the parameters of the success of the course. At the summary level, the relationship (abbreviated version)PIF learning agilityand the success of the course on the platformCourseraamounted to 0.38 (r = 0.38, p < 0.001, n = 218).

What is the general idea behind our research? At first, we believe that the potential needs to be separated from the currentskills and knowledge. Potential is a set of "protocompetencies", it should be manifested even when a person has not yet had experience of activity in the relevant field.

Secondly , we believe that it is wrong to reduce potential to just basic cognitive abilities such as intelligence. Undoubtedly, basic cognitive abilities are necessary for success, but, firstly, they are not enough, and secondly, in many modern activities they are not a basic requirement. In addition to the ability to think "quickly", a modern employee of the organization (both a specialist and a manager) needs to have the ability to think "deeply", and in some key situations - think "flexibly", "openly".

Thirdly , our approach to designing a comprehensive test of potential lies in the balance between “want” (personality traits) and “can” (abilities), and, as a result, between questionnaires and tests. Each of the four blocks of the instrument includes both

goe. In particular, the "Changes" block includes the scale "Motivation for development", which characterizes the desire, desire of a person to be open to new experience and readiness to change and relearn, as well as the scale "Openness of thinking", which is a test of abilities and characterizes his ability retrain, overcome their own cognitive stereotypes.

We believe that the further development of the tool (and the accompanying comprehensive research program) will help to better understand the patterns of development of the employee's potential, in particular, its long-term dynamics.

Literature

1. DeRue, D. S. Learning agility: In search of conceptual clarity and theoretical grounding / D.S. DeRue, S.J. Ashford & C.G. Myers // Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. - 2012. - V. 5. - P. 258-279.

2. Dries, N. How to identify leadership potential: Development and testing of a consensus model / N. Dries & R. Pepermans // Human Resource Management. - 2012.

V. 3. - P. 361-385.

3. Meyers, M.C. Talent: Innate or acquired? Theoretical considerations and their implications for talent management / M.C. Meyers, M. van Woerkom & N. Dries // Human Resource Management Review . - 2013. - V. 4. - P. 305-321.

4. Nijsa, S. A multidisciplinary review into the definition, operationalization, and measurement of talent / S. Nijsa, E. Gallardo, N. Dries & L. Selsa // Journal of World Business. - 2014. - V. 2. - P. 180-191.

5. Silzer, R. & Church, A. H. The pearls and perils of identifying potential. / R. Silzer & A. H. Church // Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. - 2009. - V. 2. - P. 377-412.

Potential assessment is becoming an increasingly common practice in Russian HR management. Companies develop their own models of potential and implement practices, tools for predicting the effectiveness of employees, and new tools for measuring it are being developed.

The percentage of Russian companies evaluating their potential is growing, but still remains low. Only 59% of large organizations rate potential *, compared with 81% for North American companies (Church, Rotolo, Ginther, & Levine, 2015). Moreover, 54% of those companies that do not assess the potential report a lack of information about this practice.

The purpose of this article is to educate readers about the basics of capacity assessment. We will go over the issues that are more common in our practice.

Why assess potential?

Over the past 25 years, the world of professions has undergone a dramatic transformation. Organizations have become more complex. The number of companies with matrix and non-hierarchical structures has increased. Requirements for employees are constantly changing - for example, competency models are significantly updated every 3-4 years. As a result, performance and current skills have ceased to be valuable criteria for predicting professional success. It is often not known what a person will have to do at the next level of the position or in a few years in his position. The skills an employee possesses today may be useless tomorrow.

All this led to the emergence of a new dimension in assessment - potential, or forecasting success in new conditions. Companies began to divide successful employees into two groups - HiPro, or High Professionals, and HiPo, High Potential. Highly productive employees show efficiency in their current activities, while employees with high potential are able to master new functionality and be successful in changing their roles. However, these groups may include different employees - the CEB SHL study shows that only 30% of HiPro are effective in new activities (CLC, 2005).

Now more than half of large Russian companies assess their potential:

Another innovation was the emergence of HiPo pools. Unlike the talent pool, the HiPo pool is not tied to a specific position. This is a group of employees of different levels and functions who have a high potential for solving new, important tasks for the company.

The advantage of HiPo pools over talent pools is that they are more versatile. Its members can rotate flexibly to a wide range of positions.

What is potential?

There are many definitions of potential. Almost every large company has its own understanding of potential, but all definitions, according to the classification of Silzer & Church (2009), can be reduced to 4 types:

• The likelihood of being effective in a high management position (senior / top manager). This is the most common definition of potential in foreign companies. It even applies to specialists and line managers, despite the "great distance" between their functionality and the responsibilities of top managers.
• The probability of being effective is two positions higher than the current one.
• The likelihood of mastering a wider range of responsibilities effectively.
• The likelihood of showing high performance. This definition mixes "actual" - current performance - and potential as the likelihood of success in solving new problems. A third (31%) of Russian companies use this definition, but we recommend not mixing performance and potential.

From our point of view, these definitions describe an important part of reality and, at the same time, they are too narrow for application throughout the organization and a wide range of assessment situations. Therefore, we propose to use a more general definition:

Potential is a set of relatively stable qualities that determine the success of an employee in solving new professional tasks in the medium and long term.

Let's analyze the individual components of this definition:

• Relative stability. Potential, in contrast to competencies, determines success in a wide range of situations and activities. Therefore, it is based, first of all, on basic personal and intellectual qualities and does not depend on the current professional (including managerial) experience. All this makes the potential difficult to develop, because personal attitudes and intellectual abilities remain practically unchanged from middle age. Of course, there are isolated cases of significant personal change motivated by external events or purposeful effort. But they are in the minority compared to the majority that interests us in the assessment situation. More details about capacity development methods are written below.
• The novelty of the tasks. It is this point that distinguishes high-performing employees from high-potential - the former are successful in solving their current tasks. While the potential reflects the success in the new environment. Such conditions can be: new functionality, a radical change in the team, serious market or organizational changes.
• Time perspective. The potential can manifest itself only where there are really new conditions that require adaptation, acquisition and use of new skills-knowledge. This process takes time, and we propose to consider a year or more as such a segment. If a person achieves success in the short term (up to a year), this largely reflects the fact that he has the necessary skills and the conditions are not new to him. That is, the new activity largely reflects its previous functionality.

The advantage of this definition is that it is broad enough to describe not only leadership, but also expert potential - the likelihood of success in the role of a functional expert. The growth in the number of matrix structures, the "flattening" of vertical ties in organizations - all this makes forecasting efficiency in expert roles a more demanded task.

Are the building blocks of capacity different for each job?

One of the first questions asked by foreign practitioners in discussions of potential was "What are we measuring potential for?" (Hay, 2008). It was assumed that for each position, the criteria will differ, depending on what tasks the person will have to deal with. For example, working in a position that involves a large number of organizational barriers requires persistence and stress resistance. And in the service department - benevolence and lack of big ambitions.

But subsequent scientific research has shown that it is possible to identify factors that determine success in all types of activities and at different levels of the position. Thus, companies came up with the idea of ​​a universal potential model.

All factors have a positive impact on efficiency and are universal, but their contribution to a specific position may differ. So, working in a rapidly changing market can really require a higher level of intelligence. Or, working with a difficult team implies higher leadership motivation and more developed social intelligence.

The answer to the initial question that practitioners came up with based on scientific research is as follows: the components of potential are the same for all positions, none of them makes a “negative” contribution; only the "weights" of each of them differ. Based on the results of HR-analytical studies, the most significant components of potential and quality can be identified with a lower priority. And then assign them weights that increase the accuracy of the assessment.

What qualities are included in the potential?

ECOPSY has developed a capacity model based on the results of more than 150 scientific studies in recent years. We have compiled a redundant list of qualities that predict success - in a career, in a new position, in training, in management. Based on the results of our pilot studies, we have selected the qualities and abilities that predict the future success of our target audience - CEOs operating in Russia. These qualities formed the basis of the scales that form the model of potential.

1. The "Analysis" scale reflects the ability to work with information and is divided into two components:

• Thinking speed is the ability to quickly process large volumes of relatively simple, uniform information. An example of such actions is working with simple but urgent requests from other people, communication "according to the algorithm", replies to standard documents and emails.
• Critical thinking is the ability to work with complex information. This requires deep analysis, the ability to make informed assessments and draw correct conclusions, including in a situation of lack of data.

2. Scale "Change" - readiness to change and develop, acquire new professional skills and knowledge. She, in turn, is also divided into two qualities:

• Motivation for development is the desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. This quality is also associated with a willingness to recognize their weaknesses and see opportunities for self-development (it is difficult for a person who perceives himself as an omniscient expert to learn new things).
• Openness of thinking is the absence in a person's thinking of cognitive errors that prevent them from perceiving new experiences. Cognitive errors are stereotypes or worked out patterns of thinking.

These qualities are essentially the axes "I want" (motivation for development) and "I can" (openness of thinking). Their intersection gives interesting results: a person with low abilities to acquire new knowledge may have a high motivation for development, and vice versa - a person who is able to develop may not want this.

In the complex of the scale "Analysis" and "Change" speak of "Learning Agility". At the same time, potential is not limited to learning: success in solving new problems is associated with the effective use of new experience, and for this it is necessary to take into account two more scales.

3. The "Communication" scale speaks of a person's readiness to build fruitful relationships with other people in the course of a new activity for himself. It is divided into two components:

• Leadership motivation - the willingness to lead others, regardless of the costs associated with a leadership position (such costs include, for example, the need to answer for the mistakes of their subordinates).
• Social intelligence is the ability to correctly understand the social context, motives and actions of others and choose adequate methods of influencing other people.

4. Scale "Drive" - ​​readiness to set ambitious goals, overcome obstacles and be responsible for the result. This scale contains "fighting" qualities that fill the rest of the potential components with the necessary energy.

To assess the potential, ECOPSY has developed a special tool - the Potential in Focus test.

How does potential compare to other assessment criteria?

Potential is only one of the evaluation criteria that allow making a personnel decision. For a full assessment, you must also use other metrics and assessments:

All evaluation criteria can be divided into two groups: filters and drivers. The filtering criteria imply the "dropout" of the least eligible for promotion / rotation / inclusion in HiPo pools or talent pool. “Drivers” - on the contrary, identifying the most powerful participants in the assessment process.

1. Filtering criteria are divided into:

Values(this filter is also called culture fit or culture match): the employee's behavior should not contradict the values ​​and corporate culture of the organization. Please note: in order to meet the filtering criteria, a person must and should not fall into the “below expectations” category. There is no need to be an ideal model and demonstrative champion in adherence to corporate values ​​- it is enough not to have problems.

Past performance. At first glance, obvious, but in reality the most ambiguous of the evaluation criteria. The reasons for poor performance can be different and should be clarified before making staffing decisions. Here are the main options:

• The person “cannot”: the current position is “too great” in terms of his potential. Perhaps, to achieve a result, he lacks fundamental abilities ("Analysis", "Changes", "Communication", "Drive"), or maybe he lacks specific skills, knowledge and work experience to be successful in this position, because did not have time to buy them.
• The person “does not want”: the current position is “too small”. The source of demotivation can be a person's feeling that their potential is underutilized, emotional burnout due to stress at work, personal and family problems, and imperfect systems for assessing achievement and motivation in the organization.
• A person has no opportunity. Maybe the organization initially did not provide the person with the necessary resources, authority or management support to solve the assigned tasks, or external circumstances changed, so that the previously assigned tasks became clearly unattainable, but were not adjusted in time (for example, the implementation of the sales plan approved on January 1, 2008 , by the end of the year it became a demotivating task).

Identifying the true cause or set of reasons for poor performance is often challenging, so, as with values, when deciding whether to hire or promote, you should look at past performance “at least average”.

2. If hiring or promotion involves significant changes relative to the previous position, filters alone are no longer enough - drivers come into play:

Potential- a set of fundamental abilities that determine the success of an employee in a new activity. If the changes to come are large, the potential should be high. If the new position is only slightly different from the previous one, the average potential is sufficient.

Knowledge, skills and experience. Any position or job presupposes a certain minimum foundation: it is unlikely that a person without experience and training will be able to manage a large sales team, modern production or company finances. Yes, skills can be developed and experience can be acquired, but all things being equal, it is wiser to prefer a more experienced and skilled candidate. However, some organizations operate contrary to this principle: they rotate people with high potential in completely unfamiliar professional areas, sacrificing short-term performance in order to accelerate their development.

Motivation for a specific job or position. Let's say a person has successfully passed all the filters, has high potential and the necessary minimum of knowledge and experience. is that enough? Not always. Let's say the candidate is a brilliant financier who loves working with numbers and has built a team of equally passionate professionals in his department. We offer him a higher position: Sales Director. But ... he doesn't like this job. I don’t like it so much that it “turns me back from my heart”. And this must be reckoned with.

Can potential be developed?

Potential is a set of personal and intellectual qualities, the foundation of which is laid at an early age. Therefore, the potential is difficult to develop. Nevertheless, the potential lends itself to compensation - "smoothing" of the weakest sides. Compensation is based on two complementary approaches:

• Awareness of your weaknesses.
• Learning behavioral habits.

The employee must, first of all, find out his limitations and then organize activities in such a way as to get around them. For example, he can select a deputy with developed critical thinking for the team or develop decision-making algorithms to compensate for the low speed of thinking.

Understanding that low potential is not the “last word” in a career helps the employee to accept the results of the assessment and take proactive steps to level out their weaknesses.