Who is the real ‘Talent’?
Many managers and HR might have been looking for some ways to find their fast tracks, talents, successors or job candidates. A lot of time and money have been spent for the best methods in order to acquire the best candidates for their business. Unfortunately, some companies found that it did not work. Those people cannot catch up with the requirement of the position, the expectation of the boss or organization. What went wrong? One important issue which managers and HR should realize is whether those candidates have development potential high enough and whether they derive the ways to develop fit to their potential.
However, how do we know that how much development potential those people have? What does indicate it?
Over the past quarter-century there is a ‘large and compelling literature’ showing that intelligence is a good predictor both job performance and training proficiency at work. Meta-analyses have revealed that perhaps the single best individual differences predictor of work performance is intelligence.
One of the most prominent theories of intelligence was proposed by Ramond Cattell (1971) who distinguished between two types of intelligence: crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence is the knowledge and skills obtained through learning and experience. It relates to learnt factors, and is assessed by tests based on facts and the ability to utilize facts while fluid intelligence represents information-processing and reasoning ability.
Fluid intelligence is pure intellectual speed and power, reflecting the efficiency of the flow of information through the brain and is assessed by the ability to solve novel problems creatively and independently of previously acquired knowledge. The more complex jobs require more difficult information processing. Fluid intelligence is critical for a wide variety of cognitive tasks, and it is considered one of the most important factors in learning. Moreover, it is closely related to professional and educational success, especially in complex and demanding environments.
Although both crystallized and fluid intelligence are considered as separated brain functions, but there are many researches assert that the couple kinds of intelligence have positive relation. That is why people who have high fluid intelligence always organize and develop crystallized intelligence more and faster.
“Thus, knowing their level of fluid intelligence is able to help companies identify their ‘real smart’ people and acquire more high development potential people for dealing with the business’ challenges in the future.”
Test of crystallized intelligence depends on the knowledge and education acquired in any specific culture, whereas fluid intelligence requires little previous knowledge or learning on the part of the examinee. The result of fluid intelligence test will be shown by the score of General Training Quotients (GTQ). The high score of GTQ means the high development potential.
Fluid intelligence testing, one of the psychometric testing, categorized in cognitive testing, is developed systematically with reliability and accuracy. It is the very efficient and effective tool to screen and develop people.
Results from many surveys done in Europe suggest about two-third of big companies use psychometric testing in their assessment of senior managers. Furthermore, the survey about reasons of cognitive tests use by R.S. Williams published in The Psychologist stated that cognitive tests were objective and unbiased 72%, predicted subsequent job performance 66%, filtered out unsuitable candidates 54%, speed and ease of use 49% and cost-effective 41%.
