Making Transformation Work - Preparing Army Personnel Management Systems for the Future Force
The US Army is undertaking fundamental, systematic changes to transform into the 'Future Force'. While a major part of this transformation involves new, cutting-edge technology, Army leadership recognizes the critical importance of its people, soldiers, to the effectiveness of transformation. To address the people dimension of transformation, HumRRO, under contract to the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI), is engaged in several programmatic research efforts (Select21, NCO21, PerformM21) to enhance future soldier selection, classification, development, and promotion systems.
The 5-year 'Select21' project is focused on enhancing the selection and classification of entry-level soldiers for 21st century performance requirements. The ultimate objectives of this project are to develop, validate, and recommend measures of critical attributes predictive of Future Force success. Starting with a future-oriented job analysis, HumRRO has developed a set of innovative, experimental computer-based measures of characteristics not assessed by the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). These include assessments of noncognitive attributes (personality, values, and interests) that seek to minimize response distortion issues, a situational judgment test, and psychomotor tests. Currently, these predictors are being validated against multiple performance criteria (e.g., scores on job knowledge tests, job performance ratings, and recorded accomplishments) and indices of organizational fit (e.g., satisfaction and turnover).
The 'NCO21' project (1997-2005) centers on the Army's enlisted performance management system, in particular the promotion of junior enlisted personnel into the noncommissioned officer (NCO) ranks. The objective of this project is to develop, validate, and recommend predictor measures to improve promotion decisions from entry-level soldier to intermediate supervisory levels (sergeant and staff sergeant). As with Select 21, a future-oriented job analysis provided the foundation for the development of a set of predictor measures assessing key attributes predictive of NCO performance, including personality, situational judgment, and work-related experiences. A large concurrent validation effort provided evidence in support of these measures. As a follow-up, a longitudinal validation involving the most promising predictors is in its final stages.
The NCO21 project purposely excluded direct assessment of technical skills. This element is addressed by a third project 'PerformM21'. PerformM21 is a 3-year (2002-2005) feasibility effort to identify an effective, cutting-edge yet affordable performance assessment system to test soldiers' technical skills. For the 21st century Army, assessing these skills will be important for informing promotion decisions and for evaluating the mission readiness of individual soldiers and units. To date, PerformM21 has produced
- design recommendations for a broad-based operational testing program,
- estimated costs for the testing program,
- prototype tests using a variety of computer-based measurement methods,
- prototype occupational analysis methods to support assessment development, and
- prototype study guides and self-assessment tools to prepare soldiers for testing.
Collectively, these three projects have provided a solid foundation for the Army to develop an enlisted personnel management system to support the Future Force. In addition to meeting the 21st century needs of Army personnel managers, the research resulted in important advances in personnel testing and assessment, including the application of future-oriented job analysis and the development of innovative measures of new, emerging predictors (e.g., interpersonal skills).
For more information, contact:
Dr. Deirdre Knapp or Research Notes