ASSESSMENTS & TRAINING – Articles

Mobile technologies have streamlined data collection more than ever but knowing how to link and act on that business information is the key here. Leaders should therefore not assume that near-instant learnings always entail fast solutions or outcomes. On the contrary, there is a psychological phenomenon known as the "speed-accuracy trade off," which implies that one can do things "quickly" or "correctly" but usually not both simultaneously. This means that organizations are well advised to start thinking early about the feedback loop, the information that they are interested in gathering, how they plan to use it, and the process (and time) it takes to build and develop such data.

“Organizations worldwide spend more than $350 billion on corporate training and education each year, but much of it is ineffective.” Companies will continue to look for more effective and efficient ways of delivering training and particularly for methods that support the transfer of learning into behaviors that drive workplace performance. No longer will the key measures of training be the amount of money a company invests or the number of hours each employee spends in training. Training expenditures need to answer the same question as any other business investment: Is there a justifiable return?

Psychology says that decision-making is complicated by a “speed-accuracy” trade-off. This issue becomes more salient as the post-pandemic “rebound and recovery” period approaches. Many organizations will need to increase their talent bench-strength quickly to meet pent-up demand. New psychometric research and AI-technologies confront the traditional trade-off by facilitating more efficient and effective hiring decisions than ever possible before.

Throughout 2020, AETHOS witnessed first-hand how industry leaders and teams have deliberately, or inadvertently, shifted their performance dynamics in response to COVID. These shifts can be considered ‘gaps’ because they often have negative or unintended effects on the business and people practices of organisations. Intriguingly, these performance gaps are easily detected in the psychometric patterns of senior executives. AETHOS thus decided to gather empirical data and find out what new patterns might have emerged.

Many hospitality students and professionals around the world recently participated in AETHOS’ series of development webinars. These sessions offered attendees the opportunity to complete the 20|20 Skills assessment to gain a personal SWOT analysis to help them navigate these challenging times of occupational crisis and change. Interestingly, the attendees consistently voiced certain concerns and follow-up questions.

Many hospitality students and professionals around the world recently participated in AETHOS’ series of development webinars. These sessions offered attendees the opportunity to complete the 20|20 Skills™ assessment to gain a personal SWOT analysis to help them navigate these challenging times of occupational crisis and change. Interestingly, the attendees consistently voiced certain concerns and follow-up questions.

"... it is difficult to imagine anything people will crave or need psychologically more than a healthy dose of enchantment following weeks of monotony, restlessness, and anxiety that accompany COVID-19 quarantines." But what exactly are the core elements of enchanting experiences? Many people have talked around this question, but few research studies have actually delved into the nature and relevance of enchantment as a psychological construct or consumer motivator. Perhaps the closest guiding principle used by the tourism-hospitality industry has been the notion of the ‘experience economy.’ This reflects the philosophy that businesses compete in today’s market by offering increasingly memorable experiences versus strictly focusing on the quality of products or services. Moreover, some research has modeled the ‘ideal’ features of such ‘memorable experiences.’ Namely, the trend over the past decade or so has been for consumers to seek experiences grounded in (i) aesthetics, (ii) authenticity, (iii) education, (iv) entertainment, (v) escapism, (vi) newness, and (vii) a sense of transformation.

Huge faith is placed in data, often blindly. People want to believe the black and white figures in front of them; it feels safe and reassuring. In the hospitality sector alone, data have spawned a whole industry of firms that specialize in collecting, housing, distributing, compiling and helping users to understand data – data related to bookings, food cost, productivity, guest reviews, water usage, market demand, average spend, CRM, etc.

“Learning and Development (L&D)” is HR speak for “ongoing education” – i.e., building or refining one’s skill set to enhance personal job security and broader marketability. These initiatives take many forms, such as traditional classroom or seminar presentations; personal coaching or mentoring; structured job-shadowing and cross-training; and “on demand” technology-driven methods like the eCornell platform, LinkedIn learning tutorials or Khan Academy videos. Naturally, companies should select the specific solutions or platforms that are best for them based on the competencies or domain knowledge to be cultivated, the learning styles of the intended audience, and the available financial or time resources to invest in solutions.

It’s not speculation, opinion or assumption…. the fact is that the common mantra of “Hire for attitude, train for skill” is a misguided perspective on hiring, promotion or performance. Many so-called attitudes, motivational or temperament factors are in fact learnable skills themselves. Research consistently reveals that personality tests are poor predictors of workplace performance, whereas measures of General Mental Ability (reasoning, planning, abstract thinking, comprehending complex ideas and learning quickly) and role-specific skills are stronger and more consistent predictors of performance. Think about it, cognitive and emotional intelligence underpin ability and speed to new learn things, as well as capacity to adapt to new circumstances and handle stress. Personality factors, on the other hand, have been shown by independent research to be an inconsistent predictor of professional performance. It seems counterintuitive, but personality factors per se do not drive success in the workplace.

One of the greatest coaches in history, Vince Lombardi, once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” We love Lombardi but in this instance we profoundly disagree. We believe that perfection is all around us. That said, we do believe that perfection is fleeting, given that the universe—and the nature of the reality in which we live and work – is in a constant state of flux.

Job candidates predictably distort the way they present their competencies and credentials out of concern for making a favourable impression and wanting to be liked by hiring professionals. These distortions, called social desirability biases, can be unconscious behaviours or they can reflect deliberate deceit. Behavioural clues to assess lying are too generalized to be effectively applied by most people. Rather, we outline a three-part strategy for due diligence on candidates that reduces bad hires resulting from erroneous information. Each component of the three-part strategy can be useful separately, but the components are especially powerful when used in tandem as a system of checks and balances.

There are five enduring core issues (and potential pain points) in HR – Compliance, Compensation and Benefits, Organizational Dynamics, Selection and Retention, and Learning and Development. Of course, each can be impacted by real or perceived changes in market conditions and advances in HR theory and practice. Thus, we have the rise of specific buzzwords and increased attention to particular hot-button topics.

Speedy and transactional recruitment processes do not automatically equal quality outcomes. Until AI (artificial intelligence) can accurately and consistently mimic or perfect what human interaction can discern, technology can only assist in the match-making. The ultimate decision takes a bit more finesse. Let’s revisit the basic challenges hiring managers continually face, and then consider our thoughts on how to best tackle each.

The concept of servant leadership has long been rooted in philosophy and religion, the grad student correctly noted that older, formal leadership theories did not explicitly support or address the concept. However, the same can be said of many currently held scientific theories, including continental drift or human evolution.

Today’s careers tend to be “boundaryless” and unfold outside traditional organizational structures, not to mention the fact that personal values have evolved such that people increasingly change work settings for greater autonomy, life balance and meaning in work. The result is that modern workspaces are becoming as much mental as they are physical domains.

Speedy and transactional recruitment processes do not automatically equal quality outcomes. Until AI (artificial intelligence) can accurately and consistently mimic or perfect what human interaction can discern, technology can only assist in the match-making. The ultimate decision takes a bit more finesse. Let’s revisit the basic challenges hiring managers continually face, and then consider our thoughts on how to best tackle each.

The sobering truth is that personal and professional development hinges on the ability to be self-critical. Some might use softer language like “contemplative, introspective, and reflective,” but that undermines the rather raw and unforgiving nature of the task itself.

How you feel about and treat yourself directly affects your relationships – and in the hospitality industry managing internal and external relationships is a fundamental and critical business skill. Often success in building relationships is rightfully credited to factors like a person’s level of Extroversion, Service Orientation, or Emotional Intelligence... Yet, a critical element that can be overlooked or minimized in the mix is Self-Esteem.

There’s a right and wrong way to mine for talent. It’s tempting to follow the latest crazes in testing, assessment, and interviewing – striving for some elusive silver bullet. Even iconic, trend-setting organizations fall prey to innovative-sounding approaches that ultimately fail. For instance, BusinessInsider.com famously reported that Google recently abandoned its legendary interviewing tactic of asking brainteaser questions in favor of interviewing against a set of competencies that were relevant to the role in question. Competency-based assessments have long been best practice in HR and workplace psychology. Google learned that lesson the hard way, and lessons like that cost money.

Studies generally show that assessment outperforms traditional behavioural interviews 4:1 in predicting job performance, so a targeted and valid assessment can give organizations a major competitive edge in identifying and retaining top talent. But that’s only the first part of the equation. The other part is to correctly choose and use these tools.

Determining whether an employee “can be saved” or “coached to greater success” isn’t a simple “yes or no” question. It’s an educated risk or assessment. The best guess answer is arguably grounded in the CHIC variables, which define a continuum of likely coaching success.

Coachability goes beyond the simple notion of training or trainability, which often involves teaching a specific set of skills in a highly structured manner. Coaching, for lack of a better term, is a more intuitive process whereby an individual “absorbs” knowledge, attitudes, and skills via guided (versus highly structured) learning and development. It’s more nuanced since it partly involves an employee’s self-directedness in identifying and seizing learnings opportunistically, as well as an employee being positively motivated to devote time to attend structured learnings too. In other words, the most effective coaching clients have the insight, awareness, and self-directedness to recognize and seize leanings wherever they reside.

New research reveals that your workplace surveys and assessments are not as legally-defensible or valid as you expect. James Houran, Ph.D., AETHOS’ organizational psychologist and psychometrician, shares his latest peer-reviewed research on the hidden biases in your tools that could be putting you at risk for bad business decisions and even discrimination lawsuits.

Dr. Jim Houran assesses global leadership profiles and specifically hones-in on the potential challenges faced by employers and senior executives on the African continent. Dr. Jim shares best practices in driving performance in the work place and identifies key issues that need addressing - the psychometric GM and CEO/COO profiles revealed in the article provide a data-driven response to the critical question posed as to what types of leaders will meet the guests defining the new haven of hospitality. Arguably that answer is leaders who are “technical capable but perhaps not fully prepared in their service mindset.”

Qestionnaires are popular tools for measuring many outcomes, yet their usefulness can be hugely affected by three key factors of which organizations are typically unaware of - Dr. James Houran speaks with Dr. Rense Lange about the importance of getting it right from the get go, understanding the type of data you are after and the best way to obtain it.

Questionnaires are undermined by three key factors of which organizations are typically unaware. This Q&A with a noted expert provides knowledge to help organizations turn their questionnaire projects into powerful business tools.

Conducting surveys is a science. Surveys are competitive advantages only if you can act with confidence on the data since poorly designed instruments waste organizational resources. This article provides insight on the fundamentals of survey strategy.

Personality testing is popular, but research reveals it is a limited tool for selection and training. However, HR initiatives in 2009 can be bolstered by replacing or augmenting personality testing with best practice skills or competency testing.

Employee Opinion Surveys can offer a strong ROI for organizations wanting to improve their business operations and relationships. However, these surveys are often compromised by ten critical pitfalls. Learn about these traps and how to avoid them.

Employee assessments are neither universally used nor always trusted by hiring and training professionals. This article presents insider information that debunks common beliefs about employee assessments, and helps companies decide whether the use of assessments is in the best interest of their business.

Why does the casual dining sector still employ so-called “leaders,” yet winds up persistently lagging behind relevant metrics for the industry? Dave Manasbach prescribes the perfect recipe to revive this sector in an article for the Restaurant Finance Monitor magazine.

The 20|20 Skills™ team presents key findings from the pre-conference survey conducted for HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® Mid-America conference.

Key findings are released from a survey conducted for the 9th Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) "Affordable Meetings® Mid-America Conference & Exposition".

Job-simulation videos provide applicants a realistic preview of the job requirements and demands. This helps poor-fit applicants to self-select out of your recruitment process, saving you time and money.