Abstract:

Cognitive Competencies like logical thinking or language proficiency are relatively easy to assess by standardised tests. For those competencies it is quite obvious how to apply the respective assessment tools. But adequate tools are lacking when it comes to the assessment of complex competencies, which are mainly visible in certain kinds of behaviour like innovation competencies. Behaviour assessment in general and especially the assessment of innovative behaviour requires assessors who are able to observe accurately according to certain standards, who are able to avoid common errors in observation and assessment, and who are able to follow a prescribed frame of reference they did not necessarily share before.

A special training will be presented to train teachers in Higher Education Institutions (HEI), Human Resource (HR) personnel in companies as well as students and employees to observe and rate behaviour that is connected to innovation competence. This rater training can be carried out in two different formats: a traditional face-to-face training form for small groups, which is accompanied by a training manual, and as an open online training for individual users or mini-groups.

On the basis of research starting in the 1980s and 90s, (Bernardin, H.J. & Buckley, M.R. (1981)) a new form of rater training has been developed. It combines three promising methods from the early days of rater training (behaviour observation training, rater error training and frame of reference training) and recent findings (Roch, S. et.al. (2012), Gorman, C. et al., (2015). The major methodological emphasis is on modern forms of video-training.

This toolkit for behaviour assessment is part of a larger research project which after a concise needs analysis of companies and HEI developed a measurement tool for the assessment of innovation competence in students and company staff (Marin-Garcia, J., et al. (2016)). The project aims at smoothing the way for students from the university into working life and at helping HR personnel to identify and develop innovation competencies in their company´s staff.

Mainly the training is constructed for improving 3rd person assessments but it is also possible to use it for self-assessments. It generally aims at increasing interrater-accuracy and therefore may be regarded as a means for helping to close the gap between 1st and 3rd person assessments.

The presentation will describe the structure and development of the assessment toolkit and show interactive examples of the new rater training. There will also be an overview of first experiences from companies and universities.

References:
[1] Bernardin, H.J. & Buckley, M.R. (1981) Strategies in Rater Training. The Academy of Management Review, 6(2), April 1981), 205-212.
[2] Gorman, C. Allen, et al., (2015) Current Trends in Rater Training: A Survey of Rater Training Programs in American Organizations, in: O'Leary, B. et al. (ed.) Trends in Training l.
[3] Marin-Garcia, J., et al. (2016) Proposal of a Framework for Innovation Competencies Development and Assessment (FINCODA). WPOM-Working Papers on Operations Management, 7(2), 119-126.
[4] Roch, S. et. al (2012). Rater training revisited: An updated meta-analytic review of frame-of-reference training. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85 (2), 370–395.

Keywords:

Innovation Competencies, Rater Training, University-Company-Cooperation.