3 Ways Family Businesses Can Use Assessments to Enhance Performance and Collaboration

Assessments can be valuable tools for family businesses seeking to improve various aspects of their operations.

Here are three ways family businesses can harness the power of assessments to drive personal growth, optimize hiring decisions, and foster better teamwork.

1. Understanding Yourself: Maximizing Personal and Professional Growth

Self-awareness is crucial for personal and professional development.

Family business owners and team members can use assessments to gain insights into their unique qualities, strengths, and areas for improvement.

Understanding your natural inclinations and preferences can help you determine whether a specific project aligns well with your innate traits. You can use your assessment results as a personal filter.

You might say:

“Okay. I know these things about myself: I really enjoy working with people. I like routine. I’m not a particularly commanding person. Is it a good fit for me to take on this project?”

If the project is a management role with an established team that does well-defined work, it might be a great fit.

But if the project involved working alone in a high-stakes decision making capacity where every day was different, it might not be the right option. Unless you really want to challenge yourself!

This self-awareness also helps to combat imposter syndrome because you’ll be able to identify situations where you might be going against your natural inclinations.

For example, a team member might realize that negotiation skills are not their strong suit. Instead of feeling inadequate or trying to force a skill that doesn’t come naturally, they can pursue roles where the tasks better align with their strengths.

2. Improving Hiring Decisions: A Balanced Approach

Assessments are not only useful for personal growth but also in making informed hiring decisions.

Family businesses can incorporate assessments as a part of their pre-hiring process to gain valuable insights into potential candidates. However, it is essential to strike a balance in the hiring equation.

I like to use a 25/25/25/25 approach:

• 25% is an objective third party assessment
• 25% is resume and experience
• 25% is the interview, reference and background checks
• 25% is your and your team’s intuition on the cultural fit

This balanced approach allows businesses to glean objective data from assessments while considering other crucial factors.

The assessment results can also help in generating specific questions during the interview process, enabling a deeper understanding of the candidate’s fit within the organization.

By using assessments in this manner, family businesses can make more informed and well-rounded hiring decisions.

3. Enhancing Team Collaboration: Building Empathy and Awareness

Successful family businesses depend on cohesive teams that work together efficiently.

Assessments are great for team development!

By encouraging team members to share their assessment results, they can build empathy and awareness of each other’s working styles and preferences.

Armed with a better understanding of each other’s natural inclinations, team members can develop more effective communication and collaboration strategies, which leads to improved team dynamics and overall productivity.

Assessments can also help you identify potential gaps within the team and develop strategies to address them effectively.

Just keep in mind that assessments are not a definitive measure of a person’s capabilities, but rather tools to build self-awareness and understanding.

Every individual possesses a unique blend of skills and attributes, and no one is entirely developed in all areas.

Embracing this perspective enables family businesses to value the diverse contributions each team member brings to the table.

Assessments offer family businesses valuable insights that can be utilized in multiple ways to enhance performance and collaboration.

By understanding yourself, using assessments in hiring decisions, and fostering team awareness, family businesses can leverage assessments as a powerful resource for growth and success.

We offer DISC, EQ and 12 Driving Forces Behavior Assessments. If you’d like to learn how assessments can help your family business, book a call with one of our advisors. We’d love to help: Book a Call