While some assessments have little to no start-up time, others require more of an investment. The approach that best suits your needs depends on the initial goals you set for your team building sessions and the level of resources your business has allocated to developing stronger teams.
As a general rule of thumb, you get what you pay for. Simple assessments are typically the easiest to implement into your team building plan while robust assessments require additional investment from your organization before you can get started with them.
Minimal Investment = Minimal Reward
If you are in a situation involving time restraints, you'll want to choose a simple assessment to get the wheels turning quickly.
The reports generated from a simple assessment are generally easy to understand and are self-interpretive, eliminating the need for someone in your organization to attend certification training or to hire an external consultant to analyze the results for you. These simple assessments also require the least amount of buy-in from leadership since they have to commit fewer resources. Overall, there are inherently lower costs associated with your activity. However, less reporting gives you less insight into personality. You get what you pay for with the complexity of assessment results and the scientific validity of the assessment.
Think again about your team building goals. If you are trying to solve a significant team problem but are opting for an assessment that requires minimal investment, reconsider the resources you are willing to allocate towards your team building plan. You may have a hard time finding an option that identifies the specific roadblocks your team is facing and provides a practical solution to overcome those challenges.
Greater Investment = Greater Reward
Another option to overcome workplace challenges is to harness the insights of a robust personality assessment. Since advanced reports are more in-depth, the results will likely have to be professionally-interpreted by someone who has been through a formal certification process. There are usually two options for this:
- Have someone within your organization attend certification training to understand the assessment’s unique concepts and terminology. This will allow them to interpret the reports correctly.
- Hire an independent consultant to interpret your results.
Keep in mind that most robust assessments require greater financial commitment due to the cost of certified coaches or attending certification and the value of the in-depth data you will access.
Weighing the Options
Rest assured that the higher level of investment required for a more comprehensive assessment is well worth it! These assessments provide in-depth information for the complex interpersonal challenges faced by most companies. They are also scalable for other initiatives such as on-boarding and leadership development. Take a look at this chart that outlines the benefits of each type of personality assessment:
Why Birkman is the Best For Team Building
Birkman is a versatile option for almost any team building plan as we offer both basic and in-depth reporting options that scale easily across your organization and cover all stages of the employee life cycle.
Our simple assessment solution, Birkman Basics, is our core, non-certified report that provides the essential behavioral data needed to host your fun and engaging team building sessions.
Birkman Signature Suite unlocks the full power of Birkman with over 40 reports that cover an array of personality data digging into underlying needs and hidden expectations. Check out this reporting option if you are considering an in-depth assessment option.
Get More Insight From Our Assessments for Team Building eBook Series
This topic is featured in the second of our three-part Assessments for Team Building eBook series. Get all the information you’ll need to select an assessment to save time and focus on what matters—optimizing your team! Download the eBook today.
