--- title: "R.A.N.D. Survey Groups: Overview" description: "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…" url: "https://help.talenttelligent.com/docs/r-a-n-d-survey-groups-overview/" updated: "2026-07-28" category: Digital Talent Tools / R.A.N.D. Surveys --- # R.A.N.D. Survey Groups: Overview 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.