welcome to brighter

Ten behavioral traits to

assess while evaluating
for promotions
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Table of contents
1. Introduction

2. Traits to assess when deciding promotions

1 Passion for work 6 Moral integrity

and honesty

2 Strong work ethic 7 Leadership skills

3 Creativity 8 Problem-solving

Strong
4 9 Eagerness to learn
communication skills

5 Self-motivation 10 Critical thinking

3. Conclusion
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Introduction
Internal promotions are one of the easiest ways to boost employee morale and improve retention.
The right promotion helps managers save time and money and is crucial for building and
strengthening team spirit. However, it is often difficult to identify the right promotion plan
for various employee categories, as it cannot be a one-size-fits-all exercise.

Here are ten job competencies and skills to consider or measure while selecting candidates
for promotion.

Eagerness
Passion for work
to learn
Leadership
skills Strong
Problem-solving work ethic
Moral integrity and honesty

Critical thinking
Strong Self-motivation
communication
skills
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Traits to assess when

deciding promotions

Passion for work Creativity

Passionate employees tend to be more
engaged compared to others. The trait
makes a difference in the quality of work and
commitment to the organization. Furthermore,
the difference is also visible in employees'
long-term job performance. A dispassionate
employee may display signs of decreased
productivity and motivation.
Passionate employees can be identified by:
Another job competency to look out for
is creativity. Modern businesses have
complicated structures with multiple
processes operating simultaneously.
Combined with the increasing pace of
digitization over the past few years, job roles
today require perspective beyond theoretical
knowledge and training. As a result,
employees who can find creative solutions
and learn on the job are in high demand.

• Their long-term commitment to a

specific domain
• Their zeal to gain new knowledge
or learn
• The tendency to form sustainable
relationships

Strong work ethic

A strong work ethic is a critical differentiator

between the top and average performers.
Ideal employees have admirable work ethics.
They are hard-working, dedicated, and
determined to deliver the best results on time.

Employees with reliable work ethics require

less management to get the job done. In
addition, their positive approach makes it
easier for managers to delegate tasks.
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Strong Self-motivation
communication skills
Another trait to keep a tab on when
measuring competencies for promotion is
Communication is one of the most
self-motivation. Good employees tend to
desirable soft skills or job competencies in
be self-motivated. They understand the
an employee. Strong communication skills
importance of their work and aim to do
allow employees to interact with clients,
it justice. Such employees are more likely
customers, managers and colleagues clearly,
to take on additional responsibilities and
reducing misunderstanding and avoiding
show a higher level of engagement. These
conflicts. Strong communication skills also
self-motivated employees align their
mean that ideas are understood clearly, as
personal growth and development with their
being a good listener is critical.
organization and strive to excel.
Organizations can easily measure
Psychometric assessments are the easiest
candidates' communication skills by
way to measure employee motivation.
employing Mercer | Mettl’s SpeechX.
Mercer | Mettl’s Motivation Inventory (MMI)
The tool combines the best of human
comprehensively explains what motivates
and artificial intelligence (AI) and provides
employees to perform their jobs effectively.
globally recognized and actionable scores.
It helps assess intrinsic and extrinsic
motivators. Furthermore, MMI can be utilized
for learning and development (L&D) and
improving retention rates, which have been
directly correlated with a motivated workforce.

Moral integrity and honesty

There are many situations in the workplace

that create ethical and moral dilemmas for
employees. In such cases, organizations
trust honest employees to make the right
decision regarding the company's best
interests. In addition, honest employees
earn the trust of management by being
accountable for their actions. This makes it
a desirable trait to look for when shortlisting
candidates for promotion.

Connect to an expert
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Leadership skills The test also assesses job competencies

such as:

Leadership is another trait that is high in Creativity

demand and one of the critical competencies
to be measured when deciding on promotions.
Leadership skills mean leading and motivating Innovation management
team members toward achieving a goal.

It also means helping develop the potential External awareness

of team members and encouraging them to
collaborate.
Openness to change
Companies can use Mercer | Mettl’s
Leadership Assessment to measure
leadership skills. The fully customizable test
Conflict management
measures candidates' ability to assign tasks,
plan individual development plans
and convince others of their ideas.
Team building

Accountability

Decisiveness

Problem-solving

Moral integrity and honesty
There are many situations in the workplace
that create ethical and moral dilemmas for
employees. In such cases, organizations trust
honest employees to make the right decision
regarding the company's best interests. In
addition, honest employees earn the trust of
management by being accountable for their
actions. This makes it a desirable trait to look
for when shortlisting candidates
for promotion.
Problem-solving
When promoting an employee, the
management isn’t just looking for someone
who will do their bidding or pass on
instructions to executives. They want people
who can identify and address an issue before
it becomes a problem. The employee should
be able to execute effective solutions to
problems they or their team members might
face while trying to accomplish their tasks. The
trait is also helpful in relationship-building and
decision-making.
7
Eagerness to learn
When deciding to promote an employee,
organizations look for candidates who are
trying to make themselves better by learning
and expanding their portfolio. Employees
with this skill set adapt better to changing
situations. Their eagerness to new learn
new things also indicates dedication. This
motivates others around them to grow.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the act of analyzing facts
and data to understand a topic or a problem.
The process involves collecting information
and data, asking questions, and arriving at
possible solutions. Critical thinkers are great
employees as they analyze the problem by
eliminating emotions and assumptions to
influence their decisions. As such, they are an
ideal candidate when it comes to promotions.
Connect to an expert
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Conclusion
Internal promotion is an excellent opportunity
for businesses to save money and time,
improve retention rates, and boost morale.
However, the key is to identify the right
candidate for promotion. It can be done
through a job-based competency analysis.
Assessing the abovementioned competencies
can help an organization select the right
candidate for promotion.

Connect to an expert
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About us
At Mercer | Mettl, our mission is to enable
organizations to make better people decisions across
two key areas: acquisition and development. Since our
inception in 2010, we have partnered with more than
4,000 corporates, 31 sector skills councils/government
departments and 500+ educational institutions across
more than 90 countries.

mettlcontact@mercer.com

www.mettl.com

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