ISO 10667-1:2020

Introduction

0.1 General

The ISO 10667 series ensures that the benefits of using assessments are realized. This document focuses on aspects of the quality of assessment service delivery in work and organizational settings that occur across the employment life cycle, such as recruitment and selection; career or vocational guidance; learning and development; succession planning; and outplacement. This document establishes a framework for the assessment process. Its scope covers how all assessments in work and organizational settings are carried out (directly to assessment participants and indirectly to users of assessment data). It also identifies core concepts, related to assessment, such as the use of evidence-based approaches, fairness, and validity to enhance quality and utility in any assessment process.

The ISO 10667 series consists of two parts:

• —Part 1 addresses the responsibilities of a client;
• —Part 2 addresses the responsibilities of a service provider.

This standard also provides a framework within which to position more specific national and international standards and qualifications related to assessments.

The ISO 10667 series presents an evidence-based perspective of the assessment service delivery process that has worldwide applicability. It enables an organization to become a more effective use of assessment, making better hiring decisions and enhancing the potential, well-being, and employee-organization fit of all its employees. This course promotes the provision of standardized, appropriate and equitable delivery of assessment services. It also enables regulatory bodies, other authorities, and society at large to have more confidence in assessment procedures.

The ISO 10667 series provides clear and concise requirements and guidance for the clients who require assessment services and their service providers, in order to enable all stakeholders to realize the potential benefits of good assessment practices. This is achieved by:

• —defining good practice for assessment procedures and methods;
• —ensuring fairness in the application of assessment procedures;
• —enabling appropriate evaluation of the quality of assessment service provision;
• —exploring advantages and disadvantages resulting from and/or associated with the implementation of assessment services and procedures.

It is likely that users of the ISO 10667 series initially possess very different levels of competence, understanding, and familiarity with the concepts involved in the development of standardized procedures and methods to assess individuals, groups, and organizations in the occupational arena. Accordingly, in order to facilitate its use by a variety of stakeholders and to provide guidance about the background of the ISO 10667 series, this introduction presents key information about the utility, intent, and layout of the ISO 10667 series.

0.2 Function of the ISO 10667 series

The ISO 10667 series relates to the delivery of assessments used at the individual, group, and organizational levels. The ISO 10667 series aims to promote good practices and to encourage clear documentation of the working relationship between a client and its service provider(s) involved in the assessment delivery process.

The aim of the ISO 10667 series is not that organizations – especially small and medium-sized organizations – are necessarily forced to work with external providers to further improve the quality of their assessment processes. In fact, the ISO 10667 series is guidance for organizations to implement assessment processes with or without any external support.

It functions as practical guidance for both the client and the service provider(s) involved in the assessment delivery process. It describes their respective obligations and responsibilities before, during, and after the assessment process. It also provides guidance on the rights and responsibilities of assessment participants and others involved in assessment procedures, including recipients of the assessment results.

NOTE Parties in the assessment process have different roles and interact with each other throughout the assessment process. In addition, a single party can serve multiple roles. For example, in a career counseling setting, a participant purchases the services and thus is also the client; an internal HR team provides services to the organization and at the same time uses assessment services provided by external vendors.

0.3 Intended users of the ISO 10667 series

The ISO 10667 series is intended for clients and service providers who need to work both sequentially and collaboratively in order to ensure the effective delivery of assessment services. This course provides requirements and guidance for the client. ISO 10667-2 provides requirements and guidance for the service provider. A client should be aware of and adhere to this course in initiating an appropriate request for assessment services, including fully disclosing its assessment needs and implementing the requirements of this course. However, if a service provider learns that a prospective client is not aware of or using this course, it should inform the client of these best practices and encourage the client to act in accordance with this course with respect to the entire assessment process.

A service provider is involved in the provision of assessment services in work and organizational settings, either as an internal employee of a client or as an external contractor. A client is a person seeking assessment services for himself or herself, or an organization seeking assessment services for individuals or groups within the organization or for the organization itself.

In both parts of the ISO 10667 series, Annex A outlines the rights and responsibilities of the assessment participant.

0.4 Other stakeholders

In addition to service providers, clients, and assessment participants, stakeholders might include the following.

• a)End users of assessment information within an organization who make strategic decisions, and operational decisions (e.g. hiring managers in the case of assessment for selection, human resources managers in the case of succession planning or organizational talent management, executive management in the case of mergers and acquisitions) or both.

NOTE In some countries work councils or employee representatives also have access to the assessment information.

• b)External intermediaries or indirect users include, but are not limited to:
  • 1)developers and distributors of assessment procedures;
  • 2)recruiters, coaches, and outplacement counselors;
  • 3)organizations that provide assessment for licensing or certification of people;
  • 4)assessors of training or vocational education programs;
  • 5)policymakers (e.g. human resources managers setting organizational assessment policy, work councils engaged in assessment policy and procedure, external policymakers such as professional bodies, regulatory authorities, and others who rely on the results of assessment).

0.5 Assessment level categories

The ISO 10667 series covers procedures and methods for the following levels of assessment:

• a) individual-level assessment;
• b) group-level assessment;
• c)organizational level assessment.

0.6 Purpose of assessment

The ISO 10667 series covers all assessments that occur within an employment or occupational context. Aspects of the employment life cycle where assessment is commonly used include, but are not limited to:

• a)internship and trainee programs;
• b)recruitment and selection;
• c)career or vocational guidance;
• d)job rotation, career change, or reintegration into the workforce;
• e)development, coaching, and mentoring;
• f)promotion and succession planning;
• g)outplacement and job separation;
• h)retirement planning;
• i)performance management;
• j)employee satisfaction, culture change due to merger or acquisition, employee engagement levels of organizational business units;
• k)determination of eligibility, qualifications, or both in certain job categories, including for health and safety or regulatory compliance.

0.7 Means of assessment

The ISO 10667 series covers procedures and methods that are used for the purposes specified in 0.6 and targeting the levels specified in 0.5. Such methods include, but are not limited to, interviews; behavior observations and simulations; document analysis; questionnaires; CV parsing; voice and video analysis; algorithm-based screening and selection; surveillance methods; and other assessment procedures and approaches used to collect assessment data regardless of how they are developed and marketed (e.g. artificial intelligence).

0.8 Organization of the ISO 10667 series

To build an efficient standard, useful to both the client and the service provider, the assessment process has been divided into four stages:

• —agreement procedures;
• —pre-assessment procedures;
• —assessment delivery;
• —a post-assessment review.

This course addresses the requirements applicable to a client who determines that they have a need for one or more assessments for use in the employment life cycle, and then seeks to obtain such assessment services from a service provider it selects. ISO 10667-2 addresses the requirements applicable to a service provider from whom a client seeks recommendations about what assessments might meet its needs, and then provides assessment services to a client once it is selected based on those recommendations.

In both parts of the ISO 10667 series, each assessment stage is covered in a separate clause as follows.

• a)Agreement procedures describe mutual responsibilities and obligations of the client and the service provider, as well as the format of their agreement and a description of what must be covered in the agreement; documenting the agreement between the client and the service provider through a written statement of work, or contract, as appropriate.
• b)Pre-assessment procedures cover:
  • 1)identifying what needs to be assessed and how together with choosing the criteria for evaluating success and having a clear expectation of the utility of the process;
  • 2)determining whether there are conflicting interests that need to be balanced;
  • 3) Provide a clear rationale for the assessment.
• c)Assessment delivery covers all phases of preparing for and carrying out the assessments.
• d)Post-assessment review evaluates the assessment process and the assessment results to determine whether the outcomes, consequences, and utility of the assessment are consistent with the assessment needs, whether the goals are met and what changes in the assessment process should be adopted for future use by the client.

(source iso.org)