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Assessing People
What’s Your Process, and Where Does It All Live?
Most leaders and managers were never taught how to assess people. It’s not something business schools cover, and most employers don’t coach it either.
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But without this skill, you can’t truly lead, develop, or elevate the performance of your team.
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Start by deciding how and where you'll capture this insight — such as Word docs saved to your OneDrive (or equivalent).
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The following tools will help you close this gap. Start now, and you’ll lead with more clarity and confidence in just 90 days.
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Here's what we've got to help you:
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Quick-scan tips to assess overall team strengths
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A job spec template that actually works
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A checklist for assessing individual team members
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Guidelines for creating performance and growth plans
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Hiring best practices that raise the bar
Quick-scan tips to assess overall team strengths
When did you last rate your workforce?
How strong or weak is it? If you scan across your team or teams - what's the overall strength of your workforce?
The Job Spec
To assess someone effectively — when hiring, or in their current role or future potential — you need clarity on what you’re assessing for. A well-defined job spec makes evaluations sharper and more meaningful. That said, broader assessments still have value, especially when exploring development or career growth. Getting the spec right from the outset helps reduce hiring risk.
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A Practical Guide to Assessing and Attracting Top Talent
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Research shows executive hires can influence performance by as much as ±20%, with total impact reaching up to 40%. And with 40% of new hires failing, the stakes are high — not just for exec roles, but also for senior specialists where the ripple effects are real.
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Mapping Out The Challenge Of The Role
​1. Define the Role What needs to be done? Identify key responsibilities. Why does it need to be done? Align with strategic business goals. What tangible business impact should this role deliver? Research suggests that executive-level job holders can impact business performance by up to 40%, with a potential positive impact of up to 20% and, conversely, a negative impact of -20%. This applies not only to executive-level hires but also to senior specialist roles, where the ripple effect can be significant. Notably, 40% of new hires fail. Properly mapping out your hiring challenge (the job spec) from the outset will help mitigate your risk. 2. Assess Team & Market Conditions Current Team Structure: Identify gaps, diversity, and strengths. Market & Economic Trends: Consider how industry changes may impact hiring needs. Long-term Vision: Plan for how the role evolves over 3+ years. For senior hires, anticipating industry shifts and business evolution is crucial to long-term success. 3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Use SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. Define primary and secondary success metrics. Align KPIs with company-wide performance goals. You may not want to include confidential info in a job spec, so consider creating a supporting document to share as and when you think appropriate - often having had candidate sign a non-disclosure agreement. 4. Job Specification Structure Opportunity Overview Ensure the role is attractive to top talent. Avoid overselling; be clear about expectations. Attracting top-tier candidates requires positioning your opportunity as compelling and career-defining NB senior candidates seek new challenges. Consider supplementing your job spec with a tailored opportunity briefing to engage high-caliber candidates more effectively Job Description Checklist Company background & mission. Context of the role’s availability. Position in organizational structure. Scope, key responsibilities, and challenges. Independence vs. team collaboration. Future growth opportunities. Person Specification Define essential vs. desirable criteria. Consider experience, knowledge, qualifications, and skills. List core competencies (e.g., leadership, decision-making, adaptability). Use a 1-5 rating system for benchmarking candidates. 5. Hiring & Selection Process Define recruitment stages, participants, and timelines. Establish clear assessment criteria and selection tools. Plan for onboarding and integration into company culture. 6. Job Specification Template ​ 7. Benchmarking and assessing candidates When evaluating candidates, it’s easy to get lost in an exhaustive list of desirable qualities. Instead, focus on the five most critical dimensions that truly define success in the role. A key factor should be the candidate’s track record—what measurable impact have they delivered over the last 3-5 years? The remaining dimensions will likely revolve around skills and abilities, including: Seniority and scope of the role Depth and breadth of experience in relevant functions. Market expertise or industry-specific knowledge. Problem-solving skills aligned with the challenges of the role. A well-crafted job specification isn’t just a hiring document—it’s a foundation in securing the leaders and senior specialists who will shape the future of your business. The stakes are high: the right hire can accelerate growth, drive competitive advantage, and create lasting value, while the wrong one can be costly and disruptive. By sharpening your focus, defining impact with precision, and crafting a compelling narrative, you don’t just fill a role—you secure game-changing talent that propels your business forward.
Assessing People
​Your 10-Point Checklist​
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Whether it’s an existing employee or a potential new one, it's impossible to assess against an endless list of criteria. You need to assess against what matters most, here's a checklist to help you.
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Industry or market expertise – how well do they understand your sector, customer base or ecosystem?
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Functional experience – have they done the type of work required, at the right level? What educational qualifications or professional training have they completed or not completed?
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Seniority and scope – what kind of authority, decision-making, and team leadership have they held?
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Track record – what measurable results have they delivered over the last 3–5 years? Problem-solving ability – how have they tackled similar challenges in the past?
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Core competencies – do they demonstrate the behaviours and skills needed to succeed in your environment?
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Emotional intelligence
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Motivations – what drives them, and is there a strong fit with your current stage, culture and goals?
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In addition to motivations, it’s important to understand what they like and dislike doing most, and how they view their own strengths and weaknesses.
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What's their preferred learning style?
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How do they like to be managed?
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Other factors may be relevant too, and should be considered. But keeping focus on the most important few helps ensure sharper decision-making, whether you're making a hire or investing in someone’s development.
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One approach that works particularly well — especially when multiple stakeholders are involved — is to have each interviewer (or reviewer) report back with a clear list of pluses, minuses, and any watch-outs. It keeps the process grounded and avoids groupthink.
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We’re not suggesting you drop everything, but we do recommend building a clear picture of each team member sooner than later and most certainly within 90 days. Then, make sure that same lens is applied during interviews and onboarding. It’s a practical way to raise the bar on hiring and development without overcomplicating things.
Performance and Growth Plans
How to Assess People and Performance
In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving workplace, achieving both individual and team success requires more than just meeting targets—it demands a clear, structured approach to performance and personal growth.
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That’s where a robust Performance & Growth Plan comes in.​ Designed to align employee ambitions with organizational goals, this plan provides a shared roadmap for success, clarity, and ongoing development.
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Find out more, here in our performance and growth plans guide in PDF format.
Identifying Strengths
You may want to start by simply asking people what they see as their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes — and regardless of what follows, we recommend you do just that. You might also consider StrengthsFinder 2.0, a popular tool developed by Gallup. It’s based on positive psychology and helps individuals identify their top talents from 34 defined strengths. You can buy it online (around $30 on Amazon, including a code for the assessment). It’s not just useful for individuals — it also works well as a fun, team-based exercise to spark discussion, build self-awareness, and strengthen collaboration.
Interviewing People
When hiring
Most managers don’t truly know what they’ve hired until a few weeks into the job. Despite good intentions, interviews are often rushed, inconsistent, and full of blind spots. That’s a big risk — especially when over 40% of new hires fail. And if you’re aiming for an “A player,” the bar is even higher. Our guidelines are designed to help you raise your game and dramatically improve hiring success.
Taking Up Soundings
A sounding is a verbal reference taken on someone. This can be done for both prospective new hires and existing employees. Taking up multiple soundings can be particularly advantageous.
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In the context of a new external hire, taking up a sounding can help you better understand whether someone may be a good fit for the position, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
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Similarly, for existing employees, soundings can provide deeper insight into their potential—an important factor when developing people, raising performance, and assessing for promotion. In this case, you might take soundings from the person’s manager, their manager’s manager, peers, subordinates, and colleagues in other departments they work with.
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There are several merits to doing this. First, when asked about someone, a referee will often—perhaps inadvertently—reveal insights into the individual’s emotional intelligence.
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For example, they may comment that the person’s motivations were (or weren’t) aligned with the job, that they were popular, or that they were aggressive or a pushover—failing to be assertive. Taking up soundings offers you the opportunity to uncover a person’s strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and how they are best managed.
The Managers Playbook
5 Questions That Unlock Potential
1) What Are Their Developmental Needs
There's multiple merits of doing this including not only tuning into areas for improvement but also their response will give you insight into their self-awareness. They may offer up areas for improvement in their current role or otherwise clues as to how they wish to develop their careers and their appetite for learning. Those who are keen to acquire new skills have better growth potential than those who don't.
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2) What's Their Preferred Learning Style?
This is important for the people you manage...
Understanding your preferred learning style helps you absorb and retain information more effectively—whether you're a visual learner (preferring diagrams and images), auditory (learning through listening), reading/writing (engaging best with text), or kinaesthetic (hands-on, experiential learning). Knowing this boosts self-awareness, improves communication, and can enhance workplace training and collaboration.
It's therefore important to you too.
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3) How Do They Wish To Develop Their Career
Some people are ambitious and have clear career plans others are not, or do not. Ask people how do they wish to develop their career and similarly what they'd like to experience in their world of work!
Consider asking people about what options they may have considered as possible career pathways - this may not just open up options for them but also talent mobility within your company.
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4) How Do They Like To Be Managed?
Knowing how someone likes to be managed builds trust, motivation, and performance. Some thrive with autonomy, others prefer regular check-ins. Common styles include: coaching (development-focused), democratic (collaborative), directive (clear instructions), and laissez-faire (hands-off). Aligning style with individual needs drives stronger results and engagement.​ To understand this. Ask them.
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5) Ask Them If There’s Anything Important You Haven’t Covered?
Then ask: “How can I best support you?” and “Is there anything you're worried about or finding difficult in your world at work?”
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