Recruitment and Assessment Tools: Dawn of Axiometrics
Author:
Mary Carroll
Employee selection and development are so critical that they can no longer be left to chance/guesswork. Increasingly, companies are feeling the affects of the mobile global economy, and so they must be able to rely on a flexible, competent and dedicated workforce that is committed to continuous growth and change. How can a company be sure that it is recruiting or promoting the right people for its environment? The assessment method chosen for recruitment and people development is one of the most valuable investments it can make, as the hidden cost of poor selection and development decisions can be enormous for a company.
Three kinds of assessments are commonly used by companies in the recruitment and selection processes:
- An assessment test that asks the candidate to state how well they think they perform. These self-report instruments are problematic for two reasons:
The candidate can figure out the intent of the statements or questions and bias their responses (either consciously or subconsciously). Thus the candidate can give the answer that they judge is "expected" rather than the answer that truly reflects him/her self. What candidate desperate for a sales job is likely to "agree strongly" that they are passive as opposed to aggressive?
The candidate may not know themselves well enough to answer accurately.
- An assessment test that asks other people to describe the candidate's performance.
This kind of assessment is usually known as ‘3600 Feedback’. These are excellent measures of how another person claims to view the candidate in question. They are not, however, reliable pictures of how the candidate actually is. At best they are another person's perception of the candidate being measured. At worst, they are opportunities for subjective biases to impact another’s career.
- An assessment that observes the candidate directly.
Assessment centres utilise this kind of process. They put the candidate into situations calling for certain skills and behaviours, and observe directly how the candidate responds. Assessment centres use professional, objective observers to provide an accurate assessment, but are of necessity considerably more expensive than the other methods.
Of the three types of assessments, an assessment that observes the candidate directly is the most indicative of actual performance potential.
AXIOLOGY – THE SCIENCE
A new science, called Axiology, now enables businesses to objectively measure how a person makes decisions, without the need of observers2. The science of Axiology enables us to identify our internal valuing systems and their influence on our perceptions, decisions, and actions. Axiology provides the mathematical and logical structure to the process of how a person thinks and perceives. Discovered by Dr Robert S. Hartman, who was nominated for a Nobel Prize for his research work, Axiology is governed by principles which order and structure all value judgments. He discovered that there are three dimensions to our value judgments: intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic and it is how we balance these three dimensions that define the unique decision making ability of each individual.
The mathematical and logical structure of value concepts is the cornerstone of Axiology. This structure allows us to measure 'how' a person thinks and perceives rather than 'what' he or she is thinking. In other words, value science tells us what we pay attention to, what is important to us, and what our prejudices are. This information can be used not only to predict future performance, but also to provide deep insight into core competencies, talents, and developmental needs. Wayne Carpenter, one of Hartman's students, and who has continued Hartman's research for over 30 years after his death, defined Axiometrics as the scientific system for the measurement of value.
This system measures how the candidate actually thinks and makes decisions.
An Axiometrics assessment is very different to the assessments that rely on the candidate's self-assessment (as is the case with DISC or MBTI) or another person's assessment of their behaviour (as in psychological tests or assessment centres). An Axiometrics assessment provides an objective test of an individual's ability to differentiate and balance the various aspects of value as it relates to the world and him/her self, and is independent of observers. The on-line questionnaire takes only about 15-20 minutes to complete, and has been validated in many organizations in various countries and cultures. Axiometrics testing is robust, reliable, objective and inexpensive.
Even when a person is not conscious of it, he/she constantly makes value judgments in life and work. All decisions are based on personal value judgments.
This capacity to 'value', or in other words, the ability to make these value judgments, is governed by how we organise our thinking and emotions in the following ways:
- How well (or otherwise) we pay attention to and filter what is happening around us and within a ourselves;
- How well we focus on what is important to us and build concepts and ideas; and
- How well we translate these expectations and ideas into decisions.
As we might expect, better decisions come from making better value judgments. The better we understand our own sub-conscious value judgments, the better decisions we will make. As is the case with talents such as sports or music, the value talent, i.e. the ability to make value judgments, is well developed in some individuals and not in others. Like other talents, however, the value talent can be developed and learned. The first step in developing this talent further, in maximising our valuing capacity, is to understand the current level of development of our value talent. This we can do by undertaking an axiometrics assessment.
Axiometrics assessments have been extensively tested for predictive validity (the percentage accuracy of the test in predicting an individual's performance in the areas tested). In the USA, Axiometrics testing, based on Hartman's scientific instrument, the Hartman Value Profile©, has been found to be extremely reliable in predicting performance in a research test involving over 40,000 participants. In this assessment, a person simply rank orders two sets of 18 items in their perceived importance to themselves. And the results are amazingly accurate. The power of the analysis is that it allows us to become aware of the biases that focus our thinking. It also identifies our strengths, natural skills and talents that our mind uses to make decisions, while at the same time identifying areas for development that can better utilise our natural talent and improve our decision making.
An Axiometrics assessment is not an intelligence test, a psychological test or an aptitude test. It does not ask how we perceive, how we think or how we behave- it simply monitors us while we carry out the test. And the results are unique to a person, the individual. The report uncovers the underlying value judgments that show how a person thinks and make decisions. And we are all employed to make the right decisions.
Axiometrics assessments can also be used in conjunction with other tests such as MBTI and 360O feedback.
Our decisions and actions involve two elements: a factual aspect, which can be seen and objectively measured, and an intangible aspect, which can be felt and known but may not be immediately expressible in reasons, facts, and causes. Axiology is an objective format for measuring these intangible attitudes and values, and can be used to provide an added dimension that measures those 'intangibles' - our attitudes, likes, dislikes, and beliefs-in other words, our thinking that leads to behaviour.
AXIOMETRICS & TEAMS
The possibility of bad decisions is rooted in our strength and vulnerability as decision makers. The strength lies in our ability to focus on a situation or problem, to interpret what is happening, to come to a conclusion and to translate the decision into action. This decision process reflects a host of abilities: the ability to see a pattern; to see how the parts fit together to make a whole; the ability to have insight into fruitful ways of getting things done; to see the potential of the situation, which may or may not be apparent on the surface; to understand "why" even when the understanding is only a hunch; and the ability to marshal our ideas, talents, will, and sense of purpose into action.
Our vulnerability arises from one of our greatest assets - our uniqueness as individuals. We see the world from our own perspective, based on what we believe is important. We pay attention to some things and leave others out. We see in different ways, using different tools. We often see the same things differently, because our decisions are uniquely our own and are based on our interpretations of what we perceive. However, these interpretations can differ. They can collide with those of others and they can be inaccurate.
This is why Axiometrics testing should be an integral part of any team building programme. Axiology provides a universal frame of reference for understanding each person's perceptions. It shows why an individual sees or perceives a particular situation, what access that person has to natural talents and explains why that person's behaviour is as it is. Through axiological analysis, the unique patterns, which belong to each individual, can be observed and studied in an objective format, and can be compared to those patterns that belong to other individuals. These can then be integrated into actual problem situations.
The objective evaluation of each person's value patterns serve as a means of helping an individual understand his or her potential for development, and the blocks that can inhibit personal growth. As a result, the integrity, which comes from a person's unique character, can be protected, and at the same time, the conflicts that can and do occur because of this unique individuality, can be understood and can possibly be prevented or defused.
SUMMARY
An Axiometrics assessment measures your ability to value. Your capacity to value is a talent or ability by which you organize your thinking and emotions to make decisions or value judgments. Your value talent is a measure of your ability to see and filter what is happening around you, and in yourself; to build concepts and ideas by focusing on what is important to you; to translate your ideas and expectations into decisions.
Executives, managers, and employers responsible for others will find Axiometrics assessment useful for discovering the strengths and weaknesses of their employees and/or potential employees; for identifying areas where additional training may be needed; for building work teams and groups; for determining suitability for promotions and job re-allocations; and for retaining existing employees.
Mary Carroll is a Director with Vindica Ltd.