Providing high-quality healthcare takes a team that includes more than just doctors and nurses. There is a wide range of support roles that need to be filled to keep the healthcare industry running effectively and efficiently. From health aides to janitorial staff to administrative assistants, it takes a large number of people to deliver positive patient outcomes.
For your team to function properly you need to ensure that you are hiring qualified candidates who have the necessary skills to effectively perform their jobs. This is why healthcare providers are increasingly adding skills tests to their hiring process so HR professionals can easily screen candidates for requisite skills.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, healthcare is the largest employment category in the country, with 130.9 million employees as of 2018. While the number of jobs in the healthcare industry is expected to continue to grow at a much faster rate than the national average, the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that there will be a 15 million employee shortfall for essential healthcare positions, many of which will be in the U.S.
As a result, there is enormous pressure on you as a healthcare provider to identify the best possible candidates so you can ensure that you make the best hires for your healthcare support staff. Here are some of the ways using computer skills tests can help.
Basic Computer Skills Tests Help Your Identify Quality Candidates
Healthcare support jobs span a wide range of positions and not all of them require computer skills testing. For example, cooks and janitorial staff members may not need this kind of screening. However, the majority of support positions require at least some basic familiarity with computers, and that is where computer skills tests can offer you the most value.
Using basic computer skills tests as part of your pre-employment assessment program lets you discover which employees have the basic skills needed for each of your job roles. These tests assess skills such as typing, word processing, and the ability to work with various Internet browsers and operating systems. With the intuitive eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM, you can choose from more than 800 pre-prepared skills tests, many of which measure computer skills.
The Talent Assessment PlatformTM offers you the flexibility to meet the needs of your organization by tailoring skills tests to align with job role requirements. You can create your own custom assessments by choosing questions from different tests to create a customized assessment for each position. Then you can use eSkill Author to modify existing questions or to create your own questions. This gives you ultimate control over your entire skills testing process.
When you are looking through the candidates’ basic computer skills test results, you can go into depth on each question to see which questions they answered correctly. This can give you better insight into the applicant beyond their overall score and help you to identify candidates that would be successful with minimal training to cover minor knowledge gaps.
There are several computer skills tests available that apply to specific jobs within the healthcare industry. For example, you can assess employees on their knowledge of different healthcare software programs such as Epic or assess an applicant’s medical transcription, billing or insurance coding abilities.
Skills Tests as Tools for Employee Development
Once you bring a new hire on board, skills tests continue to provide value. There is no such thing as a perfect employee, and pre-employment assessment results will most likely identify a few knowledge or skills gaps. You can use this knowledge to customize onboarding by focusing training on deficient areas and bypass areas in which the new hire already has sufficient knowledge. Then you can use skills tests to guide further development efforts to address skills gaps and for employee development.
Another valuable use for skills tests in the healthcare field is ensuring that employees are up to date on the latest policies. Organizations can create tests to assess employees’ knowledge of critical policies related to customer service, medical billing, and member services. With skills testing, you receive results immediately which helps you identify employees who need additional training and avoid disrupting those whose knowledge is up to date.
This same strategy can be used to ensure that you stay compliant with federal laws regarding healthcare. A good example is HIPAA regulations, which set very clear definitions of how patient information can be used. With skills testing through eSkill, you can use pre-prepared or custom tests to ensure that employees understand their legal responsibilities as well as the consequences for negligence.
Requests a demo to learn how eSkill’s basic computer skills tests can help you identify the best candidates for your healthcare support positions.