top of page

RiverForest Business Coaching Blogs

Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum

Starting a Business

What are Performance Assessments?

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/start.html

Starting a business


Want to be your own boss? The idea of starting a business is appealing to a lot of people and can be very rewarding. This information will help you plan for a successful start to your entrepreneurship journey.


Before starting your business


You want to start your own business, but have you done your homework? Think about what kind of a business you want, and whether you want to partner with someone. Will you buy an existing business, or build one from the ground up? Do you have a sound business idea and data to back it up? Get ready to take the plunge by doing solid research and the necessary planning.


Is entrepreneurship for you?


Find out if you have the entrepreneurial spirit and learn about the benefits of being your own boss.

Being your own boss can be very rewarding, but it's not for everyone. Before you take the first step, take some time to find out if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, to understand the benefits of entrepreneurship, and to learn about your chances of success.


Why consider entrepreneurship?


Read about the benefits of starting a business and being your own boss.

Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires business planning, innovation and risk-taking. It is a lot of work, but there are also many benefits to being your own boss.


Put your own ideas to work


Being your own boss can allow you the freedom and independence to use your own ideas. As an entrepreneur, your time and energy can be spent creatively by putting these ideas to work for you and the future success of your business. 

Performance Assessments

What are Performance Assessments?

Solution 6 – Performance Assessments


We can all agree that it's important to reward employees who meet or surpass performance standards. By acknowledging their contributions, you are showing their worth to the team, department and organization, but you need some acceptable recognized basis for this reward. An effective recognition system is simple, appears fair and unbiased to all involved, and encourages continued, similar behavior from that person and other employees.


Meritocracy, the system we all support, to be able to succeed, requires all of us to develop an appraisal process that is objective, hence fair and acceptable. Whilst it is acknowledged that no Appraisal System can be totally objective, we can surely attempt to minimize the element of subjectivity in it.


Our Scorecard based Performance Management System is a strategic tool that helps you translate strategy to action. It starts with integration of the Competency & PMS system with overall Vision & Strategies of the Organization. It helps organizations to set the desired performance benchmark which would enable them to achieve pre-determined Strategic Targets and gain competitive edge over the peers.


Our Scorecard based Performance Management System is designed and used as Strategic Tool by the organizations to;


•Communicate the Objectives of the Organization to the Stakeholders.

•Align the Individual Output with Organizational Goals.

•Evaluate the Strategy and Performance Setting

•Measurement of Performance, Feedback, Gaps, Achievements


Scorecard based Performance Management System is Management System that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy & translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. When fully deployed Scorecard based Performance Management System transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an enterprise.

Career and Succession  Assessments

What are Career and Succession Assessments?

Solution 5 – Career & Succession Assessments


Many organizations are currently failing to pay proper attention to their talent- related risks. It is important to embed talent risks such as succession, skills availability, key person dependencies and retirement cliffs firmly into an organization’s enterprise risk management framework. This helps to place these risks on the radar of the right people at the right level.


Talent-related decisions must be evaluated for their return on investment – and this intelligence should then be recycled to inform future talent decisions. Most importantly, strategic talent planning should be part of business planning – not a standalone and isolated HR exercise.


If your organization is to maintain its competitiveness in the future, finding and developing the next generation of leaders is critical.

Our Career Planning Inventory and Career & Vocational Preference Inventory helps you to assess leadership potential objectively. Rather than selecting leaders based on their present task performance, or their effectiveness at making connections with superiors, our standardized assessments tell you who has the necessary skills, competencies and characteristics to make the jump to the next level.

Culture  Assessments

What are Culture Assessments?

Solution 4 – Culture Assessments


Business Models are now influenced by Cultures. Creating a culture that favours innovation will be supported by new technologies. We provide a complete range of solutions in relation to initiating interpreting, integrating, involving, implementing a people perspective of any digital change at an institutional level.


We believe that cultural transformation programs involve altering structures, systems, leadership models and behaviors. These together create the culture in organizations.


We have developed & evolved a mature digital culture method which has been successfully shared globally. This includes Digital Tech Change Implementation, Performance Optimization, Start Up’s Attitudes, DDs, Process Gap Builds, Transformation, Technology Change, Innovation, Functional Optimization, Expansion, Diversification. 

Competency  Assessments

What are Competency Assessments?

Solution 3 – Competency Assessments


A Competency Assessment focuses on how well an employee is performing the required job in relation to specified performance standards. It is an ongoing process in which knowledge and skills are continually built. Being able to understand existing competences and develop new ones is critical to stay ahead of the curve.

But it is not just new competences that need to be developed. 


Competency levels can be used to define different stages of proficiency. This is useful for individuals as they progress through career from beginner to expert. For organizations, competency assessment can provide a great foundation for a succession planning process. Our Competency Assessment Tests will help you profile your workforce and find your finest people.


 A few of our Competency Assessment Tests are:


•TCM Assessed – Talent Competency Mapping V2424 PAF

•TCM Team - Talent Competency Mapping V2424 PAF

•TCM Boss - Talent Competency Mapping V2424 PAF

•POTAC 44 V1 – Potential Talent Assessment & Competency Evaluation

Recruitment Assessments

Assess Solutions

Solution 2 – Recruitment Assessments


Talent management starts with recruiting. Stronger recruiting efforts contribute to greater talent acquisition. Employee engagement adds to developing and retaining talent. It demonstrates the company’s appreciation of their value to the company — as it builds their value to the company.


The hiring process in an organization is often seen as time consuming and expensive. While aspects such as education, skills and experience can all be evaluated in an interview, other key aspects can be far more difficult to judge. Why do we then continue to rely on the same techniques, especially when the hired candidates don't always live up to expectations?


To ensure that you get an all-encompassing view of candidates, you can supplement you hiring process with RiverForest Recruitment Assessments. These assessments will help you accurately predict whether a candidate is a good fit for your organization. A few of the Assessments offered are as follows:


Standard Personality Typology & Behaviors (SPT) – This test measures various Competencies like Basic Attitude, Communication Skills, Confidence, Perseverance, Closing Deals, Interpersonal Relationships, Service Orientation, etc.


Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) – It is a structured interview format that is used to collect information about an individual’s past behavior. BEI is based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor for future behavior. The BEI Guide has a competency-wise indicative list of questions which can be referred to in order to have a discussion with candidates.


Professional Competence Diagnostic - This instrument measures competency gaps across 12 dimensions viz, Technical/Professional Knowledge, Organizational Know-how, Decision Making ability, Creativity, Social Skills, Self-Knowledge, Ability to grasp a situation, Mental Flexibility, Productivity, Moral Courage, Resilience, The Ability to learn from experience.


Aptitude Test – Aptitude / Ability Tests measure a person’s potential, for instance, to learn the skills needed for a new job or to cope with the demands of a training course. Our Aptitude / Ability Tests are categorised into Basic, Advanced & Business Aptitude Tests. They cover Abstract, Verbal, Numerical, Diagrammatic, Mechanical, Spatial, Clerical, Dexterity, Sensory, Data Interpretation, Professional Articulation, Analytical Planning, Forecasting, etc.

Talent Assessments

What are Talent Assessments?

Solution 1 – Talent Assessments


What are Talent Assessments?


Talent Assessments or Employment Screening Tests are used to help employers identify candidates that will be a good fit for jobs with their organization. Talent Assessment is a Strategic Business Activity & is now an agenda for the board. In the last decade, business leaders & hiring managers around the world have also been taking keen interest in the process of selection, development & engagement of their employees, owing to high costs related to making a wrong decision.

RiverForest Talent Assessments are effective tools for managing people – hiring the right person for the right job, evaluating candidates for a promotion, managing and developing your team members, and ultimately understanding the people who make up your workforce. Behavior, personality, cognitive, skills, integrity, job knowledge, and a variety of other assessments are used to uncover different aspects of a person’s makeup.


RiverForest Talent Assessments helps organizations find answers to basic questions like:


Do our leaders demonstrate the right skills & behaviors required to lead the organization?

How do we identify the areas of improvement & development for high-performing employees?

What are the appropriate tools for assessing employees?

How to measure the quality of leadership pipeline?

How do we position our employees into new roles identified in the new organization structure?

What data & inputs would help our Training & Development charter be more effective?

How do we ensure a merit-based fair selection process to identify potential talent?

In order to answer the questions RiverForest Connections offers the following Assessments to organizations for fulfilling their vision of building a capable & high performing workforce.


Analytics – This includes the Data Interpretation, Sufficiency, Spatial Test. These tests assess the ability to understand complex concepts & assimilate new information beyond previous experience. This exercise is designed to assess speed & accuracy in checking detailed information.


Articulation – The Applied language reasoning analysis measures a broad ability to understand applied technical principles. This exercise measures the ability to understand concepts framed in words.


Rationality – The Rationality or Reasoning Test assesses a person’s ability to use words in a logical way. This aptitude has to do with one’s ability to reason with verbal, mathematical & visual configurations.


Performance – The Quantitative Critical Performance Test assesses a person’s ability to use strategic, symbolic, analytic, comprehensive, quantitative, sufficiency, creative, numerical information in a logical & rational way. This exercise measures basic skills with an emphasis on straight forward thinking, analysis, interpretation, articulation, conclusions, calculation & understanding of arithmetic operation.


Careers and Vocational – The Career & Vocational Reasoning test assesses a person’s ability to critically evaluate complex verbal arguments, show fluency of words, appropriate usage, social interpretation of words, interpreting meaning & tact in language.

Organizational Building

Searching for Entrepreneurs

Transparency and accountability are critical for reform 


In many cases, the lack of transparency and accountability allows officials to abuse the law for personal gains. One key mechanism for creating transparency is a free media industry which serves as a check on those in positions to abuse the political and legal institutions (see Coyne and Leeson 2004). Increased transparency and accountability reduce the payoff to unproductive activities.


Reform needs to be decentralized 


Reform efforts should be decentralized to the local level so that those that truly understand these challenges are involved in the reform process. For example, as discussed previously, entrepreneurs in rural Romania face a special set of challenges. Currently, the national government controls all reform efforts and neglects the unique situation of rural entrepreneurs.


Identifying, maintaining, managing indigenous institutions is key


Indigenous institutions are embedded and accepted means of coordinating activities and overcoming situations of conflict. As such, they provide a ready-made framework for increasing coordination on a large scale. Institutions, practices and markets that are informal or “black” should be incorporated into the formal sector. - KPMG LLP

Is there a Formula?

Where Can we Find Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship is omnipresent 


Entrepreneurs are present in all settings. Cultural explanations for a lack of entrepreneurship overlook what people have in common – namely alertness for profit and to improve their general situations. Underdeveloped nations do not lack entrepreneurship. Rather, entrepreneurial activities exist but are not directed toward productive ends conducive to economic progress.


A Government cannot create entrepreneurship 


Given that entrepreneurs are omnipresent, government policy cannot “create” entrepreneurship. Instead, emphasis should be placed on creating a general institutional framework, making payoffs to productive entrepreneurship relatively high compared to unproductive and evasive activities. Resources should not be allocated to “encouraging” or “training” entrepreneurs, but to develop the necessary institutional context to allow productive activities to come to the forefront - KPMG LLP

Characteristics - Entrepreneur

What Determines Type of Entrepreneurship

The quality of institutions in any given society
    • Rules of the game
    • The Legitimacy of the rules
    • Social capital issues
    • The enforcement of rules
Public Policies Adopted in any society
    • Security of Private Property Rights
    • Freedom of Contract
    • Monetary restraint
    • Fiscal responsibility
    • Free Trade

Contact Us

We love hearing from you, let us know what’s on your mind

Name*

Email Address*

Message*

bottom of page