Doing It Fast vs Doing It Right

What NOT to cut corners on when implementing assessments at scale 

I recently sat down with Nick Brown, our Director of Professional Services, for an episode of The Score, Sova’s podcast about the future of talent assessment. We talked about what it really takes to deliver a great client experience, especially when you’re working at scale. And, of course, one challenge came up multiple times: balancing speed, science, and service.  

Clients often come to us with a clear ask: an assessment that’s fair, predictive, branded, and live next week. I may be exaggerating slightly but speed of delivery really does matter in the current job market - hiring decisions can’t wait. 

Fortunately, speed, science, and seamless delivery do not have to be mutually exclusive. By working collaboratively, being strongly aligned across teams (IO Psychology and Professional Services) and taking a partnership approach with our clients, we can achieve this. 

And fast delivery doesn’t have to mean cutting corners. But it does mean we need to be crystal clear from the outset about what can be flexed, and what absolutely can’t. 

The non-negotiables 

These are the things that, if skipped or rushed, will come back to bite you, whether in the form of regulatory risk, poor candidate experience, or simply an assessment that doesn’t do what it’s meant to do. 

1. Setting clear objectives 

The single most important consideration at the start of a rollout is alignment. Teams need to agree on what we are all trying to achieve. If the objective is “delivery in one week,” that’s a perfectly valid goal, but let’s also be honest about what we can do quickly, and where we might need to slow down to avoid compromising on fairness or validity. A transparent conversation upfront saves stress later. 

2. Ensuring role relevance 

Even with pre-built, role-based assessments, we need to be clear that the assessment is suitable for the role. Understanding the role requirements and the skills needed can take the form of reviewing job descriptions, skills frameworks and speaking to SMEs who know and understand the role. Do the skills measured in the assessment map to the requirements of the role? Is the assessment designed to operate at the same level as the role? Understanding this early in the process can help keep momentum going. Of course, it’s also important to be aware of, and abide by local legislation in this regard.   

3. Job analysis and validation 

When designing a customised assessment, more time is needed to ensure the results are meaningful and defensible. It’s not just about compliance, but about building assessments that genuinely reflect the demands of the role and stand up to scrutiny. However, a well-managed job analysis and validation study doesn’t need to slow down proceedings too much! 

4. Communicating internally 

When timelines are tight, we need our clients to know exactly what’s needed from them and in turn, they need to be ready with a good internal communication plan. That might include things like availability for job analysis or validation studies, or providing design assets for branding promptly. A smooth implementation is always a collaborative one. And as Nick reminded me, in some projects, our clients are making major changes to their processes and the impact on stakeholders should not be under-estimated.  

Where you can be flexible 

There are ways to work faster without risking the integrity of the assessment or the experience. Some of them include: 

1. Going pre-built 

Customisation is great, but when the clock is ticking, pre-built assessments might be the best route. Using a pre-built assessment, you can expect good science complemented by scalability, which means you get rigour and speed.  

2. Phased validation 

If we know from the outset that validation is required, we can plan for it in a way that supports roll-out timelines.  If you have multiple roles, our project managers can help you find a way to manage the process aligned to your internal deadlines and workload. However, as I discussed with Nick, there are moments where we encourage our clients to pause, sense-check and then decide on an approach. Decisions need to support long-term success as well as immediate goals. The key is planning, so the science is still robust. 

3. Brand in stages 

A fully branded assessment journey is a great way to make an impression on candidates, but it’s not always essential from day one. You could work with minimal branding initially and phase in the fully branded candidate experience later, especially if your team is still preparing assets. It’s all about being practical without losing sight of the end goal. 

 Bringing It All Together 

Ultimately, the success of any implementation, whether global or local, comes down to collaboration. Project managers are experts in delivery and logistics. IO Psychologists are experts in science and best practice. And clients are experts in their own organisation’s context, goals, and requirements. When we all work in partnership, we can deliver assessments that are fair, fast, and accurate. 

If you’d like to check out the full conversation with Nick Brown, you can do so on YouTube, Spotify, or the Sova Website.  

Thanks for reading,   

Nicola Tatham, Chief IO Psychologist, Sova