How Socio-Relational Capital is Changing the Course of Human Assessment in the Workplace
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by an individual who exclusively researches “socio-relational capital.” This term refers to the accumulated resources that are generated from the personal and professional relationships within society. One statement in particular stood out: "Human resource departments do not merely look at individuals to evaluate or assess them. They are in a position to deliberately shape an employee’s socio-relational capital".
Historically, human resource assessments have focused on evaluating aptitude for management and to oversee selection of managerial candidates. However, what is now being sought is a way of conducting assessments that do not end in a binary judgment of success or failure.
What we seek is a human assessment that goes beyond "pass" and "fail," The aim is to engage in people building. In Japan, we are beginning to rethink the way we've been conducting assessments up to this point. This rethinking is taking place in the midst of myriad tasks like assigning personnel overseas, implementing the new mandatory retirement age of 65, and dealing with a shortage of posts in middle management. We have heard the following comments and others like them from individuals working in personnel departments.
- "Though the business environment is changing, the evaluation standards used in assessments haven’t changed in years."
- "There are a limited number of people who can be promoted, and I’m having a very hard time trying to think of ways to maintain motivation in the ones who aren’t chosen."
- "As an organization, we aren't able to put the results of assessments to good use in skill development."
These comments make it clear that the goal of human assessment up to this point has been to function as a “management selector.” That usually meant that consulting a database of historical information was how decisions were made.
From this point on, the keyword in assessment will be “people building.” The goal is to arrive at something that, rather than meting out pass or fail judgments, looks toward potential in people. This means identifying and cultivating hidden talents, while designing an educational program and career path that coincides with an individual’s own personal career development. In other words, we are beginning to feel the need for a future-minded assessment program that investigates the ways today’s employees’ skills can be enriched and their abilities fully utilized. You could also say it’s an era in which people have begun to think seriously about how to efficiently amass socio-relational capital. In the sense that career development is also generated from relationships between people, this is an opportunity for personnel departments to step in. There are three qualities necessary for assessment with “people building” in mind.
- The dimension is focused on future expansion, not the past. With today's global expansion, it's all the more important to devise a culture wherein essential skills like planning and cooperating with other departments are solid standards, and where efforts actively seek hidden abilities in people, above those sought out through domestic operations.
- Rather than focus on pass or fail assessments, create a comprehensive system of follow-up that emphasizes training and re-applying oneself to challenges. Rather than giving up when an individual doesn't make the cut, look at the situation in terms of future expansion. Develop and implement an education program that will strengthen the skills you need as an organization.
- Encourage employees to know themselves through group training where participants exchange feedback. Group training is based on evaluating participants using external assessors. Above that, mutual evaluation and feedback of conduct within the group produces valuable results. These mutual feedback sessions require understanding the dynamics of behavioral science in order to put that feedback to good use. The right approach will kindle each participant's sense of reflection, awareness, and a greater knowledge of themselves.
This new approach of expanding on the older idea of assessment that has dominated up to now is catching the attention of personnel departments all over Japan. As it spreads, this expanded concept will provide even more support for assessing latent skills and paving the way for future career development.
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