Demonized Assessments
In recruiting, much has been said and written about the value and timing of competency assessment testing as performance predictors. Today, many organizations start by reviewing resumes, move on to phone screening interviews and then propose various tests, including psychometrics to determine which applicant fits best — we believe there is more value bringing upfront the assessments, based on the fact that technology has made testing more convenient for candidates and less expensive for employers.
In recent years, psychometric tests have been severely demonized, being the main reason for such rejection the poor experience job seekers have. How would you feel in today’s connected world going through a myriad of tests that take more than a reasonable time to be completed, in person, and not receiving any feedback after all? Fortunately, most employers have evolved into online tests, but in some cases with a mere translation of in-paper tests to the online space, checking the full spectrum of competencies in the cookie-cutter model regardless the relevance of such competencies for a particular job. Also, in some cultures, being “forced” to take a test can be interpreted as a weak signal: “these things are for juniors”. Not putting ourselves in the shoes of the candidates and explaining the rationale and benefits of the tests have undermined their statistical robustness and prediction capacity.
The solution? Go back to basics and find smart digital designs that level the playing field between candidates and employers. On one side, candidates want shorter completion times, friendlier interfaces and immediate feedback for them to build their own stories in case they are not selected. On the other, employers want faster results and high level of completion and sifting without compromising predictive significance.
Gamification is a quite interesting and powerful proposal, still in early stages and not for everybody (at least not yet…). More conservative employers searching for talent in the mid-market and qualified professional space have now access to attractive tools — yes, there are!- that allow to handle a high volume of applications at the initial stage of the recruitment funnel while helping with follow up, relevant questions for the subsequent in-person interviews. Time to hire is reduced and the quality of hires increases because they are based on a better system of testing and detecting behaviors and abilities as good performance predictors. The candidate’s experience is improved, and objectivity and fairness is assured. A win-win situation all around.
How to predict a candidate’s potential or her cultural fit is a story for another day…
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on November 19, 2014.
