{"id":1258,"date":"2019-09-05T17:16:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T17:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1258"},"modified":"2026-02-26T19:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:24:42","slug":"assessing-current-human-resources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/chapter\/assessing-current-human-resources\/","title":{"raw":"Assessing Current Human Resources","rendered":"Assessing Current Human Resources"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Describe how to assess current human resources<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Why Assess Your Current Human Resources?<\/h2>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-1728\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/09\/14214855\/shridhar-gupta-dZxQn4VEv2M-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial photograph of an open office. Several people are sitting at desks.\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/>\r\n\r\nAssessing current human resources involves developing a profile of the workforce that includes staff levels, demographics, and competencies (aka KSA or knowledge, skills, and abilities). CalHR recommends developing a profile of the current workforce, including an evaluation of key competencies based on an assessment process and using trends and other relevant data to make projections about this workforce, including the impact of separations and changes in demographics.[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/phase-2-gather-and-analyze-organizational-data-for-the-workforce-plan.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phase 2 \u2013 Gather and Analyze Departmental Data for the Workforce Plan<\/a>.\" California Department of Human Resources. Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nIn order to compile and analyze human resource data, you must first understand the why you're doing the work, what your deliverable should be, and what steps you should take:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Purpose.\u00a0<\/strong>Provides the data for the workforce plan, using systematic analysis to reveal the department's workforce gaps.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Deliverable.<\/strong> A comprehensive analysis of the department's staffing and competency gaps and a list of the department's classifications in order of risk level.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Primary Steps.<\/strong> There are four primary steps, as follows:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Develop a profile of your current workforce that includes both staffing (composition such as number of staff and demographics) and competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Use the results from the strategic planning phase to project future human resource needs.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Perform a gap analysis to identify current and future staff and competency needs.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Develop and prioritize a list of human resource risks to inform the workforce action planning.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\r\nFor further details on how to compile and analyze human resource data, refer to CalHR\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/phase-2-gather-and-analyze-organizational-data-for-the-workforce-plan.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gather and Analyze Human Resource Data<\/a> tutorial.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>What is Assessment?<\/h2>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-1729\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/09\/14215014\/analytics-charts-computer-data-document-facts-1554811-pxhere.com_-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"Pieces of paper with several charts and graphs\" width=\"400\" height=\"265\" \/>The concept of assessment may seem obvious, but given the potential for failure, it\u2019s worth drilling down further. The U.S. Department of Labor defines personnel assessment as \u201ca systematic approach to gathering information about individuals used to make employment or career-related decisions.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.onetcenter.org\/dl_files\/empTestAsse.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Testing and Assessment: An Employer's Guide to Good Practices<\/a>.\" U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote] The agency describes an assessment as \u201cany test or procedure used to measure an individual\u2019s employment or career-related qualifications and interests\u201d\u2014for example, knowledge and ability tests or work simulations. The crux of the matter is designing and implementing an effective assessment and testing method. An improperly designed assessment may introduce bias and undermine diversification and equity efforts. A related challenge is lack of job relevance and\/or outdated job criteria. Assessments that fail to measure job-related skills or capabilities may constitute a basis for a claim of discrimination. For perspective, OPM notes that an assessment that is perceived to be unfair or invalid is more likely to prompt a claim of discrimination. Finally, an irrelevant assessment generates irrelevant results\u2014garbage in, garbage out\u2014and undermines the assessment and broader planning process.\r\n<h2>Assessing Your Human Resources<\/h2>\r\nOPM explains there are two key elements to an assessment: reliability and validity. Reliability is \u201cthe extent to which an assessment tool is consistent or free from random error in measurement.\u201d Validity is \u201cthe extent to which an assessment tool measures what it is intended to measure.\u201d Note that an assessment can be reliable and yet not valid. That is, it is a necessary but insufficient condition for validity.\r\n\r\nThe OPM recommends a 3-step process to developing valid assessments:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Identify job-relevant \u2028competencies.<\/strong> Based on a job analysis, discussed below<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Design the assessment strategy.<\/strong> Develop one or more assessments to determine a person\u2019s ability to successfully perform a job<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Identify assessment tools.<\/strong> Identify and evaluate assessment tools such as cognitive ability and job knowledge tests, work samples and structured interviews.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nOPM\u2019s training presentation concludes with the caution that \u201cto use assessment tools properly, you must be aware of both the benefits and limitations of any assessment strategy.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/human-capital-management\/reference-materials\/strategic-alignment\/workforceplanning.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OPM's Workforce Planning Model<\/a>.\" opm.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/10a09c25-f885-4b55-9953-53d648037dc1\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe how to assess current human resources<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Why Assess Your Current Human Resources?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1728\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/09\/14214855\/shridhar-gupta-dZxQn4VEv2M-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial photograph of an open office. Several people are sitting at desks.\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Assessing current human resources involves developing a profile of the workforce that includes staff levels, demographics, and competencies (aka KSA or knowledge, skills, and abilities). CalHR recommends developing a profile of the current workforce, including an evaluation of key competencies based on an assessment process and using trends and other relevant data to make projections about this workforce, including the impact of separations and changes in demographics.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Phase 2 \u2013 Gather and Analyze Departmental Data for the Workforce Plan.&quot; California Department of Human Resources. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1258-1\" href=\"#footnote-1258-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In order to compile and analyze human resource data, you must first understand the why you&#8217;re doing the work, what your deliverable should be, and what steps you should take:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Purpose.\u00a0<\/strong>Provides the data for the workforce plan, using systematic analysis to reveal the department&#8217;s workforce gaps.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deliverable.<\/strong> A comprehensive analysis of the department&#8217;s staffing and competency gaps and a list of the department&#8217;s classifications in order of risk level.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Primary Steps.<\/strong> There are four primary steps, as follows:\n<ol>\n<li>Develop a profile of your current workforce that includes both staffing (composition such as number of staff and demographics) and competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities).<\/li>\n<li>Use the results from the strategic planning phase to project future human resource needs.<\/li>\n<li>Perform a gap analysis to identify current and future staff and competency needs.<\/li>\n<li>Develop and prioritize a list of human resource risks to inform the workforce action planning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<p>For further details on how to compile and analyze human resource data, refer to CalHR\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/phase-2-gather-and-analyze-organizational-data-for-the-workforce-plan.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gather and Analyze Human Resource Data<\/a> tutorial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>What is Assessment?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1729\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/09\/14215014\/analytics-charts-computer-data-document-facts-1554811-pxhere.com_-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"Pieces of paper with several charts and graphs\" width=\"400\" height=\"265\" \/>The concept of assessment may seem obvious, but given the potential for failure, it\u2019s worth drilling down further. The U.S. Department of Labor defines personnel assessment as \u201ca systematic approach to gathering information about individuals used to make employment or career-related decisions.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Testing and Assessment: An Employer's Guide to Good Practices.&quot; U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1258-2\" href=\"#footnote-1258-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> The agency describes an assessment as \u201cany test or procedure used to measure an individual\u2019s employment or career-related qualifications and interests\u201d\u2014for example, knowledge and ability tests or work simulations. The crux of the matter is designing and implementing an effective assessment and testing method. An improperly designed assessment may introduce bias and undermine diversification and equity efforts. A related challenge is lack of job relevance and\/or outdated job criteria. Assessments that fail to measure job-related skills or capabilities may constitute a basis for a claim of discrimination. For perspective, OPM notes that an assessment that is perceived to be unfair or invalid is more likely to prompt a claim of discrimination. Finally, an irrelevant assessment generates irrelevant results\u2014garbage in, garbage out\u2014and undermines the assessment and broader planning process.<\/p>\n<h2>Assessing Your Human Resources<\/h2>\n<p>OPM explains there are two key elements to an assessment: reliability and validity. Reliability is \u201cthe extent to which an assessment tool is consistent or free from random error in measurement.\u201d Validity is \u201cthe extent to which an assessment tool measures what it is intended to measure.\u201d Note that an assessment can be reliable and yet not valid. That is, it is a necessary but insufficient condition for validity.<\/p>\n<p>The OPM recommends a 3-step process to developing valid assessments:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Identify job-relevant \u2028competencies.<\/strong> Based on a job analysis, discussed below<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Design the assessment strategy.<\/strong> Develop one or more assessments to determine a person\u2019s ability to successfully perform a job<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Identify assessment tools.<\/strong> Identify and evaluate assessment tools such as cognitive ability and job knowledge tests, work samples and structured interviews.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>OPM\u2019s training presentation concludes with the caution that \u201cto use assessment tools properly, you must be aware of both the benefits and limitations of any assessment strategy.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;OPM's Workforce Planning Model.&quot; opm.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1258-3\" href=\"#footnote-1258-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_10a09c25-f885-4b55-9953-53d648037dc1\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/10a09c25-f885-4b55-9953-53d648037dc1?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_10a09c25-f885-4b55-9953-53d648037dc1\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1258\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Assessing Current Human Resources. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Nina Burokas. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Untitled. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Lukas. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: pxhere. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pxhere.com\/en\/photo\/1554811\">https:\/\/pxhere.com\/en\/photo\/1554811<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/cc0\">CC0: No Rights Reserved<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Specific attribution<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Coworking Space. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Shridhar Gupta. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Unsplash. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/dZxQn4VEv2M\">https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/dZxQn4VEv2M<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Unsplash License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-1258-1\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/phase-2-gather-and-analyze-organizational-data-for-the-workforce-plan.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phase 2 \u2013 Gather and Analyze Departmental Data for the Workforce Plan<\/a>.\" California Department of Human Resources. Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1258-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1258-2\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.onetcenter.org\/dl_files\/empTestAsse.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Testing and Assessment: An Employer's Guide to Good Practices<\/a>.\" U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1258-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1258-3\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/human-capital-management\/reference-materials\/strategic-alignment\/workforceplanning.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OPM's Workforce Planning Model<\/a>.\" opm.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1258-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Assessing Current Human Resources\",\"author\":\"Nina Burokas\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc-attribution\",\"description\":\"Coworking Space\",\"author\":\"Shridhar Gupta\",\"organization\":\"Unsplash\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/dZxQn4VEv2M\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"Unsplash License\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Untitled\",\"author\":\"Lukas\",\"organization\":\"pxhere\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pxhere.com\/en\/photo\/1554811\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc0\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"f7c75b6e-d456-45d3-a60f-e4d03a4e1610, ea11abff-5164-4f70-bfd1-2f4f1d56dc3b","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1258","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1253,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3463,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1258\/revisions\/3463"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1253"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1258\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1258"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1258"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}