MTQ48 report types and handling feedback

Bethan Greenall and Claudine Rowlands

MTQ48 report types

There are two basic versions of MTQ48 which each have their own set of reports available.

The standard version generates up to five different reports (briefly described below) which meets the needs of most users. Users and candidates should read the introduction to each report carefully to ensure that they use the report properly.

The young person's version generates a reduced range of reports. This version is most widely used with young persons within secondary education and FE (further education) where it is much more appropriate to provide feedback in oral rather than written form. The report text has been tailored to be more applicable to the young person, that is, references to the workplace have been replaced by terms used within schools or colleges or focused around study and examinations.

Reports

Development report (standard version and young person version)

This reports the individual's scores and an explanation of what they mean together with some potential implications for the workplace. The narrative is provided for the overall measure and for each of the four component scales. Generic development suggestions are offered to enable the candidate to think about modifying behaviour should this be required.

Assessor report (standard version only)

This report provides the individual's scores, a narrative description and potential implications for the workplace. In addition a list of suggested questions is provided to enable a manager to probe the area. The questions are designed to be open and to be behaviourally orientated to generate the fullest responses. They may need to be adapted by the coach or manager to ensure that they are appropriate to the specific situation.

Coaching report (standard version and young person version)

Like the other reports this provides individual's scores, a narrative description, and potential implications for the workplace. With each narrative comes a list of suggested coaching or development actions that the manager or coach can consider for application with the candidate. It is important that the candidate accepts and agrees with any action to be taken. It is a mirror report to the development report.

Distance travelled report (standard version and young person version)

This is a comparison report based on a current and a previous assessment for an individual. This will identify areas in which an individual's sten scores have changed or remained the same after a period of time and/or a period of training and development.

This report is widely used in training, development, and coaching programmes to assess differences arising from the intervention. Hence this is very valuable in ROI (return on investment) studies.

Organisation development report (the group analysis report in the young person option)

This report is created from data gathered from individuals who form a particular group. The report takes the form of histograms of the patterns of scores for individuals who form the selected group.

The grouping might be a specific team, or it could be the entire management cohort of an organisation or a year group in a school or college. It shows the pattern of results for each scale as a histogram of the total number of people who achieve a particular sten score within that group.

This report is useful in identifying trends and patterns within a group and may be an indicator of cultural issues within an organisation.

Handling feedback

Feedback can be a daunting prospect for the provider, but as with many things, full preparation helps to make the process a lot more effective. Good feedback is a powerful tool. Poor feedback can often make things a lot worse—leaving the recipient with a feeling of helplessness and having being judged.

Young people are especially vulnerable to poor feedback. They are developing and often don't have a clear self image. Information that's given to them is therefore often taken as objective and true, rather than as a start for discussion. When working with young people the adage “silence is assent” is rarely true. The person providing the feedback needs to work hard to ensure that the results are;

• Understood

• Discussed

• Agreed in an informed manner.