The significance of communication skills assessments in leadership development

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], July 29: The talent marketplace is becoming increasingly competitive, which has moved the focus on soft skills as the key differentiator in recruitment and talent development. Using communication skills assessment while hiring new employees and developing existing employees is now vital for long-term organizational success.

The evolutions in talent acquisition and development have impacted what organizations must do to thrive in today’s talent market. The most prominent trends that have changed the outlook on skills are digital transformation and the future of work. Business models are transforming as more job roles are being automated, and soft skills, like communication, are becoming crucial for assessing a candidate’s job fitness.

Having excellent communication skills, including the ability to solve challenges, communicate business updates, coordinate team activities, etc., is necessary for performing several job roles in today’s hybrid world.

As a result, assessing and nurturing communication skills have become the cornerstone of talent acquisition and development strategy.

However, effective communication is not just a language ability but an amalgamation of several skills, such as empathy, active listening, conflict management, clearly articulating vision and mission, and providing constructive feedback.

The significance of skills assessments

“Potential is inherent; it can only be revealed through a data-driven, scientific, and objective process of assessments. Therefore, the role of assessments in succession planning is to ensure credibility and legitimacy and eliminate bias.

Additionally, assessments can be used to identify high-potential employees within the organization, and this is essential for building an internal talent pipeline for succession.”

Siddhartha Gupta, CEO, Mercer | Mettl

Talent or skill assessments are a part of any well-planned talent acquisition and development strategy, helping assess domain or job role-specific skills, situational judgement, personality traits, technical skills, and soft skills of candidates and employees. Skills assessments collect important data about candidates and employees, helping determine whether the test-taker has the skills required to thrive in their job role.

The benefits of skills assessments are:

• Identifying leadership potential

• Communication skills assessments should be used in tandem with other soft skills assessments to evaluate the leadership potential of candidates and existing employees. Tests for assessing leadership abilities, like empathy, communication skills, behavioral tendencies, critical thinking, etc., help identify high-potential candidates and offer insights into thinking patterns and motivations.

Eliminating bias

Skills assessments remove conscious and unconscious bias from the hiring process, allowing the identification and selection of skilled candidates with leadership potential from various backgrounds. These tests offer an objective evaluation of candidates and ensure their values and behaviors align with the organization's values.

Promoting a culture of learning and development

Communication skills assessments, along with other skills tests, can also be used to identify the strengths and areas of improvement of employees and candidates. It helps create customized training programs and promotes a culture of learning and development.

Mercer | Mettl offers a range of solutions like communication skills tests, English language proficiency tests, and intelligent voice assessment tools for evaluating speech nuances. These solutions are based on a global method of evaluation, cover the identification of critical errors that are non-trainable, and measure speaking and listening skills based on factors like fluency, communication effectiveness, pronunciation, and grammar. Tools by Mercer | Mettl empower talent acquisition and HR teams with crucial insights to optimize their recruitment strategy and talent development programs.

(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)