Handbook of Workplace Assessment: Evidence-Based Practices for Selecting and Developing Organizational Talent

Chapter 21. VALIDATION STRATEGIES

S. Morton McPhail, Damian J. Stelly

With any form of workplace assessment we are dealing with the topic of measurement. In this sense, measurement generally involves describing something about a person that can be difficult to observe (such as a personality characteristic) or predicting an individual's (or groups of individuals') future behavior or success. Thus, we are making inferences that go beyond simply responses to assessment procedures; we draw conclusions about people. For example, we might conclude that:

• Their typical behavior patterns are consistent with competencies important to some valued outcome—perhaps success in performing certain tasks or growth and development in preparation for other positions. ...