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The Harrison Assessment Suitability Profile is your best choice to select high-performing leaders for all positions in your organization.

 

Measuring over 150 Behavioral Traits, ranging from Essential Traits for the position, to Desirable Traits and Traits to Avoid, the Harrison Assessment provides a granular look into the work preferences of your candidate along with how well balanced certain behavioral traits are which form the basis for their suitability to the job and potential for success.

 

Harrison Assessments - Theory

There are two underlying theories that are integrated in the Harrison Assessment methodology. The first is called Enjoyment-Performance Theory and is based upon Behavioral Theory. The second is called Paradox Theory and is an extension of the "psychological opposites" theories explained by Jung and Freud.

 

Enjoyment-Performance Theory

Enjoyment-Performance Theory states that an individual will perform more effectively in a job if that individual enjoys the types of tasks that are required by a job, has interests that relate to the position, and the work environment conditions correspond with the person's work environment preferences. In other words, the enjoyment of all the various aspects of a job is a significant indication of a higher level of performance, assuming the person has the education and training necessary for that job. Our research indicates that the enjoyment of these various work aspects is highly correlated with good performance.

Employees who enjoy most aspects of their work tend to perform more effectively. The more an employee tends to dislike aspects of his/her work, the lesser the performance. Thus if we are able to determine the degree to which a person will enjoy the various aspects of a job, we will have a strong indication of the probability of success in the job, assuming the person has the education and experience necessary for the position.

 

Paradox Theory

Both Jung and Freud recognized that the human mind is based upon opposite forces. Paradox Theory extends that principle to include complementary and paradoxical forces and applies it to specific traits. Paradox Theory includes a series of principles that can be applied to the individual psyche as well as organizational dynamics.

According to Paradox Theory, our lives involve dealing with a series of paradoxes. Each paradox is a relationship between two categories of traits, "Gentle" traits and "Dynamic" traits. If our range of behavior is able to extend to both the Gentle and Dynamic aspects of the paradox, we will have an exceptional capability and means of fulfillment related to that aspect of our lives. This is called balanced versatility.

If our range of behavior extends only to the Dynamic aspect of the paradox, it is called "aggressive imbalance". If our range of behavior extends only to the Gentle aspect of the paradox, it is called "passive imbalance". In either case, our behavior will have some counter-productive tendencies and we will experience lesser fulfillment. If our range of behavior extends to neither aspect of a paradox, it is called "balanced deficiency". In that case, we will also have some counter-productive tendencies and/or lack of fulfillment. By measuring traits and organizing them according the paradoxical model, we gain insight into the manner in which each person manages each paradox. Thus we gain a wealth of understanding about an individual's behavior patterns that is well beyond the traditional bipolar system of measurement.

The Harrison Assessment methodology contains 12 different paradoxes including:

• Opinions (certainty and openness)
• Problem Solving (analytical and intuitive)
• Strategic (analyzes pitfalls and risking)
• Delegation (authoritative and collaborative)
• Innovation (persistent and inventive)
• Communication (frankness and diplomacy)
• Power (assertive and helpful)
• Motivation (self-motivated and stress management)
• Self (self-acceptance and self-improvement)
• Discipline (enforcing and warmth/empathy)
• Organization (organized and flexible)
• Acumen (analyzes pitfalls and optimistic)

Sample Reports

The Harrison Assessment reports are completely specific to each person and each position. The reports are separated into modules. To download all the reports, please fill out the information to the right. Read about what is contained in each module below:

 

Position Comparison Module

The Position Comparison Module contains the Behavioral Impact Graph, Behavioral Narrative, Interviewing Guide, How to Attract this Candidate, and Group Screening reports.

 

The Behavioral Impact Graph compares the person to the position using graphs. The overall probability of success is calculated according to the individual's behavioral assessment, eligibility, and interviewing results. Each assessment method is weighted for the position according to your specific requirements. The second page of the Behavioral Impact Graph shows the impact of the individual's behavior on the selected position for each required trait for that position.

 

The Behavioral Narrative provides a narrative description of the contents of the graph, expanding on the meaning of each point as well as providing additional information that may be relevant to the person as related to this position.

 

The Interviewing Guide report provides specific behaviorally based interviewing questions for each candidate, formulated to meet the specific requirements of the position. The questions are ordered according to the importance of each requirement as well as the importance of the question as determined by the HA behavioral assessment.

 

The How to Attract this Candidate report identifies the key leverage points that will help you to convince a top candidate to work for your company. These are placed in three categories: essential, important, and other factors.

 

The Group Screening report is a table that shows multiple individuals against a job template on a single page.

 

Paradox Module

The Paradox Module consists of the Paradox Graph and the Traits and Definitions reports. The Paradox Graph provides a graphical view of the individual in relationship to each of the 12 paradoxes (see Paradox Theory).

 

The Traits and Definitions report provides the individual's scores on each of the primary traits as well as a definition of each trait. The traits related to the position are highlighted in green for essential traits and blue for desirable traits.

 

Development Module

The Developing Success Traits report enables you to identify the two key traits that would be most valuable to develop for any individual in relationship to any position. The system automatically calculates the traits that most need to be developed for a person relative to any selected position. This report provides a development plan for each of the traits outlining a practical approach for developing the specified traits. You can also choose any trait you wish to receive a development plan for that trait.

 

The How to Develop and Retain report is designed for the manager of the person, enabling the manager to better utilize the individual's strengths, neutralize weaknesses, and develop a long-term positive relationship with the employee that would lead to lower employee turnover. The factors are divided into three categories enabling the manager to focus on the most important factors first.

 

Career Module

The Career Module provides insight into an individual's suitability for various careers. The Career Module provides general career guidance (Career Development report), provides a search on the most suitable careers (Career Options report), and provides a detailed analysis of an individual's suitability for any given career (Career Suitability report).

 

The Career Development report gives detailed guidance related to an individual's career development. It includes the following topics: Task Preferences, Interests, Work Environment Preferences, Interpersonal Skills, Motivation, Decision Skills, and Leadership Skills.

 

The Career Options report provides a list of careers that are most suitable for an individual. The careers are listed in descending order of suitability. The system searches on more than 600 careers and identifies the careers that best match the person's task preferences, interests, work environment preferences and personality patterns. The report can be restricted to levels of education required.

 

The Career Suitability report compares an individual to the specific requirements of a particular career, identifying the specific traits that would either support or detract from fulfillment and success in this career. It provides a narrative description of the contents of the graph, expanding on the meaning of each point as well as providing additional information that may be relevant to the person as related to this career.

 

Team Module

The Team Module reports enable you to see a team of people all in one report. They are an excellent way to get an overall picture of a team for team engineering, team building, or organizational culture development. There are 3 team reports available: Team Main Graph, Team Paradox Graph, and Trait export. The Team Main Graph shows the average scores for a team in relationship to the Main Graph. The Team Paradox Graph shows the interrelationships between team members by plotting the scores of each of the team members against each of the 12 paradoxes. The Trait Export allows you to export all the scores from all the traits for any or all of the profiles in the system. The Trait Export shows all the individual scores as well as the team average for each trait.