Check Your Bench: How Talent Data Helps People Flourish and Business Thrive

By Amanda Nunez

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Plum knows that when people flourish, business thrives. That’s why the revolutionary talent assessment platform uses predictive psychometric data to inform objective talent decisions, which means companies do not have to venture far to find new talent. Instead, organizations can look for untapped potential in their existing pool of employees. To support this thinking, Plum developed a single psychometric assessment able to empower you to mobilize your talent and invest in your current workforce.

Known as the Plum Assessment, the platform was developed by industrial and organizational psychologists who have thoroughly studied human behaviors and the environments in which those personalities most thrive. Using this science, the assessment gauges a participant’s personality, social intelligence, and problem-solving ability. The solution then compares the data points provided by participants to the needs of an available role. Its goal is simple: match a candidate with a job that suits their personality and work ethic to help them thrive in their professional development.

The approach has shown success. Over 93% of hiring managers who have used the platform say that they would hire their Plum candidate again. For a successful result, a candidate has to simply complete a short survey in order to find a job match. Hiring teams are equipped with their own survey called the Match Criteria Survey. The results of which can help employers like you assess which traits are necessary for a candidate to possess in order to succeed in a role.

Helping Employers Navigate a Difficult Employer Job Market

The Plum platform is helping businesses navigate a difficult employer job market. The US economy is facing its lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years, with about twice as many job openings as there are unemployed people. In an effort to retain talent in a narrow market, businesses are offering pay boosts to retain talent, meaning there are fewer candidates on the market. Plum’s assessment can be offered to your current employees to identify skills and talents that may have not been utilized in their current roles. 

Promoting Within Promotes a Positive Work Culture

Organizations that promote employees internally are 32% more likely to be satisfied with the quality of their hires. Plum’s assessment can be used to identify leaders in your talent pool for promotional opportunities. Identifying human potential within a business’s workforce can help match existing employees with both full-time and short-term emerging opportunities, projects, or assignments across an organization. Employees also show more productivity when their employers demonstrate a desire to promote internally. When a pathway for growth exists, productivity increases. Your employees are also more likely to take advantage of organizational training and educational opportunities as well.

Employee empowerment is at the forefront of Plum’s success. More than 87% of millennials say that professional development and career growth are very important. Plum’s assessment offers a personalized Talent Guide for employees to dive deep into their results. They will have access to an in-depth understanding of what facets of their character and abilities make them unique. Talent can utilize these self-insights to think about a career path where their skills would make them successful. Your employees can also utilize Plum to effectively communicate their strengths, gaps, and areas they would like to focus on for their professional development.

Taking the Bias Out of Performance Reviews

Plum’s assessment tool also eliminates any bias that may interfere with an employee's growth. Traditional performance reviews can be highly subjective, especially when only one layer of management is responsible. An employee’s full potential may go unrecognized and underutilized if bias is able to tamper with an employee’s evaluation, even unintentionally. This may lead to talent being overlooked for promotional opportunities. Over 29% of workers claim a lack of promotion opportunities led them to leave a company in the past. The current job market is very competitive for employers, and losing talent could mean major revenue losses for employers. Plum’s objective data offers a full scope of an employee's potential, which means talent is given a fair shake when promotional opportunities arise.

The traditional hiring model can have a recruiter on the hunt for new talent for three to six weeks at a time, costing your business time and money. Plum’s assessment equips businesses with the resources needed to mobilize their existing workforces to achieve their fullest potential. The data it provides works to benefit both a company's need to innovate and identify capable talent and an employee's desire to be recognized for what they bring to the table. A business’s needs are constantly changing, and Plum helps to ensure that your employees align with what’s needed now.