Behavioral assessments to measure critical workplace competencies

Behavioral assessments come in various forms, each designed to evaluate different aspects of a person's workplace behavior. The main types of behavioral assessments include personality tests, situational judgement tests, work simulations, direct and indirect assessments, and culture fit evaluations.

Behavioral assessments are commonly used for recruitment and development initiatives to measure critical competencies required to perform on the job in an organization. Behavioral assessments require individuals to demonstrate behavioral competencies in one or more activities relevant to their job role and resemble an actual organizational situation. Candidates are presented with a series of realistic work-related scenarios with possible actions to be taken. They have to select either the best option or rank the possible actions based on their effectiveness.

Behavioral tests measure behavioral competencies. Behavioral competencies are a combination of skills, knowledge, and traits in an individual. Behavioral competencies are a job’s components that reflect in behavior and are observable in the workplace. Behavioral competencies often vary across job levels and job roles. Each behavioral competency can be measured through a different combination of behavioral tests, the results of which can help in better workforce planning.

One of the features of behavioral assessments is that they can measure a plethora of behavioral competencies and tendencies. They are created based on specific job functions i.e. they are customized to emulate a specific job’s realities, posing questions that reflect actual workplace situations. Behavioral assessments can be administered via virtual assessment centers, making them highly time and cost-effective, and easily scalable. Behavioral assessments can be easily combined with other tools for a holistic evaluation.

An example of a behavioral assessment is the Mercer | Mettl Personality Map – Forced Choice (MPM-FC). The assessment helps understand how people are likely to behave at work by asking them to choose between statements that all seem equally positive. This makes it harder for the candidate to guess the ‘right’ answer and gives a more honest view of their behavior. The assessment looks at important workplace traits like teamwork, adaptability, and initiative. MPM-FC is useful in hiring, promotions, and employee development, giving a clear and well-rounded picture of each person.