Personnel assessment: system and methods

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Personnel assessment allows you to identify how competent the employees involved in the enterprise are, and it is the effectiveness of their work that is the most significant factor affecting the efficiency of the company as a whole. To clarify the effectiveness of the performance of the assigned duties by different employees, it is necessary to use special evaluation methods. They allow you to determine what are the strengths of the employed, what are the weak aspects, how you can use the employee with great effect and benefit.

General view

Evaluation of the personnel of the enterprise is carried out using a specialized system developed taking into account the individual characteristics of a particular company. As part of such an assessment, the following features of all members of the team are analyzed:

• skills;
• experience;
• skills.

Responsible for the assessment of personnel in the organization, the persons draw up programs on the basis of which it is possible to improve the personnel composition, and also think over,what management methods should be implemented to improve the effectiveness of the workflow. Ways to improve the qualification level, professional selection methods are being developed, a personnel reserve is being formed.

Objectives and goals

Personnel assessment allows you to understand the extent to which the employee, solving the tasks assigned to him, applies the skills acquired earlier, and also gives an idea of the development of new experience, which allows him to solve atypical, complex tasks. A truly useful result gives an integrated approach to the issue. Persons responsible for such an analysis should be well versed in the nuances of all work processes, the duties of workers. The assessment begins with determining the extent to which the employee corresponds to the position he currently occupies, allows you to assess the potential associated with each of the workers, find ways to realize it with mutual benefit: both for the person and for the company that gives him a job. At the same time, analysts, working with information about workers, must take into account the tasks and goals that are set for the enterprise as a whole.

When hiring a person, personnel specialists analyze the following main features of the applicant:

• qualification level;
• experience.

But the data obtained from diplomas, certificates, certificates and recommendations, as well as the first impression formed at the interview, is only a general idea that does not always correspond to reality: in practice, the employee may not confirm the experience that he is so confident aboutindicated in the summary, to show their unpreparedness. Another option is also possible: the personnel department clearly sees that a person will cope with much more complex tasks than the inherent position for which the applicant was hired.

Cooperation with an employee provides the necessary objective data to determine the extent to which a person corresponds to the position he occupies. Analyzing the indicators of personnel assessment, the personnel department reveals additional knowledge, personal characteristics, correlates them with the criteria that are important for the chosen position.

HR specialists pay attention: it is necessary not only to be able to analyze employees and evaluate the quality of their work, but also to monitor how these people evaluate themselves. Every person working at an enterprise must independently assess his abilities, opportunities and prospects. The correspondence of his conclusions and those received by the personnel department allows us to understand to what extent the needs of the employee and his capabilities are similar, how this is combined with the goals of the company, what contribution a person can make to the common cause.

Regular organization of certification and evaluation of personnel is an effective method:

• formation of an efficient production structure;
• manpower distribution;
• improving staff performance.

By controlling, providing employees with new opportunities, evaluating the results of personnel activities, HR specialists make a significant contribution to optimizing the workflow of the company as a whole. It's helpful on a personal level as well.as every worker can be sure: his abilities are used to the maximum extent possible under given conditions. This stimulates even more carefully, responsibly and promptly perform all the tasks assigned to the employee.

Main goals: what?

Evaluation of the work of personnel allows you to understand the extent to which the costs of a particular job correlate with the funds spent by the company on the workplace and the employee who occupies it. In particular, the analysis can identify specialists whose level of productivity is extremely low. Keeping such a person is unprofitable for the enterprise, and in order to optimize spending, personnel reforms should be organized in order to transfer an employee to a position in which he can realize his potential, using all available skills without compromising the overall benefit.

Evaluation of personnel performance allows you to clearly limit the functionality of a certain worker in the overall workflow of the enterprise, based on his inherent skills. It is not uncommon for a person to excel in teamwork, strive for new heights, and demonstrate excellent working qualities. It is possible that one of the activities of the enterprise requires just such personality traits, which means that this employee can become an important and valuable personnel, influence the income component, and therefore lead the organization to success. The main task of the employer is to see such potential and create conditions for its realization.

Personnel performance appraisal makes it possible to understand what is the potential of employees, how canimplement it without investing additional funds in it, and get benefits for the company. Ordinary employees who have been working in the company for a long time acquire skills, knowledge, and extensive experience, which means they receive the base necessary for occupying a leadership position. Understanding this and applying the results of personnel assessment for personnel changes, you can get an effective management team without spending money and time on finding an outside employee who would have to be trained.

Objectives: Key Aspects

Evaluation of the effectiveness of personnel allows you to create a powerful personnel reserve based on the persons employed at the enterprise, which means reducing the costs associated with attracting new people. In addition, events provide an opportunity to:

• improve methods, ways to control the company's workflow;
• increase control over discipline in production;
• stimulate employee interest in improving individual performance;
• train high-level professionals;
• identify potential managers among the employed, change their profile, send them to advanced training;
• optimize staffing, reasonably distribute responsibilities, functions, while using the results of evaluation activities (transfers, reductions);
• introduce new levers of motivation that encourage staff to improve performance, improve their skills.

For training, personnel assessment is an important aspect that encourages the company's staff to take courses, programs, and seminars. Employees realize that this gives them new opportunities, career prospects improve, which means that their financial situation will become more stable. On the other hand, it allows realizing the potential. Persons who see this attitude of the company and evaluate it, readily create their own projects for improving, developing the company at different levels, often offering unusual, non-standard ideas that are really valuable for the company.

Evaluation activities: functionality

The following functions are assigned to the personnel assessment system:

• providing HR with up-to-date information;
• administration;
• increase motivation.

Administrative function assumes:

• transfer to a new position based on the results of evaluation activities;
• increase;
• dismissal;
• referral for additional training;
• reward.

The informative component of personnel assessment is implemented to improve the efficiency of management processes and interaction with personnel. To do this, employees are given as much detail as possible about the parameters of the work process assessment: productivity, quality of performance of tasks. As part of staff appraisal:

• evaluate the level of workload of employees;
• analyze performance;
• reveal the compliance of the qualification level and the requirements of the enterprise;
• increase wages if it seems promising.

Motivation throughemployee evaluation is a method of determining the extent to which different individuals are interested in improving the level of productivity of the work process. The results of the assessment are important both for individuals and for the company as a whole: this is how feedback is provided, on the basis of which it is possible to significantly improve production efficiency. Motivation is realized through opportunities:

• career advancement;
• self-improvement through enterprise.

Do I need this?

Evaluation of personnel will only be useful when thought out:

• analyzed parameters and scale for their study;
• methods for obtaining reliable information;
• approaches for analyzing non-quantifiable aspects of the workflow;
• ways to exclude the influence of personal sympathies.

An equally important nuance is the right choice of employees responsible for evaluation activities. The manager will have to figure out if there are such persons in the company whose competence is sufficient for an adequate, accurate, objective business assessment of the personnel.

Typically, assessments are organized under the following circumstances:

• stable outflow of qualified, valuable personnel;
• the need to make a personnel decision related to management personnel;
• change of persons responsible for management processes;
• change in enterprise strategy;
• need for a project team responsible for strategic tasks;
• planned optimization of the company;
• restructuring;
• mass cuts;
• assessment of the competence of employees for staff training;
• steady decline in production discipline;
• frequent conflicts between employed people.

Business assessment of personnel is required if the company's management has chosen new areas of the enterprise's activities, allocated funds for their development, which means that human resources are required through which work will be carried out. Often, evaluation measures are needed if priority grounds are formed for personnel changes within the company, as well as in the case of more frequent complaints of employees dissatisfied with their place in the state agency.

Evaluation is necessary if the company is developing or upgrading motivational factors. A personnel assessment system is required, if there was none - the development and implementation of the program will provide access to new opportunities for personnel policy.

Assessment: methodology

Modern methods of personnel assessment - a fairly large number of different approaches, united by one task - to give the most accurate assessment of each individual working in the company.

One of the basic options is documentation analysis. It is indispensable when a person is only hired without having information gleaned from real observations of his activities. The analysis of documents will be useful in the course of cooperation, since certain useful information can be gleaned from the materials.information about qualifications and previous level. Analyzed:

• resume;
• recommendations;
• characteristics;
• certificates;
• documents confirming education.

This method of personnel assessment involves identifying the reliability of all papers provided by the employee. If a person is hired for a position, after some time, they compare what is stated in the submitted documents and the real performance of his work, evaluating the current qualification level, checking whether the person is really as experienced as he imagined himself.

Effective evaluation methods:

• analysis of employee behavior during interviews;
• testing on professional level assessment programs for a specific position;
• analysis of the requirements established in regulatory documents, the employee's compliance with them;
• business essay.

Preparation of material for the test by profession is usually entrusted to the head of the department in which the employee can be accepted. In some cases, it is reasonable to involve an external expert, a narrowly specialized highly qualified specialist.

To analyze the performance of tasks by employees and the compliance of the result with established standards, it is necessary to first develop an assessment scale, on the basis of which conclusions are formulated.

The essay allows you to assess the extent to which the employee is able to solve the problem posed to him in a short time. Analysts can understand what the strategic abilities of a colleague are, how much their detection abilities are inherentoptimal ways out of difficult situations inherent in a particular position.

Methods and options

For analysis, you can use the criteria for assessing personnel for psychological testing. Employees are given tests, the results of which describe the type of personality of a person and give a specific score - an assessment of the qualities of workers. Conducting personality tests is the responsibility of a personnel specialist who has undergone special training. The methodology is rather complicated, and the analysis of its results is carried out with a preliminary acquaintance with the methods of data processing for a particular questionnaire.

Assessing the performance of personnel by competencies is another fairly popular and effective method. To do this, first, a list of characteristics is compiled, on the basis of which it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the employee, the quality level of the performance of tasks by him. The list of competencies must correspond to a specific position; it is formed individually for different jobs.

Another method of assessing the work of personnel is ranking, in which all employees of one department are examined. The analysis is based on comparing the results of persons whose activities are related. The rating chain is compiled by analysts, guided by a pre-formulated list of criteria.

Most modern enterprises resort to a technique called "360 degrees". It is supposed to analyze information about a particular person coming from different sources:

• colleagues;
• clients;
• subordinates.

Analysis of information allows you to assess the extent to which a person has the necessary business qualities for a particular position, as he shows them in everyday life.

Another well-known approach is the Assessment centre, applicable both for the analysis of production positions and for the assessment of personnel management (for this, the effectiveness of the work of the personnel department and management staff is revealed). The approach is complex, it begins with the compilation of a rather voluminous list of parameters, for each of which it is necessary to evaluate the activities of employees. There should be several observers. The team monitors a group of employed people, monitors the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them, evaluates the behavior of individual participants, their actions. Observers have a script for the optimal reaction of subjects in different situations. Following it, it is determined to what extent individuals show an adequate response to factors. The results obtained from such observation are discussed within the group responsible for the analysis, and the formulated conclusions become the basis for making management decisions.

The method of staff assessment that involves the interaction of the boss and the subordinate has proven itself well. The effectiveness of personnel management using this technology, called MVO, is due to the peculiarities of the method: the work begins with the formulation of goals for the employee, determining the time period for their implementation. The task of the boss is to choose adequate deadlines, a reasonable number of goals, make sure that they are all really important,fit for a particular position. When formulating goals, it is necessary to track compliance with the criteria:

• the ability to measure the result;
• specific wording;
• importance of tasks;
• time restrictions;
• opportunity to successfully achieve what was planned.

Evaluation: analysis to optimize workflow

If a list of criteria for evaluating performance is compiled in advance, it is possible to conduct an analysis using a fairly reliable KPI methodology based on a study of the labor productivity of different workers. When formulating the criteria for analysis, they take into account the goals and tasks facing the company, at the same time adhere to the most simple and understandable formulations: the employee whose activities will be analyzed must understand the essence of the parameters.

Quite often, HR audits are used to evaluate staff. This technique makes it possible to assess the quality of labor resources, the effectiveness of the management system, the feasibility of the tasks assigned to the enterprise through the personnel available at the moment. Analysts, when planning a personnel audit, first examine the goals facing the company, only after that they begin to work with data on employed people. The right approach allows you to identify dangerous areas and the most promising areas of development.

Appraisal is a personnel assessment method that allows you to assess the extent to which the real workflow of a worker meets the standards, requirements for his position, a particular workplace.

Test cases have become popular lately. These are such assessment methods, the work on which begins with a description of a certain situation characteristic of a particular production. It is necessary to make the most structured, accurate, objective description provided for analysis by the employee. The task of the employee is to determine which way to solve the problem that has arisen will be optimal for the given conditions. Analysts receive enough data to assess competence, knowledge, abilities, personality traits, and at the same time train an employee to behave in such conditions.

Evaluation and analysis: is the effort good?

The information obtained during the personnel assessment should be analyzed, systematized and structured. This is the only way to get an objective idea of the human resources of the enterprise. Correctly, having responsibly treated the task, you can:

• understand how competent the company's staff is;
• how great is the professional contribution of different people to the work of the company;
• as far as the qualification level corresponds to the tasks, goals facing employees;
• reward employees in accordance with the qualifications, the benefits they bring to the company;
• determine what the area of responsibility of different officials is, while taking into account the responsibilities;
• understand how balanced the company's human resource is, what mistakes are made;
• determine key objectives for upcoming assessment activities;
• study the strengths, weaknesses of the chosenanalysis method;
• identify the legal risks associated with the current structure, work design (take into account laws and by-laws);
• make recommendations to address violations found during the audit;
• understand how you can improve the quality of your workforce;
• create a talent development plan with particular attention to risk factors.

Difficulties of work

The implementation of personnel assessment at enterprises obliges you to choose the best method for a particular company. It is not uncommon for management to stop at an approach that does not match the level of maturity of the organization. Many neglect the motivational factor, both monetary and intangible.

It is important to consider that too frequent checks are usually perceived negatively by staff, and for managers such work seems tedious, wasting time on it is irrational. To obtain maximum efficiency, the frequency of procedures should be selected taking into account the characteristics of the enterprise.

In many firms, the feedback between managers and staff is too weak, so line workers simply do not perceive the assessment as something important, meaningful. Self-esteem also plays a role: for some people it is higher than real abilities, for others it is underestimated. In any of the options, it becomes a significant obstacle to assessing the competence of the worker, the skills that he has in reality, which means that he could apply for the benefit of the company.

Attention to detail

For any modern company, staff assessment is an important aspectmanagerial management, a serious step towards improving the enterprise and optimizing work activities. Reasonable application of techniques and methods allows you to increase the efficiency of the workflow, strengthen the motivational component, increase the competence of personnel, and make work more productive.

Personnel assessment is a technological aspect of the work of the personnel department. For successful implementation of activities, it is necessary to have skills and knowledge. Only professionals in this field who have undergone special training should be entrusted with the assessment of personnel. When formulating grades, it is important to take into account the peculiarities of the corporate culture and the specific requirements for different positions.

In fact, during the evaluation of an employee, a comparison is made between a real person and an ideal, the image of which is created, taking into account the requirements of the position, the presentation of management, the conditions established by the labor market. As part of the analysis, HR managers receive information about the characteristics of the psychology of employees, the level of performance of their work, and can find ways to improve this indicator. In total, this makes it possible to strengthen the competitiveness of the company, rationally allocate resources, improve the quality of customer service and increase the profitability of the enterprise. Regular personnel assessment is a method of adjusting personnel policy, a source of information for management decisions and a way to promote an enterprise in the market.