When Might It Be Appropriate to Retake the Birkman Assessment?

Report Support Article Written by Carol Buckner

As you may know, Birkman believes that the vast majority of the time, the first Birkman profile a respondent receives is the best. However, there are times that a “retake” is warranted. If this is the case, careful consideration should be given when determining the value of retaking the assessment.

1. Sometimes a respondent may not have understood the instructions for taking the assessment. For example, they may answer the first section of the questionnaire about the “self” rather than “most people” (as outlined in the instructions). Another misunderstanding can occur when the respondent does not adjust or change the order for any of the four occupational options offered on each question found in the third section of the questionnaire. These types of misunderstandings should always result in retaking the assessment.

2. There are also times when a respondent has severe concerns about taking the assessment and did not give the proper consideration to the responses given. This can occur if a respondent is being told that they must take the assessment for their organization, or by their parent (in the case of a child seeking career guidance). These situations typically include pushback from the respondent about taking the assessment. In this case, discussions should take place between the consultant and the respondent, arriving at a decision on the best way to proceed. This may result in the respondent retaking the assessment. However, a retake may not be necessary every time this situation occurs.

3. Another infrequent issue that can occur is when a respondent does not identify with the results of the Birkman report. In this case, the respondent may question almost everything the coach/consultant says about the results during the feedback. Should this occur, we suggest that the coach discontinue the conversation as soon as it becomes obvious that something is wrong. The coach/consultant should discuss any concerns the respondent may have had while taking the assessment, or anything that may have been going on when the assessment was being completed. This includes having to take multiple breaks throughout the assessment. The coach should have an open discussion about why the results may not have come out as expected. In these cases, the most common decision is to have the respondent retake the assessment.

4. Finally, there are times when a respondent has completed the Birkman assessment in the past and feels like the results might have changed over time. The respondent will request to retake the assessment with the idea that a new report would be more accurate. These types of situations can create the most indecision.

As stated earlier, Birkman does not generally recommend retaking the assessment. Typically, our stance is that the person should use the first assessment since scores generally do not change much over time. People can get more comfortable at adapting their Usual Behavior in cases where it is needed, but their true “default” behavior, Needs, and Stress Behaviors generally don’t change much. Remember, we talk in statistically significant terms. A score may move a few points higher or lower, but we would not expect it to change dramatically (say from a low score to a high score) over time.

However, in cases where a respondent is adamant that the scores have likely changed, Birkman would rather let the person retake the questionnaire than have the respondent protest the original results. One of the main goals of Birkman is to facilitate meaningful, effective dialog between the consultant and respondent(s). If the person doesn’t have faith in their results, the conversation will be negatively impacted. In these cases, the outcome is completely dependent on the discussion the coach/consultant has with the respondent. A retake may be suggested.

It is important to note that in most of the cases (excluding the retake several years later) Birkman will only bill for one result. When the respondent retakes the assessment, only the usable report will remain in your database, and you will only be billed for one result. You must let the Birkman support team know about the situation by contacting [e-mail] with all pertinent information. The request should be placed soon after the respondent completes the questionnaire for this policy to take effect.

Please let the support team know if you have additional questions.