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Evaluating Assessment Vendors: 7 Things to Look Out For
By Charles Handler Ph.D., President and Founder
October 2008
The number of available pre-employment assessment tools is continuing to grow. The good news is that those interested in taking advantage of using assessment to help make better hiring decisions have lots of options. The bad news is that weeding through all of the seemingly myriad choices can be confusing even for those of us with lots of experience using assessment. I have written a good bit on the topic of evaluating assessment vendors, (see my article at ere.net) so I won’t rehash my full methodology or get super technical here. Rather, I want to highlight a few basic red flags that one should be on the look out for when considering an assessment vendor.
Note that the points below apply mostly to situations where one is choosing a vendor to be a partner as opposed to the transactional purchase of one or a few assessments.
- One trick pony? - One of the first things that tends to turn me off is a vendor that offers only one thing. In some cases, this can be ok, but predicting performance accurately often requires a variety of different types of assessment content. So, if the vendor offers only one product and recommends that product for use in every situation, I get concerned.
- Bend, don’t break - Every situation is unique and vendors who approach your situation without willingness to compromise to account for your needs should cause some concern. Of course there are some things that they cannot change, but a vendor ramming their way of doing things down your throat is a sure sign of impending doom.
- Are you Experienced? - Take a look and see how many I/O Psychologists the firm employs. Who created their content? Who helps ensure quality control? Who answers hard questions and who helps them come up with sound solutions to problems that may arise? You need to be sure that your vendor has the intellectual horsepower and experience you need to ensure the success of your project.
- Service with a smile? - Believe it or not there are some vendors out there who just don’t get the whole customer service thing. Assessment often relies on professional services and account management and getting a good assessment program up and running will require dedication. There are likely to be situations that require the vendor to go above and beyond and not complain about it. It is often easy to see signs of good/bad customer service from the first interaction with a vendor. Pay attention to the general attitude and understand its ramifications.
- Let’s see it in writing - Does the company have tech reports or documentation to show that their products and services are compliant? Does the vendor create documentation for you as part of their services? Good, honest and descriptive documentation is a minimum requirement and if your vendor does not have it you could get caught with your pants down.
- Show me the money - Has the vendor done any ROI studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of their products? What kind of case studies can they present? Will they allow you to contact other clients as references? Follow up and evaluation are a critical part of ensuring effectiveness for assessment so make sure the vendor has this in the game plan.
- Cut the crap - After evaluating vendors for over 8 years now I am getting really sick of all the BS marketing speak. It seems like it is getting impossible to tell what vendors really do and their messages are all the same. I am always a bit wary of vendors that sling BS that is devoid of substance and real meaning. Press vendors to give you the real story about what their products really do (and don’t do) and approach them with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Even with the above filters, choosing the best assessment vendor for your needs is still a difficult undertaking. Although I didn’t comment on them here, the technical aspects of assessment are perhaps even more important and should be taken very seriously. It pays to have someone who understands assessment well in your corner as an advisor as the old adage, “Buyer Beware” definitely applies in the world of assessment.
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