This article was prompted by questions from readers…
Many people within financial services are familiar with the Kolbe system of measuring ‘Action Modes’. An individual’s Kolbe profile is a good tool for coaching and team development and I’ve used it in these ways, before I started using Harrison Assessments (HA).
There are similarities between the two approaches (online, accessible to any sized organisation, multiple uses) and I won’t explore the theory behind them in this article. There are three differences that prompted my decision:
If I tell you my Kolbe is 8652 (Strategic Planner), experienced Kolbe users will know quite a lot about me. It will be a generalisation, of course, as each number is a score out of 10 for each of the four different modes (Fact Find, Follow Through, Quick Start and Implementor).
I admit I can’t give you a quick summary, in numbers or words, of my HA profile, although you’ll find some of the details on our website. This is because HA measures 156 different traits on a 1-10 scale, resulting in reports that are unique to the individual, rather than classifying them as an ‘Innovator’ or ‘Mediator’ for example. The 156 traits are made up of personality, task preferences, interests, work environment preferences and motivations.
The reports themselves provide detailed interpretation for the end user. For example, for a job candidate who has a low score on ‘Analyses Pitfalls’: “Joe usually does not enjoy analysing the potential difficulties of plans or strategies and may sometimes neglect to do so. Therefore, it would be best if he were to receive other input before making important strategic decisions. Joe’s lack of enjoyment of analysing potential problems will probably have a somewhat negative impact on job satisfaction and/or performance.” How good would it be to know this information before you appoint a new manager?
This is focussed, practical information you can use right away, either in a second interview or to coach the new employee.
One set of data from one 20-30 minute online questionnaire is used to produce all the reports below, listed by application:
To see samples of these reports, please visit our website.
Because HA is based on work performance research, there is the facility to compare employees and/or candidates to job templates for a specific role. There are over 200 generic templates in the system and each one can be customised to the requirements of the job and the employer. We’ve even adjusted templates to check for a good match with the manager.
For our clients in financial services, we have developed a set of templates which we then modify to their specific business requirements. For example, it they’re hiring a paraplannner and want them to have significant client contact, we would ensure traits such as ‘Outgoing’ and ‘Diplomatic’ are included in the template.
This flexibility can also be applied to staff and team development. If, for example, a broker is just not brining in the new business they were hire to achieve, we could assess their scores on a range of relevant traits, including traits such as ‘Persistent’ and ‘Optimistic’ and coach them to better performance by building on their areas of strength. Of course – ideally – you would have known these scores before you hired them!
The detailed reports, as you can imagine, are invaluable for both team and individual coaching. For teams, we are also able to plot all team members on the same chart, to give an easy to read overview of the team’s strengths and challenges.
The reason I chose to train and gain certification with Harrison Assessments: So I can provide my clients with the best available information for people management decisions and coaching.
*Kathy Kolbe and Dan Harrison
Susan Rochester has been managing director of Balance at Work since 2006. Susan has a natural tendency to balance analytical thinking with an optimistic outlook to set direction and solve problems. She is an effective facilitator and constantly creates new and more effective ways of doing things, motivated by helping others to achieve their goals.