Table of Contents
The R.A.N.D. Career Profile Survey is where Science Meets Potential. This survey is completed by the manager(s) of those considered to have high potential. Managers assess employees against observable behaviors in a user-friendly experience. Results are provided to the talent leader for analysis and insights that drive succession planning, career assignments, and developmental prioritizations, to name a few.
Purpose of the Report #
- The R.A.N.D. Career Profile and R.A.N.D. Potential Index estimate an individual’s current potential for pursuing and succeeding in a broad range of career opportunities.
- The report looks beyond current job performance. It considers whether the individual appears able to learn and execute the Roles, Practices, and Assignments required across a broader career arc.
- High scores generally suggest potential for broad growth and diverse career paths. Lower scores may suggest a stronger fit with a traditional career path, a specific organizational level, or specialized professional expertise.
- The report can be used to:
- Verify potential in individuals
- Identify strengths and development opportunities
- Support career and placement discussions
- Understand talent groups and organizational pipelines
- Group aggregate reports provide an organizational view of the Drivers, Markers, and Practices available across a talent population.
Information Assessed #
- The R.A.N.D. Career Profile assesses the 12 Drivers and 25 Practices associated with potential and career-placement opportunities.
- Results help identify:
- Capabilities the individual already demonstrates consistently
- Areas in which raters see the strongest evidence of potential
- Development priorities
- Possible readiness for broader or more complex work
- Potential career pathways and assignment opportunities
- Ratings are generally provided by one or two previous leaders who have observed the individual’s performance. There is no self-rating component in this process.
- The quality of the results depends partly on how well the raters know the individual and how broadly they have observed the person’s work.
Report Sections #
- The report should be interpreted as a series of related sections rather than as one isolated potential score.
- The early sections summarize rater feedback on the individual’s Drivers, Markers, and Practices.
- These sections help the reader look for:
- Consistently demonstrated strengths
- Lower-rated development areas
- Patterns across categories
- Differences or similarities between raters
- Capabilities that may support future growth
- The report then moves into the R.A.N.D. Potential Index, which applies additional scoring logic to the underlying ratings.
- The Interpretive Grid helps translate the component scores and overall index into a broader potential interpretation. It should support discussion rather than function as an automatic selection cutoff.
The R.A.N.D. Scoring Components #
- R — Roles
Reflects the ability to learn and execute the Roles and Practices needed to perform at key organizational levels over the course of a career. - A — Assignments
Reflects the ability to learn from and successfully execute a range of managerial and leadership assignments. - N — Norms
Uses an inverse calibration against normative data. Capabilities that are less frequently demonstrated in the comparison population receive greater scoring weight. - D — Difficulty
Considers how difficult specific Drivers, Markers, and Practices are to learn and demonstrate. - The scoring model does not simply average every rating equally. It considers:
- What the person was rated highly on
- How uncommon those capabilities are
- How difficult they are to learn
- How relevant they are to future Roles and Assignments
- TT describes the Assignments component as incorporating approximately 23 managerial and leadership assignments
T-Scores and Percentiles #
- Results are reported as standardized T-scores, allowing comparison across the different R.A.N.D. components.
- The T-score scale is centered at:
- 50 = average
- 60 = approximately the top 15%
- 40 = approximately the lower 15%
- 10 points = one standard deviation
- A score above 50 is above the normative average for that component. A score below 50 is below the normative average.
- Scores should not automatically be interpreted as good or bad. The meaning depends on the individual’s overall pattern, career direction, and organizational context.
- The distance from 50 matters. A score of 51 is only slightly above average, while a score near 60 reflects a more distinct difference from the normative population.
- A percentile shows the percentage of people in the comparison group who scored below the individual.
- T-scores and percentiles answer different questions:
- The T-score shows how far a result is from the normative average.
- The percentile shows the individual’s relative rank within the comparison population.
- TT states that report percentiles are based on a normative sample of managers and executives. It also presents 2020 KSAP norms based on a sample of 900 identified high-potential individuals. Facilitators should clarify which comparison population applies to the specific section being reviewed.
Interpreting Score Patterns #
- The score pattern is often more useful than any one number.
- Consistently elevated scores across the R.A.N.D. components provide different evidence than one high component paired with several average or lower components.
- An uneven profile may suggest that the individual:
- Has broad potential but needs development in specific areas
- Is especially suited for certain assignments or career paths
- Demonstrates uncommon capabilities but has not yet had opportunities to apply them broadly
- Has strong professional expertise but a more focused career trajectory
- Lower scores do not mean the person lacks value or capability. They may indicate a preference or stronger fit for specialized work, a particular level, or a more traditional career path.
- The most useful coaching question is not simply, “Is this person high potential?” It is: What do the score patterns suggest about the individual’s career range, strongest pathways, developmental priorities, and next assignments?
Important Interpretation Cautions #
- The report is a potential-verification tool, not a stand-alone declaration that someone is or is not high potential.
- TT states that actual verification of high potential should include other types of information in addition to the R.A.N.D. results.
- Because the source does not identify the exact additional criteria to use, facilitators should avoid presenting any supplemental factors as part of the formal R.A.N.D. scoring model.
- The results represent an estimate of potential at this moment in time. They should not be treated as a permanent label.
- Scores may be influenced by:
- The individual’s current experience
- The opportunities the person has been given
- The quality and breadth of rater observation
- The individual’s demonstrated capabilities at the time of assessment
- The report is most valuable when it leads to thoughtful discussion about development, career direction, placement opportunities, and future assignments.
What’s Inside this Guide #
This documentation provides everything you need to create, launch, and manage a R.A.N.D. Career Profile Survey, including how to:
- Customize a R.A.N.D. Career Profile Survey using the available setup options.
- Add and manage candidates and their raters through manual entry or bulk upload.
- View reports after raters have recorded their response.
Help and Support #
- Access the Help Center through Help/Contact → Visit Our Help Center.
- Search by keyword or browse by topic area using the Explore More links.
- For additional assistance, contact the TalentTelligent Support Team through the Chat Feature or by emailing info@talenttelligent.com.