Conventional evaluation and unconventional evaluation of scarce talents

　　Author: Yang Jiale (Assistant Research Fellow, China Academy of Social Sciences Evaluation)

　　In recent years, under the background of the increasingly fierce game among big countries, the accelerated reversal of the international pattern and the profound reshaping of the innovation map, it has become a major and urgent task for the party and the country to do a good job in talent work. At the Central Talent Work Conference held in September, 2021, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader gave a clear instruction that we should make good use of all kinds of talents, treat special talents in urgent need, have special policies, do not seek perfection and blame, do not judge seniority, and do not use a ruler to measure them all, so that talent heroes with real talents and practical learning can be used. The outline of the "14th Five-Year Plan" also mentioned "accelerating the cultivation of talents in short supply in science, engineering, agriculture and medicine".

　　The shortage of talents can be divided into quantity shortage, quality shortage and both quantity and quality shortage according to the type, and can be divided into general shortage, relatively shortage and very shortage according to the degree. Demand exceeds supply or mismatch between supply and demand is the main cause of talent shortage. The introduction and training of the shortage of talents are inseparable from a scientific and reasonable evaluation system. Only when the baton is correctly oriented can we maximize the development of the intellectual capital of the shortage of talents and provide strong support for the high-quality development of the country, so the importance of the evaluation of the shortage of talents is self-evident.

　　The evaluation of talents in short supply runs through the whole process of talent introduction, training, promotion and reward. In the stage of talent introduction, we usually focus on the matching degree between the characteristics of scarce talents and job requirements. Talent characteristics generally include academic degree, discipline, professional qualification, work experience, professional quality, job-holding ability, age, etc. For example, many provinces and cities such as Guangdong Province, Sichuan Province, Shanghai City and Hangzhou City have published catalogues of talents in short supply in this region, and whether or not talents are introduced depends largely on whether all applicants match the catalogue requirements. In the talent training stage, the matching degree between the knowledge and skills of the talents in short supply and the training objectives is mainly investigated, such as the training project for skilled talents in manufacturing and modern service industries in vocational colleges, the training project for talents in urgent need of professional and technical talents and the on-the-job training project, etc., and the knowledge ability and technical level of the trainees will be assessed, and the corresponding training certificates will be issued to those who pass the examination. In the stage of talent promotion and reward, we focus on the matching degree between the years of service, morality, performance, ability and contribution of talents in short supply and performance standards. Those with outstanding performance are encouraged to declare talent plans, provide corresponding funding and conduct performance evaluation, such as the support plans for talents in short supply in key industries launched in various places.

　　In a word, matching is the bottom line requirement of talent shortage evaluation, and it is also the main standard of talent shortage evaluation at present, so let’s call it routine evaluation. Conventional evaluation target is anchored and standard static, which is a closed and rigid evaluation. In the evaluation subject, the conventional evaluation is mainly based on other evaluations, and the talents in short supply are passively assessed, and the relevant institutions will examine and determine whether they meet the established goals and standards. In the evaluation content, there are clear requirements for the learning experience, professional experience and work performance of the talents in short supply, and the evaluation dimension is comprehensive, and the evaluation difficulty is usually set at the average level due to the consideration of group accessibility. In terms of evaluation methods, whether it is the list of talents in short supply, the award of training certificates, the promotion of professional titles or the declaration of talent plans, fixed rules and regulations have basically formed, and the assessment indicators are clear and quantifiable.

　　However, the potential risk of relying solely on routine evaluation is worthy of vigilance. For example, at the national level, talents in short supply shoulder the major strategic task of breaking through the "bottleneck" problem of core technology in key fields and realizing China’s independent innovation in science and technology. However, the road of catching up with a single "finish line" and a single "track" only cultivates more followers. Even if there is occasional overtaking, it is also the overtaking of the same track. It is really difficult to open up a new track and complete the original innovation from 0 to 1. This may also be one of the reasons why China has been trying to catch up with the West in education system, scientific research system and industrial system for many years, but it still encounters the problem of "sticking its neck". At the regional level, the introduction of talents in short supply based on the established catalogue may alleviate the shortage of talent resources in quantity and quality, but it is difficult to fill the new talent gap caused by continuous industrial upgrading and technological iteration. At the individual level, if the shortage of talents with outstanding ability, performance and contribution is also evaluated by conventional methods, then the shortage of talents as "rational people" may choose to "lie flat" after meeting the bottom line requirements, thus falling into the trap of conventional evaluation and wasting valuable talent resources.

　　So how should we resolve the potential risks of routine evaluation of scarce talents? It is one of the optimization ways worth exploring to introduce unconventional evaluation in addition to conventional evaluation. The goal of unconventional evaluation must be open and can be adjusted in time according to the external environment; Standards must be flexible, so as to facilitate "tailor-made" for different talents. In practice, the green channel of "one case, one discussion+special affairs", the high-speed channel of "exemption from examination+on-call citation", the direct appointment of professional titles without the limitation of post structure, special recommendation and exceptional promotion are all unconventional evaluation mechanisms. The implementation of unconventional evaluation needs to clarify three core issues: who will evaluate, what to evaluate and how to evaluate.

　　First, the unconventional evaluation of scarce talents should adhere to the combination of self-evaluation and other evaluation, emphasizing self-evaluation and self-recommendation, self-reliance and self-improvement. The shortage of talents is an indispensable part of the strategic talent force, and only the self-reliant talent team can support the self-reliance and self-reliance of high-level science and technology. Compared with other evaluations in routine evaluation, self-evaluation should be a necessary link in the unconventional evaluation of scarce talents. It is a concentrated expression of the lack of talents to compete for promotion and expose the list, and individuals also have the most say in their own abilities, achievements and contributions. Encouraging self-evaluation and self-recommendation of talents in short supply, and taking the self-evaluation report of talents in short supply as the necessary material for unconventional evaluation not only conforms to the procedural justice of "who advocates who gives evidence", but also effectively reduces the risk of deviation of evaluation results caused by information asymmetry in other evaluation links, thus ensuring the justice of results to the maximum extent.

　　Second, the unconventional evaluation of the shortage of talents focuses on highlighting "one move is fresh" and trying to avoid "one size fits all". The idea of conventional evaluation is to preset rules and regulations in advance and grade according to the achievement of different sub-goals. This evaluation logic seems comprehensive but actually distracts energy, and regardless of whether there is tension between different goals, goal decomposition will invisibly guide the scarce talents to allocate a lot of energy to fill the shortcomings. The shortage of talents has a strong heterogeneity, among which the top talents are irreplaceable and cannot be completely blamed. Unconventional evaluation should follow the law of the development and use of scarce talents, and focus on evaluating whether they show outstanding ability, outstanding performance and outstanding contribution in meeting the demand for talents with their discerning eyes, sincerity in loving talents, courage in using talents, magnanimity in accommodating talents, and good prescription for gathering talents, so as to guide the scarce talents to concentrate their advantages on digging deep wells and producing excellent products, and adopt "one person, one discussion, one thing, one discussion" when necessary to break down.

　　Third, it is appropriate to adopt the principle of exception in the unconventional evaluation of scarce talents, and the evaluation process is open and transparent, taking the initiative to accept supervision from all parties. The exception principle in management science means that senior leaders should delegate the management power of routine affairs to various functional departments, and only reserve the decision-making power of exceptions. The conventional evaluation mechanism for talents in short supply is relatively mature, so we should earnestly implement the reform in streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services and delegate the evaluation right to all employers. Many unconventional evaluations are policy innovations that are being explored. The principle of exception should be applied, and it is even more necessary to strengthen supervision by all parties and put an end to power rent-seeking. We must uphold the Party’s overall leadership over talents in short supply, and ensure that the process is marked, filed for future reference, publicized and compliant, and open and transparent. We must adhere to the "one-vote veto" and "two lists": resolutely implement the "one-vote veto" for any behavior that touches the red line of national security, political stance, and scientific research integrity; The "two lists" are to establish a "negative list" for the unconventional evaluation of scarce talents, and to clearly evaluate the power boundary. Second, individuals or organizations that violate the rules are included in the "blacklist" for evaluation, and verbal warnings, written warnings, rectification within a time limit, and legal responsibilities are imposed according to the seriousness of the circumstances.

　　Finally, it should be noted that the relationship between conventional evaluation and unconventional evaluation of scarce talents is not a substitute, but a complementary one. If unconventional evaluation completely replaces conventional evaluation, it may lead to unexpected consequences such as fair crisis and organizational conflict. On the one hand, the dual evaluation mode of conventional evaluation and unconventional evaluation can meet the basic requirements of "reasonable", on the other hand, it can effectively deal with the uncertainty in the complex realistic environment, continuously stimulate the innovation and creativity of scarce talents, and then reap the "unexpected" fruits. Talent evaluation is related to the whole chain of attracting talents, cultivating talents and using talents. The shortage of talents shoulders the important mission of serving the country’s major strategy and leading economic and social development. Building a talent power in the new era, an important talent center in the world and an innovative highland needs supporting the shortage of talents evaluation model. By innovating the evaluation concept of shortage of talents, improving the evaluation system of shortage of talents and optimizing the evaluation methods of shortage of talents, we will continuously cultivate outstanding talents who are patriotic and innovative, and gather outstanding talents in all aspects into the great struggle of the party and the people.

Source: Guangming. com-Academic Channel