EBOOK

15 Skills of the Future and How to Assess Them

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that the world – and the world of work – can change quickly and dramatically. The skills and competencies of yesterday are no longer as relevant to today’s work environment, let alone the future.  

New skills are emerging, driven by technological advances and the emergence of remote and hybrid workplaces as standard, as well as rapidly changing social and economic forces. Given these trends, employers cannot afford to stand still when populating their workforces with skilled, and reskilled, employees. 

In October 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released the third edition of their Future of Jobs Report, examining the most important skills employees should possess by 2025. They estimate that 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, with more than 85 million jobs being displaced and a further 97 million emerging, as a result of new ways of working between humans, machines, and algorithms.  

Unsurprisingly, enduring skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, which have been consistently on the list since 2016, also top the list of skills that employers believe will remain critical in the next five years. New skills are emerging in importance such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility; while more technical skills such as technology design and programming have risen in prominence in this latest release.  

Articulating the skill requirements of the future is one thing. But equally important for employers is knowing how to identify their prevalence amongst new hires. This eBook outlines the WEF’s top 15 skills for future employees and how you can objectively assess them using valid, science-based psychometric assessments and structured interviewing. It contains links to detailed information on the most relevant assessments for each skill and structured interview questions to provide a strong talent signal for your candidates and assess the skills of tomorrow, and today. 

 

What are the most important skills of the future for employees to have?

  1. ANALYTICAL THINKING & INNOVATION: Ability to handle complex problems or information and consider alternative or novel solutions to problems. Assess with cognitive aptitude and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. ACTIVE LEARNING & LEARNING STRATEGIES: Commitment to continuous learning; understanding how to learn effectively and choose the method best suited to the task at hand. Assess with cognitive aptitude and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. COMPLEX PROBLEM-SOLVING: Developed capacities to solve novel ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings. Assess with cognitive aptitude and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. CRITICAL THINKING & ANALYSIS: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, and approaches to identified problems. Assess with cognitive aptitude and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. CREATIVITY, ORIGINALITY & INITIATIVE: Ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas, or to develop novel approaches and ways to solve a problem. Assess with cognitive aptitude, workplace behavior, and workplace alignment assessments. 

  1. LEADERSHIP & SOCIAL INFLUENCE: Ability to motivate, develop, and encourage people at work through leadership; shaping and influencing the views and behaviors of others while considering the individual and social consequences of doing so. Assess with emotional intelligence and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. TECHNOLOGY USE, MONITORING & CONTROL: While largely a “hard” skill, successful performance requires the ability to identify the best technologies to solve problems and an openness to new technologies and untried methods. Assess using technical skills tests, as well as cognitive aptitude, productivity and risk mitigation, attention skills, and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. TECHNOLOGY DESIGN & PROGRAMMING: Designing effective technological solutions and programming skills. Successful performance also relies on factors such as openness, creativity, conscientiousness, and a deep understanding of the user experience. Assess with technical skills tests, as well as cognitive aptitude, workplace behavior, attention skills, and emotional intelligence assessments.  

  1. RESILIENCE, STRESS TOLERANCE & FLEXIBILITY: The ability to recover from setbacks, to effectively deal with difficult and stressful work conditions, and adapt to continually changing circumstances Assess with emotional intelligence and workplace behavior assessments. 

  1. REASON, PROBLEM-SOLVING & IDEATION: Analyzing problems in depth and evaluating alternative solutions; coming up with novel and effective approaches. Assess with cognitive aptitude and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they act as they do. Assess with emotional intelligence and workplace behavior assessments. 

  1. TROUBLESHOOTING & USER EXPERIENCE: Accurately identifying and solving technical issues, focusing on a user-centric approach. Assess with technical skills tests, as well as cognitive aptitude, workplace behavior, and emotional intelligence assessments.  

  1. SERVICE ORIENTATION: Actively looking for ways to help people; anticipating, recognizing, and meeting others’ needs, sometimes even before those needs are articulated. Assess with workplace behavior and workplace alignment assessments.  

  1. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & EVALUATION: Strategically evaluating methods and systems for achieving outcomes; synthesizing and integrating information to understand patterns and extrapolating knowledge across new domains. Assess with technical skills tests, as well as cognitive aptitude and workplace behavior assessments.  

  1. PERSUASION & NEGOTIATION: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences; persuading others to your point of view. Assess with emotional intelligence and workplace behavior assessments. 

 

#1 ANALYTICAL THINKING & INNOVATION  

People who can break down detailed, complex information or challenges and reach new conclusions driven by well-considered and strategic views are displaying strong analytical thinking and innovation skills. People with this skill often pay close attention to detail and engage in critical analysis, which includes the ability to identify potential issues, critique processes, and suggest solutions.  

Assessing Analytical Thinking & Innovation  

Cognitive aptitude testing is an accurate and reliable predictor of future job performance in the majority of jobs. People with higher levels of cognitive ability are better able to analyze and evaluate alternative approaches to problems, and to predict the potential outcomes of various strategies. They’re able to take the pieces apart and put them back together in new and different ways and can come up with original solutions to problems 

Workplace behavior assessments can help you identify people who have the behavioral traits and characteristics needed to perform well in roles that require analytical thinking and innovation. These people are likely to take a critical and evaluative approach to information and are proactive in solving problems. They’re comfortable analyzing extensive data sets, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations based on the analysis. People who tend to take a proactive and creative approach to solving problems and who continually seek to make improvements are also likely to engage in innovative ‘out of the box’ thinking. 

 

Interview questions to assess Analytical Thinking & Innovation 

  • Describe a time when you had to investigate a complex problem. What steps did you take? What information did you gather? 

  • Describe a time when you had to critically evaluate information and identify possible weaknesses or flaws. What steps did you take? 

  • Describe a time when you turned a problem into an opportunity to improve a product or service at work. What did you do? What was the outcome? 

  • Describe a time when you came up with a new idea or concept that had a positive impact on your workplace. What was the idea? What impact did it have? 

 

#2 ACTIVE LEARNING & LEARNING STRATEGIES 

Individuals equipped with active learning skills and learning strategies have a commitment to engaging in continuous learning and are self-motivated to do so. They have a solid understanding of how to learn effectively and the ability to choose the learning method or strategy best suited to the task at hand. Typically these individuals are open to constructive feedback that supports their self-development goals and often display self-awareness of their own developmental needs. They are able to self-reflect and to create an appropriate environment and strategies for self-development.  

Assessing Active Learning & Learning Strategies  

Workplace behavior assessments which examine the traits of learning and self-development are useful in identifying people who are likely to engage in active learning and learning strategies. People who are naturally more inclined to commit to developing their own skills, abilities and knowledge are more likely to engage in ongoing learning and self-education to achieve success. They are consciously learning from past successes and failures and have a strong willingness to invest time and effort in mastering new capabilities. 

 

Individuals with higher levels of cognitive aptitude are effective in learning, retaining, and applying new information, applying fresh insights and information to their work, and learning continuously. 

 

Interview questions to assess Active Learning & Learning Strategies 

  • Describe a time when you went out of your way to learn more about something that would be useful for your job. What did you learn? How did this impact your performance at work? 

  • Talk about a time when you identified one of your own weaknesses at work. What steps did you take to improve this weakness? 

  • Describe a time when you have sought feedback to help you improve your work. How did you feel when you received the feedback? How did you implement the feedback? 

 

#3 COMPLEX PROBLEM-SOLVING 

People who possess complex problem-solving skills have developed the capacities used to solve novel, ill-defined problems in real-world settings. As roles become more complex and have greater information processing requirements, the need to learn quickly, process information efficiently, and integrate both existing and new information in order to solve problems is essential.  

Assessing Complex Problem-Solving  

Cognitive aptitude tests assess how people think, reason, and solve problems. Complex problem-solving skills can be assessed objectively using scientifically designed and validated cognitive aptitude tests, either in traditional or game-based format. 

Workplace behavior assessments that examine a person’s natural ability to solve problems or issues can help employers surface candidates with strong complex problem-solving skills. These people are likely to seek out opportunities to make improvements to products, services, strategies, or processes, and excel at generating solutions to these problems. 

 

Interview questions to assess Complex Problem-Solving: 

  • Describe a time at work when you identified a pattern of problems and implemented a solution. How did you identify the underlying cause of the problems? What was your solution?

  • Tell me about the most difficult problem you have needed to solve at work. What was your process for finding a solution?

  • Describe a time when you needed to develop innovative, new ideas to solve or improve things at work. What was the situation? What steps did you take to create your ideas? 

 

#4 CRITICAL THINKING & ANALYSIS 

Like complex problem-solving, critical thinking and analysis require individuals to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, and approaches to identified problems. Individuals with strong critical thinking and analysis skills are able to analyze different types of information such as trends, patterns, data, and verbal information.  

Assessing Critical Thinking & Analysis  

Perhaps unsurprisingly, cognitive aptitude assessments are useful in determining an individual’s critical thinking and analytical skills. Cognitive aptitude is linked to the ability to process information and consider a number of elements including the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, as well as the pros and cons of possible solutions. A person with higher levels of cognitive aptitude is more likely to process information effectively and pick up new concepts more quickly in order to integrate this into their critical thinking. 

 

Individuals who have a natural preference for work involving critical thinking and analysis are likely to embrace problems that require extensive research or examination. They’re comfortable with investigating complex problems and are likely to gather and consider information at length to develop solid conclusions that can help a business optimize its performance. Using a workplace behavior assessment can help employers determine if a candidate has these traits and competencies to be successful in jobs that require critical thinking and analysis. 

 

Interview questions to assess Critical Thinking & Analysis:  

  • Describe a time when you had to analyze a large amount of information from multiple sources. How did you approach the management and integration of this information? 

  • Talk about a time when you needed to identify themes or commonalities in text or data and draw conclusions from that data. What was your process? What were your conclusions?

  • Describe a time when you had to investigate a complex problem. What steps did you take? What information did you gather? 

 

 

#5 CREATIVITY, ORIGINALITY & INITIATIVE 

Individuals who display creativity, originality, and initiative have the ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas or to develop novel approaches and ways to solve a problem.  

Assessing Creativity, Originality & Initiative  

Unsurprisingly, more employers today are looking to identify creativity and initiative in potential employees. Creativity and initiative can be defined as behavioral competencies, and therefore, workplace behavior assessments that tap into these competencies can help employers find individuals with these core attributes.  

People who have a behavioral tendency to work in an imaginative and creative manner are likely to have strong creativity and originality skills. Combined with strong initiative, they are likely to work effectively without direct supervision or guidance. They’re proactive in completing tasks on their own initiative and can self-manage their work and progress toward goals. 

 

Beyond simply a behavioral attribute, creativity, originality, and initiative also relates to aptitude. Strong cognitive aptitude (general intelligence) is an important factor in creativity, originality, and initiative because in order to come up with creative solutions, people need to understand the unique factors related to the situation, the goals to achieve, and the scope and feasibility of different ideas. This takes aptitude in problem-solving, critical thinking, and the ability to apply new information appropriately. 

 

 

The prevalence of creativity, originality, & initiative skill in the workplace is also influenced by the persons’ level of congruence, also known as workplace alignment, with the culture and values of the organization in which they work.  

An individual can be inherently creative and able to think originally and take initiative. However, if there’s a misalignment between the importance the individual places on these factors and the environment the organization provides, then the employer may never reap the benefits of this skill.  

Individuals who are skilled in creativity, originality, and initiative tend to value autonomy (planning their own work without involvement from supervisors), responsibility (making decisions on their own), and, unsurprisingly, creativity (capacity to try their own ideas). 

 

Interview questions to assess Creativity, Originality, & Initiative:  

  • Tell me about a time when you came up with a new idea or concept that had a positive impact on your workplace. What was the idea? What impact did it have? 

  • Tell me about a time where you have had a creative or innovative idea, but it did not work as you expected. What did you learn from this experience?  

  • Provide an example of when an existing process or procedure limited your ability to work creatively or innovatively. What did you do in this situation? What was the outcome?  

  • Describe a time you had to start a task you considered boring or dull. How did you motivate yourself to start the task? 

 

#6 LEADERSHIP & SOCIAL INFLUENCE 

While the term “influencer” has been somewhat misappropriated by social media, social influence at work is closely related to the ability to motivate, develop, and encourage people at work through leadership.  

It requires the individual to be capable of shaping and influencing the views and behaviors of others while considering the individual and social consequences of doing so. This takes self-regulation, empathy, and understanding, and goes far beyond technical capacity to include the ability to manage oneself and others. It’s particularly important in highly changeable and fast-paced work environments which require strong decision-making and encouraging adaptability amongst colleagues and reports. 

Assessing Leadership & Social Influence  

Success in a leadership role often depends on both technical capacity and the ability to manage oneself and others. People with high emotional intelligence (EI) can perceive, understand, and manage emotions in themselves and others.  

They are good at influencing and inspiring others, and at getting the best from the people they work with. Leaders with high EI are often more charismatic, are able to “read the room” and understand people’s emotional processes and the best way to present information based on the knowledge of others. 

 

Success in a leadership role often depends on both technical capacity and the ability to manage oneself and others. People with high emotional intelligence (EI) can perceive, understand, and manage emotions in themselves and others. They are good at influencing and inspiring others, and at getting the best from the people they work with. Leaders with high EI are often more charismatic, can “read the room” and understand people’s emotional processes and the best way to present information based on the knowledge of others. 

 

Certain behavioral traits are aligned with good leadership and social influencing skills also. Workplace behavior assessments that can uncover these traits in potential employees can help employers find individuals who are strong at motivating and inspiring others to contribute to organizational priorities and goals. They have strong interpersonal acumen and are adept at establishing rapport and credibility with others. 

 

Interview questions to assess Leadership & Social Influence:  

  • Talk about a time when you needed to boost the morale of coworkers at your company. What did you do and what was the outcome?  

  • Talk about a time when you tailored your approach with a colleague based on how they seemed to be responding. How do you know you were effective?  

  • Tell me about a time when you needed to guide a customer, client, or colleague to make a certain choice. What did you do?  

  • Describe a specific situation where you built a good working relationship with others over a period of time. What did you do to maintain this relationship? 

 

#7 TECHNOLOGY USE, MONITORING & CONTROL 

The first of the “hard” skills to make this latest list, technology use, monitoring, and control has risen significantly in importance and now impacts a broader range of role types than ever before. Effective use of technology can obviously be measured through software or language-specific tests and work samples. Successful performance in a role requiring technology use, monitoring, and control skills is also influenced by an individual’s aptitude, personality, and propensity to adhere to rules and standards. It requires the ability to identify the best technologies to solve problems, and openness to new technologies and untried methods.  

Assessing Technology Use, Monitoring & Control  

While technology use, monitoring, and control is largely a technical skill, workplace behavior, and risk traits factor into successful performance in roles requiring this skill, as well as the individual’s level of comfort with their role requirements. Some workplace behavior assessments measure a candidate’s natural tendency towards work that involves checking and monitoring. 

 

Roles requiring this skill often involve sustaining attention for a long period and ignoring or filtering out distractions. Attention to detail is also a critical factor. 

 

And like many of the other skills on this list, cognitive aptitude plays a significant role, particularly with respect to the ability to learn how things work, gain detailed and complex information quickly, solve problems, and work with novel or new information. 

 

Interview questions to assess Technology Use, Monitoring, & Control:  

  • Tell me about a time when you needed to inspect the quality of a product, process, or service at work. How did you ensure this was done accurately?  

  • When checking or monitoring work (your own or others), what are the most important things you are concerned about?  

  • Describe a time when your work had to comply with strict procedures or policies. What steps did you take to ensure you were following these procedures and policies appropriately?  

  • Describe a situation where your role has required you to use technology you are unfamiliar with. What approach did you take to become proficient? 

 

#8 TECHNOLOGY DESIGN & PROGRAMMING 

Like the previous skill, technology design and programming have risen to new prominence in this latest list and are now more important, and more prevalent, than before. Again, while the technical “hard skill” components of this skill are most appropriately identified through tests created for specific programming languages or design fundamentals, there is a range of soft skills required of individuals who are most likely to be successful in roles requiring the design of effective technological solutions for optimum user experience.  

Assessing Technology Design & Programming  

Like technology use, monitoring, and control, technology design, and programming is largely a technical skill. However, workplace behavior assessments that measure an individual’s technological and scientific proficiency can help predict success and job satisfaction for roles in which this skill is applied. 

 

As discussed earlier, technical skills of this ilk are generally applied in roles where sustaining attention for a long period and ignoring or filtering out distractions are important, along with attention to detail, is also a critical factor. Cognitive aptitude plays a significant role here too, again with respect to the ability to learn how things work, gain detailed and complex information quickly, solve problems, and work with novel or new information. 

 

Perhaps unexpectedly, emotional intelligence is also an important consideration when assessing technology design and programming skills. But consider this: the ability to understand a user audience and design for optimum user experience requires empathy and awareness of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do, both of which are characteristics of individuals with high EI. 

 

Interview questions to assess Technology Design & Programming:  

  • Describe a situation where your role has required you to use technology you are unfamiliar with. What approach did you take to become proficient?  

  • Tell me about a time you learned a new technological skill. What caused you to learn this skill? How did learning this skill help you to do your work?  

  • Describe a time when you successfully completed a task that involved utilizing your scientific or technical knowledge and skills. What did you do? What was the outcome? 

 

#9 RESILIENCE, STRESS TOLERANCE & FLEXIBILITY 

The ability to recover from setbacks, to effectively deal with difficult and stressful work conditions, and to adapt to continually changing circumstances is perhaps more important now than ever before. Over the last decade, a number of studies have identified that resilient employees score higher on performance appraisals, perform more effectively, feel more satisfied with their work and report greater accomplishment, can find meaning in and overcome stressful situations, are better equipped to deal with stressful events or conditions at work, and are more committed to and engaged with the organization and their job, and are therefore likely to stay with the organization for longer.  

Assessing Resilience, Stress Tolerance & Flexibility  

People with higher emotional intelligence tend to cope better with the emotional demands of stressful situations, because they are able to accurately perceive and appraise their emotions, know how and when to express their feelings, and can effectively regulate their mood states. Individuals with cognitive flexibility are able to adapt their thinking and develop different solutions when faced with change and uncertainty, provide a good indicator of whether the individual will remain calm and even-tempered when faced with setbacks, as well as their level of comfort with change (openness). 

 

Resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility can also be measured in a workplace behavior assessment. This assessment can tell you if a person is likely to easily bounce back after stressful events and continue to persevere and remain optimistic and self-confident. They can provide an indicator as to whether they will remain calm and focused in situations that put them under pressure, as well as their level of comfort in adapting to changes. 

  

Interview questions to assess Resilience, Stress Tolerance, & Flexibility:  

  • Tell me about a major professional failure or setback that you experienced. How did you react to the situation?  

  • Tell me about a time when you received some criticism. How did you feel? How did you react?  

  • Imagine you had a stressful day and a very important presentation to do the next morning. Describe how you would be feeling. What would you do? 

Check out our whitepaper “Hiring Resilient Employees,” which includes structured interview questions useful in determining candidate resilience. 

 

#10 REASON, PROBLEM-SOLVING & IDEATION 

The ability to reason, problem-solve, and conceive novel and effective ideas and approaches is becoming increasingly important (if not essential) to most roles.  

Problem-solving is often regarded as the basis for continuous improvement, communication, and learning. Employees with good problem-solving skills tend to also possess a range of other competencies such as logic, creativity, resilience, imagination, lateral thinking, and determination.  

The importance of ideation skills is perhaps obvious: new ideas drive new ways of working, products, inventions, solutions, and competitive advantages. Without these skills present in the workforce, organizations will struggle to survive.  

Assessing Reasoning, Problem-Solving, and Ideation  

Cognitive aptitude assessments measure an individual’s ability to process information and consider a number of elements such as costs and benefits to make a sound judgment or decision. Increasingly, these can be unique and novel, and the person needs to consider all circumstances to come up with appropriate actions and creative solutions.  

We recommend using one of Criteria’s cognitive aptitude assessments such as the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) or Cognify.  

Reasoning, problem-solving, and ideation can also be measured using a workplace behavior assessment that helps employers predict real-world performance. Problems pop up all the time and a good problem solver is motivated to fix issues and improve areas that can make an impact on a business. Individuals who display creativity and innovation in their approach to work have the ability to ideate and come up with new and original ideas to solve problems. 

We recommend using Illustrait to assess candidates using the following competencies:  

  • Solving and Improving Making improvements and solving problems or issues  

  • Creativity and Innovation Developing new and original ideas and approaches 

Interview questions to assess Reason, Problem-Solving, & Ideation:  

  • Tell me about the most difficult problem you have needed to solve at work. What was your process in finding a solution?  

  • Tell me about a time you have taken a new or unconventional approach to achieve a desired outcome. Why did you take this approach? What was the outcome?  

  • Imagine you had to come up with a creative idea at work, but you were struggling to think of anything. What strategies would you use to aid in your thinking? 

 

#11 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 

It’s no accident that emotional intelligence (EI) appears on this list time and again. Emotional intelligence is about using emotions, and our knowledge of emotions, in an intelligent way to enhance our thoughts, behaviors, and interpersonal effectiveness. It’s also about being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.  

In practical terms, people with well-developed emotional intelligence can create and manage relationships more effectively. They can work well with others, regulate their emotions appropriately, understand how others are feeling, and influence and inspire people. Many researchers have found strong links between EI and important organizational behaviors including leadership, performance on the job, organizational citizenship, commitment, and teamwork.  

Assessing Emotional Intelligence  

Emotional intelligence assessments are generally trait-based or ability-based. Ability-based EI tests are often more engaging and provide a better experience for the candidate. Whereas trait-based measures often focus on the test-taker rating their agreement with various statements, ability-based tests can require the test-taker to solve puzzles and emotion-related problems and rate emotions in pictures or images. Emotional perception, emotional understanding, and emotion management can be effectively measured, and all of these skills are especially useful for roles in which interpersonal interaction is an important factor.  

We recommend using Criteria’s ability-based EI assessment, Emotify, to measure a person’s emotional intelligence - their ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions. 

Workplace behavior assessments that measure interpersonal acumen and resilience are useful to provide additional insight into an individual’s emotional intelligence. They uncover whether the individual has a natural tendency to understand others’ emotions, needs, and motivations, and if they are effective at managing their own emotions and behaviors to engage with others more effectively. Their ability to control their emotions and keep calm in high-pressure situations is also an indicator of well-developed emotional intelligence. 

 

 

Interview questions to assess Emotional Intelligence:  

  • Talk about a time when you tailored your approach with a colleague based on how they seemed to be responding. How do you know you were effective?  

  • What strategies do you use to stay optimistic in the face of adversity? How effective are they?  

  • Tell me about a time when you had to take action in a high-pressure, emergency, or crisis situation. What did you do? How did you decide what action to take?  

  • Talk about the biggest change you have encountered in the workplace. What made this change so impactful? How did you react?  

Check out our whitepaper “Emotional Intelligence at Work,” for more information on EI in the workplace. 

 

#12 TROUBLESHOOTING & USER EXPERIENCE 

The ability to accurately identify and solve technical issues, focusing on a user-centered approach, has typically been the domain of technical support specialists. However, in the workplace of the future where reliance on both known and emerging technology will become even more prevalent, skills of this nature will be increasingly required in a broader range of role types.  

Assessing Troubleshooting & User Experience  

Again, while it may seem that this skill can be wholly assessed through technical skills testing and work samples, success in roles where troubleshooting and user experience skills are applied is also underpinned by a range of cognitive, workplace behavior, and emotional intelligence skills.  

The ability to understand often complex problems with a multitude of contributing factors, and to then be able to generate an appropriate solution that considers unique pieces of information, requires strong cognitive aptitude. Troubleshooting and user experience involve considering existing and new information in order to arrive at a solution for the customer or colleague and often requires strength in both verbal and written communication.  

We recommend using one of Criteria’s cognitive aptitude assessments such as the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) or Cognify.  

Roles requiring this skill require the individual to behave cooperatively and to accommodate the needs of others in arriving at a solution. Relative strength in both of these requirements can be measured via a scientifically-based workplace behavior assessment. 

Use Illustrait to assess candidates using the following competency:  

  • Solving and Improving  

  • Making improvements and solving problems or issues 

As the application of this skill often requires significant interaction with others, emotional intelligence plays an important part. EI skills mean people are more able to understand others’ points of view and empathize with users to arrive at user-focused solutions. This includes tailoring messages and experiences that are appropriate to different situations or users, and knowing when a change in approach is warranted in order to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. 

We recommend using Criteria’s ability-based EI assessment, Emotify, to measure a person’s emotional intelligence - their ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions. 

Interview questions to assess Troubleshooting & User Experience:  

  • Describe a time at work when you identified a pattern of problems and implemented a solution. How did you identify the underlying cause of the problems? What was your solution?  

  • Describe a time when you needed to develop innovative, new ideas to solve or improve things at work. What was the situation? What steps did you take to create your ideas?  

  • Tell me about the most difficult problem you have needed to solve at work. What was your process for finding a solution? 

We recommend using Criteria’s Video Interviewing and TestMaker to design your own work sample tests for this skill. 

 

#13 SERVICE ORIENTATION 

The ability and desire to anticipate, recognize, and meet others’ needs, sometimes even before those needs are articulated, is relevant to almost any role requiring human-to-human interaction. It’s about designing and delivering the best possible service for customers, regardless of whether those customers are internal or external to the organization.  

Assessing Service Orientation  

Service orientation is influenced by a range of factors including motivation, values, behavior traits, and organizational culture. A workplace alignment assessment can help in identifying people who have a strong preference for assisting and helping others, as well as measuring the degree of match between the environment the organization provides and the work factors the candidate considers most important. 

We recommend using Criteria’s Workplace Alignment Assessment (WAA) to measure the degree of alignment between an individual’s work preferences and what the organization provides. 

Individuals with strong service orientation have a behavioral tendency to provide service and support to others. They are able to listen and respond to customer needs, demonstrate empathy for clients, and appreciate issues from their perspective. They are able to understand and solve client problems or issues, provide timely responses, and apply effective communication in order to keep customers informed. Ultimately, individuals with strong service orientation are motivated by actively looking for ways to help others. 

We recommend using Illustrait to assess candidates using the following competency:  

  • Client and Customer Service  

  • Serving and supporting customers with their needs or issues 

Interview questions to assess Service Orientation:  

  • Describe a time you provided excellent customer service. What did you do? How did you know the customer/client was satisfied with the outcome?  

  • Please talk about a time when you have made a mistake that has impacted a client. What did you do to resolve the issue? What would you do differently next time?  

  • Describe a time when you needed to deal with a client or customer who was upset. How did you react? How did you resolve the situation? 

 

 

#14 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & EVALUATION 

System analysis and evaluation involve collecting and interpreting facts, identifying problems, and reviewing a particular system to identify areas of improvement and necessary enhancements. This is most commonly related to a technical system but is also relevant to non-technical work systems and processes.  

Application of this skill involves strategically evaluating methods and systems for achieving outcomes and requires the ability to synthesize/integrate information, understand patterns, and extrapolate knowledge across new domains.  

Assessing Systems Analysis & Evaluation  

In addition to system-specific technical skills tests, cognitive aptitude assessments are useful in evaluating an individual’s system analysis and evaluation skills. The ability to appraise different systems and consider multiple aspects of the problem requires strength in problem-solving. The ability to understand how an entire system works, and how an action, change or malfunction in one part of the system may impact the rest, is also measurable through a comprehensive cognitive aptitude test. And success in the application of this skill requires the ability to take a “big picture” perspective covering both short-term and long-term solutions and undertaking root-cause analysis.  

We recommend using one of Criteria’s cognitive aptitude assessments such as the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) or Cognify.  

Certain workplace behavior assessments specifically assess competencies that focus on analysis and evaluation. These are useful for identifying potential employees who are comfortable with gathering and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations to improve processes. 

We recommend using Illustrait to assess candidates using the following competencies:  

  • Investigating, Analyzing, and Evaluating  

  • Critically evaluating and analyzing information or data  

Interview questions to assess Systems Analysis & Evaluation:  

  • Describe a time when you had to analyze a large amount of information from multiple sources. How did you approach the management and integration of this information?  

  • Talk about a time when you needed to identify themes or commonalities in text or data and draw conclusions from that data. What was your process? What were your conclusions?  

  • Describe a time when you had to investigate a complex problem. What steps did you take? What information did you gather? 

 

#15 PERSUASION & NEGOTIATION 

Skill in persuasion and negotiation comes to play when bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences or to persuade others to your point of view. It’s relevant to change management, to supervising and managing high-performance teams, managing customer and stakeholder relationships, and in sales and service roles. The majority of leadership and people management roles require persuasion and negotiation.  

Assessing Persuasion & Negotiation  

Effective persuasion and negotiation require a person to use their emotional intelligence to dynamically understand how others feel, and potentially how they themselves feel, in situations when emotions can sometimes be strong. People with high EI are more likely to strategically use emotions to persuade others, resolve conflict, and reconcile differences.  

We recommend using Criteria’s Emotify assessment to measure a person’s emotional intelligence - their ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions.  

Persuasion and influencing skills are also identifiable through a workplace behavior assessment. They measure an individual’s level of comfort in persuading people and influencing their attitudes, behaviors, and intentions. These assessments also look at an individual’s potential competence to use persuasive techniques such as emotional appeals and logical arguments in order to negotiate effective outcomes. 

We recommend using Illustrait to assess candidates using the following competency:  

  • Persuading and Influencing  

  • Persuading, influencing, and negotiating with others  

Interview questions to assess Persuasion & Negotiation:  

  • Tell me about a time when you needed to guide a customer, client, or colleague to make a certain choice. What did you do?  

  • Describe a time when you intentionally influenced the decision-making process of your boss or leader. How did you go about this?  

  • Imagine that you had to encourage and motivate someone to change their behavior. What strategies would you use?
     

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