[Excerpt] Research shows that the careful use of talent assessments can result in increased productivity, cost savings and better retention of top employees. As a result, nearly two-thirds of recruiting executives are considering their organizations’ assessment and selection capabilities as one of their top three near-term priorities and are increasing their budgets by an average of 15%. Unfortunately, many HR professionals are unaware of the value of formal assessments and the types of assessments that have proven to be most effective.