
Online
assessment
How good are you? |
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The situation
When two big consulting firms merged, they encountered a huge human
resources challenge. Our client needed to conduct performance assessments
for their 14,000 U.S. consultants; at the same time, the assessments
would be the baseline for placing employees into appropriate consulting
engagements. There wasn’t enough management staff to handle
this task. What to do?
The
process
O’Donnell & Associates worked with our client to develop
a process and an online tool for assessing the 14,000 consultants.
Our process was relatively simple: the consultant took an online
self-assessment of his or her demonstrated capabilities which was
validated by colleagues and project supervisors. O’Donnell
& Associates developed the process, the assessment, and the
software for conducting the process.
Each consultant completed the online assessment, which took several
hours. The assessment tool provided a rating for the consultant,
based on the various demonstrated capabilities; for example, a consultant
could rate a 6 in one area and a 2 in another. These ratings were
used for both performance and for placing consultants on future
engagements. The assessment results and ratings were sent to 5 colleagues
who validated and critiqued the self-assessment. A coach met with
the consultant to reconcile differences between the consultant’s
self-perception and the perception of others. Questionable assessments
were sent on to a review board for resolution.
The project was much less simple. First, we worked with the client
team to turn a framework for assessing a consultant’s capabilities
into an online self-assessment tool. We put together a project team
and programmed the tool in Lotus Notes. We also developed tools
to systematically send the assessment to 5 validators, then on to
a coach and to a central human resources repository.
Conducting the assessment electronically was a new concept, and
we knew that our client’s employees would not all relish the
change. There wasn’t time for extensive market development,
but we held a series of focus groups around the country to gather
employee feedback and build the consultants and their managers into
the process.
The results
The merger of two big companies isn’t easy; and, neither was
this first assessment. Employees grumbled that first year, and our
client made some adjustments to the product. By year two, it was
rolled out to the global workforce. Consultants around the world
were familiar with the process and knew what to expect. The global
roll out was a success.
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