Giving candidates post assessment feedback can be seen as a simple (and often an easy task) but assessors should never underestimate the importance of the feedback process – put yourself in the candidate’s shoes – you’ve been invited to an assessment event…. you’re keen as mustard to perform well and it’s your dream job, to get to this point it’s likely that you have completed a telephone screen or SJT, a range of on-line tests, an interview and no doubt put in hours of research and preparation ready for the day itself!
You arrive prepared and ready for action and are duly put through your paces undertaking a range of carefully thought through and relevant activities for which you are being assessed, you enjoy it, you feel you have really put your all in and no matter what the outcome you have grown a little and are looking forward to hearing how you have got on……Feedback please!
So after such an intense process and all the effort the individual has put in, (not forgetting of course the enormous effort and significant cost put in to create the day, find the best candidates and to ensure the day is as successful as it can be)surely it’s our duty to provide each person with comprehensive, helpful and enlightening feedback!!
Yes it is, so why isn’t this always the case? Poorly planned assessment process, lack of resource, time pressure, capability of assessors, lack of quality outputs or integration session – all of which shouldn’t be the case
It’s our duty to provide the best possible experience not just on the day but afterwards as well. Constructive feedback both positive and negative is crucial to an individual’s learning and growth if you get it right that is! And that should be at the root, yes there are other factors to consider employer brand / reputation being one, referrals another but people and their willingness to apply themselves to such a process really deserves quality feedback….So to that end here are my top tips for providing good feedback;
- Compare apples with apples………. Ensure any assessment process is fully mapped to competencies and desired behaviours, and that your assessors and methods of recording the feedback are fully aligned, consistent and robust – it’s a no brainer
- The devil’s in the detail……ensure that you have a clear holistic picture of how an individual performed across the day in all exercises and that their performance has been fully calibrated and benchmarked (behavioural evaluation ORCE i.e. Observation, Recording, Classification, Evaluation)
- Make time……..let the individual know that you will provide feedback, when and what format to expect it in, ensure its timely arrange a date & time to call them and stick to it
- Prepare……. ensure that you have made time to gather all the feedback and review in good time before your call/meeting
- Put the individual at ease……ask them how they felt it went, often they know how well something did or didn’t go.
- Adult to adult……be balanced (+/-) and objective ensure feedback is descriptive, specific and based on fact (behaviour and skills) what was observed – provide concrete examples
- Avoid making references or stating opinions and therefore reducing possible debate
- Be sensitive to the situation but keep it concise and to the point it should be a constructive helpful exchange of information
- Ensure the individual understands; summarise and clarify
- Update your internal system and talent pipeline someone may not be right for that role but could be great for another in the future
Written by Charlotte Todd-Smith, Account Manager
Charlotte Todd-Smith is an assessment professional and has run large multi-disciplinary assessment projects for companies including Balfour Beatty, Net-A-Porter and YMCA.
If you would like to find out more about our assessment services and how they may assist you and your specific need please call Sarah Crocker on 07734 972681 or Charlotte Todd-Smith on 07734 972679 or enquire via our website: https://old.resourcebank.co.uk/contact/telford/
