Behavioral assessments and personal behavior preferences Essay

In an economic environment, which becoming more challenging and competitive, businesses must look for ways of having the edge. In any organization, the workers are the most essential resource; if they fail to deliver, then the mission of the whole organization is compromised. That is why the human resource department of any organization has a critical role to play and must use an elaborate method that ensures only the best candidates are selected to take on various responsibilities within the organization. One of the techniques employed is behavioral assessment, which I think is a very effective strategy for developing an effective and efficient workforce. Benefits of behavioral assessment in hiring By conducting a behavioral assessment, the hiring officials can determine the personality and work ethics of a potential employee (Eiseman, 2008). They will also be able to determine if the applicant’s habits coincide with the requirements of the job description and if these personal traits augur well for the accomplishment of the organization’s goals (Eiseman, 2008). There is a need to ensure that any hired employee will not clash with other employees as a result of personality differences as these occurrences take up a lot of organization time, time that could be used to deliver results (Warden, 2006). Secondly, behavioral assessment helps determine which position within an organization a candidate is best suited for (Norris, 2009). For example, an applicant vying for an office operations position can exhibit excellent leadership and interpersonal skills. The hiring official can therefore inquire if he or she would be interested in leading a sales team or being in charge of customer relations. The third reason why I support behavioral assessment in the hiring process is that it uncovers personal information that is necessary to determine how coachable the candidate is, how flexible his or her timetable is going to be, his or her anticipated level of engagement and dedication and how tolerant he or she is to sudden changes in working routine or a change in responsibilities (Eiseman, 2008). These qualities can then be weighed against those of other candidates to determine who is best suited to be awarded the opportunity. Personal behavior preference and effective communication Behavioral assessment is not a guideline for hiring; but a tool. Behavioral characteristics are directly related to an individual’s personality; and personality in turn directly manifests itself in how well an individual relates to the people he or she comes into contact with in the process of executing his daily professional and personal duties (Schuler & Briscoe, 2004). Therefore, if an employer has cues about an employee’s behavioral preferences, he or she will know how best to approach the employee and how to interact with him or her while causing minimum friction. This augurs well for a harmonious coexistence within a common working environment. The communication between the two parties is bound to be more effective if the behavioral traits and personal preferences have been determined before they entered into a contractual agreement. In return, effective communication contributes greatly to efficiency and productivity (Schuler & Briscoe, 2004). Conclusion  Over the last several years, behavioral assessment has become a widely used tool in human resource management. In fact, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies employ this tool while hiring new employees (Warden, 2006). Its widespread use is attributable to the fact that the information it yields is invaluable in predicting workplace behavior, individual potential of each worker and communication strategies to use (Norris, 2009). These insights are very essential in the formulation of team and leadership building, capacity development, conflict resolution and succession strategies for the entire organization.