Harrison Assessment Tests Engagement and Retention Analysis 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: How does Harrison Assessments differentiate between 'can do' factors and 'will do' factors in the context of employee retention?
- 'Can do' relates to physical ability; 'will do' relates to psychological safety
- 'Can do' measures skills and knowledge; 'will do' measures trait-driven motivation and engagement (Correct answer)
- 'Can do' predicts short-term performance; 'will do' predicts team collaboration only
- 'Can do' and 'will do' are synonymous terms within the Harrison framework
Correct answer: 'Can do' measures skills and knowledge; 'will do' measures trait-driven motivation and engagement
Harrison distinguishes 'can do' (skills/competencies) from 'will do' (traits and preferences), emphasizing that retention depends primarily on 'will do' factors because motivation sustains long-term engagement.
Question 2: An employee scores high on 'frankness' and low on 'diplomacy' in a Harrison Assessment. In which work environment is this person most likely to disengage?
- Roles requiring frequent written reports
- Environments with rigid hierarchy and cultures prioritizing indirect communication (Correct answer)
- Remote work settings with limited face-to-face interaction
- Roles with high autonomy and minimal team collaboration
Correct answer: Environments with rigid hierarchy and cultures prioritizing indirect communication
High frankness without diplomatic balance creates friction in cultures that prize indirect or politically careful communication, leading to disengagement when the employee's natural style is penalized.
Question 3: When using Harrison Assessments for succession planning, which engagement factor is most critical to assess in internal candidates?
- Years of service in the organization
- Trait alignment between the candidate's profile and the engagement requirements of the target role (Correct answer)
- Number of direct reports managed in previous roles
- Educational credentials and certification history
Correct answer: Trait alignment between the candidate's profile and the engagement requirements of the target role
Succession planning requires verifying that the promoted employee's traits will generate engagement in the new role, not just their performance in the previous one.
Question 4: A Harrison Assessment retention analysis reveals that a department's turnover spikes at the 18-month mark. What trait misalignment pattern typically explains this?
- Employees with high enthusiasm who become bored once initial novelty wears off and challenge decreases (Correct answer)
- Employees with low optimism who leave after the probationary period ends
- Employees with high warmth who eventually seek management positions
- Employees with low self-discipline who miss early performance benchmarks
Correct answer: Employees with high enthusiasm who become bored once initial novelty wears off and challenge decreases
Harrison research links 18-month turnover spikes to high-enthusiasm employees whose engagement was driven by novelty; once the role becomes routine, the trait mismatch with 'wants variety' drives departure.
Question 5: In Harrison's engagement model, which intervention is most effective for retaining employees who score high on 'wants learning opportunities'?
- Increasing monetary bonuses tied to performance metrics
- Creating structured learning pathways, mentorships, and cross-functional project exposure (Correct answer)
- Reducing workload to provide more free time for self-directed study
- Transferring the employee to a team with more experienced peers
Correct answer: Creating structured learning pathways, mentorships, and cross-functional project exposure
Employees with a strong 'wants learning opportunities' trait in Harrison require structured developmental experiences to remain engaged; passive access to learning is insufficient.
Question 6: Which Harrison Assessment output is most useful when designing a targeted retention program for a specific job family?
- Individual trait scores for each employee in isolation
- Validated job benchmarks that define the trait profile of high-performing, long-tenured employees (Correct answer)
- Exit interview themes compiled over the past year
- Annual engagement survey verbatim comments
Correct answer: Validated job benchmarks that define the trait profile of high-performing, long-tenured employees
Validated Harrison job benchmarks derived from high performers and long-tenured employees provide a scientifically grounded target profile for retention-focused hiring and development programs.
Question 7: An employee's Harrison profile shows high 'warmth' but low 'assertiveness.' Which retention risk is most likely in a competitive, results-driven team culture?
- The employee will dominate team discussions and alienate peers
- The employee will struggle to advocate for their needs, leading to feeling undervalued and eventual disengagement (Correct answer)
- The employee will over-invest in client relationships at the expense of internal goals
- There is no retention risk—warmth is universally valued in all team cultures
Correct answer: The employee will struggle to advocate for their needs, leading to feeling undervalued and eventual disengagement
Low assertiveness prevents the employee from self-advocating in competitive cultures, causing their contributions to go unrecognized and their needs unmet, which Harrison links to disengagement over time.
Harrison Assessment Tests Engagement and Retention Analysis 4
How does Harrison Assessments differentiate between 'can do' factors and 'will do' factors in the context of employee retention?