Assessing Internal Job Candidates

By Stanley M. Gully and Jean M. Phillips

Companies can find and explore different methods for evaluating current employees in this thorough and systematic guide. Discussing the primary goals of internal assessment—such as determining candidates for training, reassignment, promotion, or dismissal; deciding what developmental projects to assign employees; or effectively establishing who to dismiss and who to work hard to retain during downsizing—this manual relates the importance of this critical staffing function that many employees often do very poorly. Examining two models in-depth, this reference also shows different ways of evaluating a company's actual staffing procedures, making this a comprehensive guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Society For Human Resource Management
• Release date: Jul 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781586442972

Book preview

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering legal or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent, licensed professional should be sought. The federal and state laws discussed in this book are subject to frequent revision and interpretation by amendments or judicial revisions that may significantly affect employer or employee rights and obligations. Readers are encouraged to seek legal counsel regarding specific policies and practices in their organizations.

This book is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM®). The interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publishers.

Copyright © 2009 Phillips, Gully, and Associates. All rights reserved.

This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Society for Human Resource Management, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Phillips, Jean, 1969-

Assessing internal job candidates / Jean M. Phillips, Stanley M. Gully

     p. cm. — (Staffing strategically series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-58644-159-3

 1. Employee selection. 2. Personnel management. 3. Career development. 4. Executive succession. I. Gully, Stanley Morris. II. Title.

HF5549.5.S38P49 2009

658.3’112—dc22

2009030886

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

09-0475

Staffing Strategically Series

ASSESSING EXTERNAL JOB CANDIDATES

ASSESSING INTERNAL JOB CANDIDATES

THE LEGAL CONTEXT OF STAFFING

STAFFING FORECASTING AND PLANNING

STAFFING TO SUPPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

Contents

Introduction

Internal Assessment Goals

Internal Assessment Methods

Career Planning

Internal Assessment Models

Summary

Endnotes

Index

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Additional SHRM-Published Books

Introduction

Many organizations consider current employees for open positions before looking to hire from the external labor market. This can be a good strategy because hiring from within helps to motivate and retain employees. Hiring from within can also lead to higher quality hires because the company can assess its current talent better than it can assess a potential employee whose past performance, personality, strengths, and weaknesses are not as well known. However, just because people work for you doesn’t guarantee that you fully understand their competencies or automatically know which employee is the best choice for an open position. Knowing what developmental assignments to give an employee also requires a solid understanding of the person’s abilities and development needs. Additionally, if a firm wants to emerge from a downsizing stronger and better able to compete, it must know the talents and skill levels of employees to strategically choose who to dismiss and who to work hard to retain.¹

Internal assessment is the evaluation of current employees for the purposes of training, reassignment, promotion, or dismissal. In addition to evaluating employees’ fit with other jobs in the firm, many companies determine which employee skills are needed to execute their business strategies. They then evaluate employees in these skills, and create development opportunities to build these skills in their workforce. In this way, internal assessment enhances strategic workforce capabilities and better aligns employee competencies with the business strategy.

Despite the fact that internal assessment is such a critical staffing function, many companies conduct internal staffing very poorly. Because employees are known by their managers and organizations, a common assumption is that we do not need to be systematic or deliberate about promotions or transfers, which can be particularly problematic in smaller firms where most employees regularly work with each other and feel that they know each other’s capabilities. This assumption is not true, however, and organizations of all sizes need to think strategically about how they assess employees and staff internally.

In this book, we discuss some of the primary goals of internal assessment, as well as a variety of internal assessment methods. Finally, we discuss two internal assessment models and ways of evaluating the effectiveness of an internal assessment system. After reading this book, you should have a good understanding of the importance of internal assessment and assessing employees for a variety of staffing-related purposes.

Internal Assessment Goals

The primary goal of internal assessment is to identify the employees who will be the best choices in terms of meeting the organization’s staffing goals, which usually include high job performance and enhanced business strategy execution. Identifying the job candidates who would be the least optimal choices is also important in informing layoff and downsizing decisions. In fact, removing poor performers can be more important and valuable than identifying good performers.

Table 1 lists several important goals organizations have when assessing internal job candidates.

Table 1. Goals of Internal Assessment

Maximizing Fit

Why are some very talented people considered bad hires, despite their high skill level? The answer lies in