• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

All ye job-aspirants, get `certified' now!

Anjali Prayag

BANGALORE, June 12

THE day is not far off when all managers will carry personal accreditation and certification! The concept of pre-employment credentialisation of job-aspirants is catching on fast. And, one of the first ones to do it in India is the Bangalore-based Eduqui ty Career Technologies, an HR assessment company.

The process works this way: When an organisation wants to hire a manager, all it has to do is get an assessment company to check his\her background -- professional, academic and personal. The applicant is then given a credentialisation that is recognised by companies. ``It is like ISO certification for companies,'' says Mr N. Bringi Dev, Chief Operating Officer, Eduquity Technologies.

The company aims to create standards that managers will identify with. Eduquity's team is now equipped to certify middle-level managers.

Eduquity assesses the inherent potential of the individual. This is done through a battery of psychographic and personality tests. In the IT industry, the chances of finding the right fit is 15:1.

``It's not just whether the individual knows how to play the fiddle, it is also whether he knows all the tunes and whether he plays them right. The right people need not be the best,'' says Mr Dev.

All the tests that Eduquity uses are developed in-house in India. They have all been have normalised and validated for Indian companies and employees. Some of Eduquity's corporate offerings include aptitude tests, a suite of psychological tests, the glob al personality inventory and the emotional intelligence inventory. Affirms Mr Dev: ``We have the technology to deliver these facilities.''

Eduquity has worked with an insurance company where it developed a model for insurance agents. According to Mr Dev the acceptance of these tests is higher among the IT companies where HR managers understand the need for personal assessment of individuals . Some companies even use it for the internal development of employees.

All these tests are a measure of the efficiency of a person. Individuals have to be inherently capable of achieving success. Mr Dev says that the concept of business process re-engineering (BPR) did not work because it aimed at changing processes, not pe ople.

He is skeptical also about the relevance of IQ as a measure of success of an individual. It is now considered a non-viable and inert measure of an individual's potential. ``Because there was no behavioural test before that, it was called a successful int elligence test.'' Any psychological test should be multi-dimensional, he clarifies.

Eduquity Technologies is funded by Silicon-based Vish Akella and Acclaim Ventures.