What Pre-Employment Assessments Tell Hiring Managers

It’s a fact that pre-employment assessments are helping HR managers make better hiring decisions while lowering the costs of employee turnover and at the same time improving employee happiness. According to the Talent Board’s 2016 Candidate Experience Research report, 82% of businesses use some type of pre-employment assessment test, and how they use assessments is changing.

In today’s digital world, pre-employment testing be the single most accurate filtering mechanism hiring managers employ when looking for ideal candidates. Assessments are also an excellent tool to compare a candidate’s scores across several different types of assessments to determine their likelihood of success in your desired role.

Advantages of Using Pre-Employment Assessments in the Hiring Process:

• A clear image of who the best candidates are among your applicants, saving you time and headaches during the recruiting process while offering detailed information on their talents and abilities;
• Enhanced productivity as a result of a streamlined approach that eliminates CVs in favor of a consistent evaluation format. These tests can be delivered to several candidates at once and can be finished in a matter of days.
• Increased staff retention and lower turnover costs save firms money in the long run. Candidates that perform well on pre-employment tests are more likely to fit in well and remain longer.
• Businesses who use pre-employment tests are 36 percent more likely than those who don’t to be satisfied with their new recruits.

You’ll be able to make smarter, more objective recruiting judgments armed with the information provided by pre-employment examinations. This is the primary benefit of employing standardized examinations rather than scrambling to discover that one CV that seemed to fit the bill.

What is the Difference Between a Pre-Employment Assessment and a Skills Assessment Exam?

Pre-employment assessments and skills assessment exams are two distinct but intertwined concepts. One is meant to measure a candidate’s soft skills while the other tends to measure a candidate’s hard skills. Practically speaking, pre-employment assessments provide the ultimate option for capturing valuable, data-driven insight from your candidates and deciding whether they are the best fit for your open position. When used in conjunction with one another along with structured interviews, they are a powerful predictive tool for performance.

What is a Pre-Employment Assessment, and How Do They Work?

A pre-employment assessment is a set of text-based or media-based questions or challenges designed to assess a candidate’s knowledge of a given skill. It covers three to four skill areas and is thorough for that particular skill set.

Assessments are normally 10 minutes long, allowing the candidate just enough time to answer the questions before moving on to the next one. This is done on purpose to create a sense of urgency in the candidate and help them get through the assessment. Tests can be thought of as the “foundation” of a solid pre-employment evaluation.

What are Pre-Employment Assessments Used For?

A pre-employment assessment combines multiple question batteries to provide you with a complete picture of your candidates. An assessment’s ultimate purpose is to assist you in hiring the best candidate for the job. Everything else is just a bonus. To do this, tests should be kept uniform and sent out in bulk to candidates so that they can be compared quickly.

Types of Pre-Employment Assessments

Hiring managers are making use of pre-employment assessments that integrate five major core key indicators of whether a candidate is the right fit for a given role. These five major testing batters assist HR Managers in making the best hiring decisions:

• Mental Ability Assessments
  Mental ability tests assess cognitive capacity and a candidates capability of a candidate to learn, evolve, find solutions, and comprehend pertinent instructions. A cognitive ability exam is the single best predictor of job performance, and it can help you figure out if a candidate is capable of doing the job.
• Motivational Orientation Assessments
  Do the candidate set high standards for themselves? Does their need for approval overshadow their ability to take decisive action? Is their need for recognition likely to be satisfied by the job itself? Klein assessments offer invaluable insights as to a candidates mind-set.
• Basic Personality Assessments
  Can the candidate work with minimal supervision? Will they need support in trying circumstances? Are they assertive enough to gain consensus with their peers? Do they possess the ability to make prospects believe that your firm has the answers to their problems?
• Work Value Assessments
  Knowing a candidate’s mindset can help you decide whether they will be a good fit for your corporate culture and work well within the team dynamic you are considering them for.
• Social Facilitation Skills Assessments
  Can a candidate establish and maintain effective work relationships? Do they handle delicate circumstances with poise and skill? Does the applicant understand how to personalize their approach to selling situations? How does a candidate work within a team dynamic to accomplish everyday business objectives?

These core assessments above all others help hiring managers to examine a candidates’ soft skills, such as cognitive ability, personality, and situational judgments that may impact key decision-makers, executives and stakeholders who are selectively looking to hire the best possible applicants. While tests are the cornerstones of any good assessment, the various test kinds can assist paint a more complete picture of a candidate’s profile.