Certification Webinar Trains Human Resource Professionals on 360 Feedback for Leadership Development

Employers seek effective ways of developing leaders as the rate of change accelerates in workplaces worldwide. In response to this critical need, Performance Programs, Inc. now offers convenient and cost-effective professional certification webinars on 360 feedback instruments in Clark Wilson Group's Task Cycle(R) Series.

The Task Cycle 360 Feedback Series is the longest established, best researched 360 feedback collection available today. The Task Cycle is a logical sequence of steps essential to overall effectiveness of management and leadership. It is a scientifically validated, predictive model with well-researched mathematical foundations. The ten surveys in the Task Cycle series are role-specific and validated.

The Task Cycle was developed by Dr. Clark Wilson, who was the first to use 360 feedback for management development in 1973. Task Cycle research continues today and norms are continually updated based upon thousands of cases in the research database.

The 2009 certification webinars are scheduled on September 16 or November 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (East Coast time). The two-hour session is conducted by industrial psychologist Dr. Paul Connolly, who was a close colleague of Clark Wilson. Connolly is also co-author of several Task Cycle Surveys published by Clark Wilson Group. Through the webinar and post-webinar follow-up, participants learn to administer, interpret, and provide coaching to individuals. The agenda includes: Key requirements and best practices in 360 feedback; the Task Cycle model, including an overview of psychometric background ; in-depth discussion using sample reports; review of several 360 assessments including Executive Leadership Survey, Leadership Competencies for Managers, and Survey of Management Practices; review of sample profiles and interpretation. Certification includes a 30-minute review of participant’s first case by telephone, as well as an extensive collection of 360 feedback support materials.

Investment is $600, which includes products and services that would be more than $1500 if purchased separately.

For further information, or to register, call Sonya Hamilton at 1-800-565-4223. Performance Programs is an authorized distributor and certification training provider for Clark Wilson Group.

Wall Street Journal Says Some Employers May Increase Testing Following New Haven Firefighters Decision

In spite of the many advances made in the testing industry regarding fairness, many employers are still hesitant to use it during employment screening. A recent WSJ article says that some are encouraged by the recent Supreme Court ruling in the New Haven Firefighters case. We thought you'd like to know about this article on pre-employment testing.

The Perils of Accentuating the Positive

Since the early '90s, the pendulum of academic and popular thought on business training and development took a giant swing towards positivity and the search to build on one's strengths. It is an effect, in part, of the positive psychology movement. Positive psychology got a boost in the business world with books such as Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton and a parade of new book titles each year is evidence of its popularity.

Not so fast, says Rob Kaiser and the management and leadership thinkers he's assembled to look at the downside of focusing on the upside. Kaiser was co-author with Bob Kaplan of The Versatile Leader, for which PPI assisted in creating the online Leadership Versatility Index. Kaiser and Kaplan's versatility research shows that more than half of what separates the most effective leaders from the less effective is agility among all the leadership competencies. Those aspiring to greater levels of leadership skill need to bring up their challenge areas as much as they need to accentuate their strengths and comfort zones.

The Perils of Accentuating the Positive takes a thoughtful look at the strengths-based development paradigm in ten chapters that draw on decades of research and years of deeply related experience by the chapter authors. The book includes articles by Michael Benson, Steven Berglas, Anand Chandrasekar, Craig Chappelow, Guangrong Dai, Malcolm Davies, Robert Eichinger, William Gentry, Robert Hogan, Robert E. Kaplan, Jean Brittain Leslie, Morgan McCall, King Yii Tang, and Randall P. White. Loaded with practical advice, it provides the rest of what you need to know about the practice known as “strengths-based development.” Perils can be purchased through Hogan Press or Amazon.com

Three Steps to Getting the Most from Career Assessment

If you're in a career change right now, be sure to take advantage of the advice offered in our latest white paper: Three Steps to Getting the Most from Career Assessments. This white paper shows where formal career tests and assessments fit in the overall process of planning a career. It provides an introduction to best practices for tests and assessments in a career counseling environment. It is based on the actual experience of Dr. Wendy Alfus-Rothman, of Wenroth Consulting, and one of her clients, David Fabricant of Stryker Spine. The article also quotes the president of the National Career Development Association, Judith Hoppin.

Read the complete Three Steps to Career Tests article.

Download the PDF.

Tests & Assessments for Career Direction: An Overview

Formal career assessment has become very popular and, when used judiciously, provides reliable information in a concentrated timeframe to support career changes and job searches. There are four major categories of career tests: interest inventories, motives and values inventories, personality tests, and ability tests. Each addresses a different part of the puzzle. This paper provides a tour of career tests and assessments and what some have to offer. It is intended for a general business audience, but it is not an exhaustive review of all career-related tests. Career coaches and counselors may offer it to their clients to help them understand the range of options. Others may find it helpful in seeking out the right kinds of tests for themselves.

Download the white paper on Career Tests in PDF format.

Professional Certification for Hogan Personality Inventory

No one can predict the future performance of a new hire, but we have found that employers who use personality tests from Hogan Assessments take a lot of the guesswork out of their hiring. To assure best use of these tests, Hogan Assessment Systems requires certification for coaches and HR professionals prior to delivering test results to their clients and workgroups.

Next Sessions: September 24 and November 12, 2009

Performance Programs chose Hogan instruments over the many others available in the market because they meet all the criteria of excellence in workplace assessment, including rigorous scientific standards and no adverse impact. We have worked with Hogan instruments for 10 years, helping hundreds of clients implement them for both candidate selection and development.

We use all of the Hogan-authorized materials, workbooks, PowerPoint, assessments, information and complete all Hogan training objectives. The Hogan Workshops have pre-work modules and a self-assessment. Registration should be completed at least two weeks in advance. All Hogan workshops are pre-approved for credit by the SHRMS's Human Resource Certification Institute for SPHR, PHR, and GPHR certifications. APA credits are also available.

These one-day seminars are scheduled from 8:30 – 4:30 in Westbrook, CT at Water's Edge Resort. This is close to Rt. 95 and accessible by Amtrak or Shoreline East/MetroNorth trains. The workshop location is within one hour of either the Providence, RI or Hartford, CT airports.

All seminars are $1200, discounted from the full retail value of $ 2300. Certification includes: a personal assessment ($450 value), a copy of The Hogan Guide ($75 value), all Certification Materials ($300), two free assessment IDs for post-workshop use ($800 value), one hour of pre-conference telephone review of your own reports and one-half hour of post-conference telephone review of your first live case ($675 value). In addition, you receive access to the DYAD Training Tool for rapid report interpretation.

Please inquire about rates for additional telephone consultation beyond the first hour.

Please call if we can be of assistance: 1-800-565-4223 or register now.

Another Way to Identify High Potential Candidates

We keep hearing about the importance of talent identification and management. We thought our friends and customers would like to know about a new tool: the High Potential Candidate Assessment Report from Hogan Assessments.

The High Potential Candidate Assessment Report allows employers to identify top candidates in relation to specific business competencies. It is based on research from a global sample of more than a thousand executive MBA program graduates. This sample group represents one of the highest-level talent pools ever used to create a profile of high potential candidates for leadership roles. The assessment involves three instruments and provides a highly integrated view of the candidate's strengths and challenges.

Visit our site and obtain a sample report for more information.