There has been a major push towards hiring individuals based on their measurable skills, not their degrees, in recent years. For instance, a 2020 executive order tasked federal government agencies with altering their screening protocols to place a higher value on skills instead of formal education.
Similar trends have swept across state and local governments, leading many organizations to incorporate skills tests into their pre-employment evaluation process.
With that in mind, we wanted to look at which hiring skills tests government entities trust the most when filling vacancies. If you are considering incorporating pre-employment screening tests into your organization’s hiring process but are unsure where to begin, this article is for you.
Who Provides Government Organizations with Skills Tests?
Generally, government organizations acquire their assessments from pre-employment testing companies. These companies provide them with testing resources, access to the assessment database, and performance review tools to analyze each candidate.
Many pre-employment testing companies offer skills tests online. This approach is much more cost-effective than providing government organizations with paper testing materials. As a bonus, the results of the assessments are available almost instantly, which means that hiring teams can quickly identify top candidates.
Few, if any, government organizations develop their own testing materials. There is simply no benefit to doing so. Creating pre-employment screening tests makes them vulnerable to significant civil liability. If they fail to properly validate employment tests, they could become the target of lawsuits and other legal action.
Skills Tests that Government Agencies Trust the Most
Now that we have covered who provides government organizations with their assessment materials, let’s focus on the skills tests they trust the most.
With that being said, it is important to note that there are hundreds of pre-employment screening tests available. General assessments are designed to measure attention to detail, spatial reasoning skills, and other specific candidate traits. There are also more specific skills tests created for individual professions.
For instance, the Firefighter Knowledge skills assessment is designed for screening firefighter candidates. Another example is the Public Works skills test, which covers Water and Sewer, Streets Maintenance, and other infrastructure-related subjects. Many government organizations rely on these position-specific assessments when screening candidates.
Typing pre-employment screening tests are also among the most trusted screening tests government organizations use. These assessments are designed to measure a candidate’s typing speed and accuracy. This assessment has many variations, including general typing, audio transcription, and financial typing skills tests.
The most popular screening test when hiring government employees is the behavioral assessment. This assessment tool provides valuable information about a candidate’s behavioral traits.
By incorporating a behavioral assessment into the hiring process, government organizations can identify what motivates prospective employees. They can also learn more about how they think and predict how well they will perform if hired.
The combination of behavioral assessments and skills tests allows government organizations to make better hiring decisions. They can carefully select candidates based on their skill set while eliminating individuals who are not a good cultural fit for the organization.
Benefits of Pre-Employment Screening Tests
Have you found yourself wondering why government organizations put so much trust in pre-employment screening tests and behavioral assessments? If so, the answer is simple. Skills tests have become an integral part of the hiring process because they work. When used properly, these screening tools can improve every aspect of hiring.
First, skills tests allow human resources personnel to hire faster without compromising the screening process. They can administer pre-employment screening tests early in the hiring process to zero in on top talent. Once they have identified the best candidates, they can schedule interviews and make employment offers.
Second, skills assessments reduce the chances of making a bad hiring decision. When using traditional screening methods like resume reviews and interviews, unqualified candidates may be able to talk their way into a job. Skills tests eliminate this problem by providing hiring teams with quantifiable information about each applicant’s abilities.
Finally, pre-employment screening tests can reduce the overall cost of hiring. They accomplish this in several ways.
First, skills assessments allow government organizations to rapidly fill vacancies with quality candidates. By hiring top talent, these entities can reduce the risk of turnover. Second, online skills assessments eliminate the need to conduct in-person testing. This approach means that government organizations do not need to hire proctors or purchase costly physical testing materials.
If you’re responsible for building out a team of government professionals, skills tests are a great way to ensure that you’re hiring the best folk possible as quickly as possible. They also remove bias from the hiring process by focusing on quantifiable traits related to candidate job performance.
Pre-Employment Screening Tests from eSkill
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