A recent survey from Cloverleaf finds that 41% of companies with over 1,000 employees lack a talent assessment strategy. Why? Most organizations say it’s not a priority for senior leadership. According to Cloverleaf, not having a talent strategy is a “dangerous proposition,” as organizations risk considerable loss from their investments in talent assessment.
This is emphasized when noting that the 70% of talent leaders who do have a talent assessment strategy rate this investment as very or extremely important to their company’s overall people strategy. And as more than two-thirds (67%) of survey respondents indicate behavioral assessments enhance employee performance, the impact of not having a talent assessment strategy is even greater.
Of the companies without a talent strategy, very few are purchasing assessments through HR. Most companies have teams or departments investing in talent assessments on their own, without additional oversight from HR. Even with an assessment strategy, many assessments remain non-centralized, the survey finds.
This highlights the difficulties companies face in integrating assessments, largely due to outdated technology and a fragmented assessment market.
When talent assessments are purchased outside of the HR function a number of challenges arise, including:
- high cost;
- compliance risks;
- disjointed employee experience; and
- loss of impact.
Cloverleaf’s survey indicates that an urgent shift is needed in the disjoined talent assessment market, as organizations are missing out on the benefits of behavioral assessments. Organizations invest in many different assessments for different use cases throughout the employee lifecycle. Companies using a single platform to consolidate all their talent assessments will see cost-savings, additional guidance from HR on the use of assessments, a shared development experience among employees.
Companies who clearly define and manage their talent assessment strategy have a leg up on getting more ROI from their investment, Cloverleaf finds. And the companies who invest in technology to empower their assessments will deliver much more value for their employees and company as a whole.
