Hard Measurement of Soft Skills

Facilitated by Lauren Weivoda and Stephanie Sand - SOLVE Consulting 

Competencies form the basis for employee selection, performance management, employee development, and succession planning. However, it can be difficult to measure soft skills such as effective communication and leadership. This session will outline the science and art of measuring soft skills including using assessment data to measure ill-defined intangibles (the science) and interpreting the data and finding the story within (the art).

Members will increase their understanding of competency measurement and interpretation. Members will learn to use multiple sources of information in order to more accurately measure competencies. They will also learn how to make the most out of assessment data for selection and development purposes. Members will be able to utilize tips shared throughout the program.  

Lauren Weivoda is a senior human capital strategist at SOLVE and has been consulting with her team for 5 years. Her expertise includes executive selection, high-volume selection, employee engagement, leadership development, succession planning, performance management, and culture enhancement. She is also certified in strategic planning and facilitation. Lauren has her master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and is currently finishing up her PhD. She is trained in a variety of statistical techniques including multiple regression, analysis of variance and structural equation modeling. She is also a member of the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology.

Stephanie Sands is a senior human capital strategist and founding member of SOLVE. She applies over eight years of experience in Industrial/Organizational Psychology research to help companies understand and utilize best practices in Human Capital. She specializes in employee selection, leadership development, organizational culture, succession planning and strategic planning. She is also a certified facilitator. She has a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She has presented her research regionally and nationally on using meetings to empower, perceptions of creativity across different domains, self-perceptions of creativity, and the use of case-based learning in leadership development. Her work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, Management Research Review, and the Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science. She is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She is also on the Friends of Nebraska Children Board of Directors and volunteers for the Harrison School reading program.

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