COMPANY INSIGHT

My Potentia: the only digitised, language free and culturally fair assessment of cognitive potential or trainability in the world.

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ver 100 years of selection research has shown, independent of industry or role level, cognitive ability is the single most predictive factor determining the level to which a person will perform. This presents a compelling argument to make the measurement of cognitive ability a necessary part of any effective employee assessment and selection process.

My Potentia (MP) is the only assessment of cognitive potential that can be used universally, as it contains no language or culturally specific symbols and icons. This makes it particularly useful for assessment where candidates come from linguistically diverse and multi-cultural backgrounds.

MP is built on assessments developed by Australian Army psychologists, first used in 1957 to select indigenous recruits in Papua New Guinea, and relied on for over 50 years. Since this time the assessments have undergone significant research and refinement by Emeritus Professor G K Kearney who in 2004 partnered with Value Edge Consulting to develop the assessment for commercial use.

More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia.

Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.

Who we can help

My Potentia offers employers and trainers an assessment suitable for all industries, for all levels of employment unbiased by a persons’ language, culture or industry experience. It does this by aligning a candidates thinking ability with that required for the level of role or the training program being considered, independent of industry, company culture, or any other factors unique to an organisation.

My Potentia is being widely adopted within APAC’s mining and oil and gas industries as a tool to help them select, train and utilise the local workforce whilst minimising the financial and safety costs associated with staff failing training, failing to perform, or failing to identify safety risks. Importantly, many of the clients we have worked with in this space employ workers whose primary language is not English, and for whom English language based tests are not appropriate.

More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia. Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.

Testimonial

”Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture [Harmony Gold and Newcrest Mining] commenced My Potentia testing for villages and communities in close proximity to the mine site in 2016.

To date we have tested in excess of 1700 people.

The test results have been most beneficial in assisting the Project to pre-select people for training in a number of areas including the Workforce Readiness, the Driver Training and the Equipment Operators training programs.

Wafi-Golpu will continue to use My Potentia through the construction phase and then during the operations phase of the mine.

My Potentia is now used as the first step in our selection process for new starters.

In addition we test our existing employees to help assess their future potential and as a base to their career path on the Project.”

Workforce Development Superintendent

Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture

More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia.Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.

WHAT? What is it that we do and what does that mean for our clients?

My Potentia provides confidence and certainty to employers and trainers that the investment they make in their staff will yield effective outcomes.

For Recruiters My Potentia provides confidence that potential employees have the ability to think and problem solve at the right level for the role.
For Trainers My Potentia provides an accurate prediction of a candidate’s potential to successfully complete specific training programs in the required timeframes.

For companies, this reduces the significant costs of terminating unsuccessful employees, recruiting replacements and the costs associated with training failures.

More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia. Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.

HOW? How do we add value and what do clients need to do?

My Potentia’s value as an employee assessment tool has been built into its DNA. This legacy dates from the initial use of assessment as a language free screening test for military service training programs run by the Australian Defence Force in Papua New Guinea after the Second World War. Its use resulted in a reduction of training failures from 20% to just 2% among a population of culturally and linguistically diverse applicants.

Recently during a major selection process for Process Engineering trainees, an international organisation utilised My Potentia to select candidates with limited English from local high schools. By setting an appropriate level on the assessment, the organisation was able to fill 4 three-year programs without a single candidate failing the training. This exceptional pass rate enabled them to replace their expatriate workforce on time resulting in massive savings.

A company establishing a major new mine in Papua New Guinea utilised My Potentia to screen 2500 working age people from villages affected by the mine site. A key requirement of the project was the employment of a significant percentage of this local workforce. The majority of villages provided people with little or no formal education. By assessing their inhabitants with My Potentia the company has been able to accurately predict what roles they will be able to fill and when as well as match trainees with the training demands of various role levels.

My Potentia has been subject to rigorous validation studies and remains strongly committed to a program of ongoing research and development. My Potentia’s team of psychologists conduct regular reviews of the assessment’s statistical reliability and validity to ensure the best possible outcome for its clients.