Having trouble finding talent? Want to ensure it’s a good hire when you do?
Using assessments as part of your hiring process can increase the likelihood of a successful hire from a coin flip to as much as 70% for some positions. The right pre-hire assessment can help you assess job fit, alignment with organizational culture, and cognitive ability.
What are the benefits of assessments?
In addition to helping with hiring the right employees, assessments also help with retention. Assessments can be used by employers to:
- Build teams: Understanding one’s own default personality and work style and how others differ can help teams better communicate, solve problems, and work through challenges.
- Develop employees: Knowing an individual’s natural strengths and weaker areas helps to pinpoint opportunities for growth and development. Employers can focus efforts where needed rather than using resources in areas an employee already excels.
- Plan for succession: Assessments can help identify gaps in the talent pipeline and opportunities for development before there is an urgent need.
Assessment best practices
When selecting an assessment provider, follow these tips and questions to guide your evaluation:
- Know your goals. What results are you trying to achieve? Different assessment tools are used for different purposes.
- Understand the purpose and limitations of each assessment tool. Using an assessment designed to bring awareness to team dynamics won’t predict job fit for an applicant.
- Understand the legal risk. Consider the following important questions as you proceed.
- Is the assessment tool you’re using validated for its purpose, job-related, unbiased, and non-discriminatory?
- Is the assessment tool reliable, dependably and consistently measuring a characteristic?
- If a candidate or employee needs an accommodation to take the assessment, is one available?