Almost every business in the United States felt the impact of COVID-19, but the effect was especially difficult for small businesses. According to McKinsey, there were 25.3% fewer small businesses in December 2020 than there were at the beginning of the year. Revenue for small businesses declined by 30% over the same period.
Now that much of the pandemic is behind us and businesses are beginning to open again, the problem is different–employers struggling to find workers. Despite the large number of businesses that shut their doors and with unemployment only at just under 6%, employers are discovering that good workers are hard to find.
Regardless of what is causing the problem, the solution for employers struggling to find workers is skills testing. When you add eSkill’s pre-employment assessments into your hiring process, you can easily identify the best possible candidates for all your open positions.
Why Is It So Hard to Find Good Employees?
Finding qualified workers is not a new problem for small businesses. The difference is the scale of the problem. According to CNBC, 42% of small business owners say that they are unable to fill openings and 91% say they have had few or no qualified applicants.
There are several reasons why this might be the case. Some candidates are holding out for higher pay, while others lack the training for jobs that are becoming increasingly digitized. In other instances, employers may not have reasonable expectations on tasks candidates should be able to perform, which sets them up to be disappointed by the applicant response they receive.
One common reason that small businesses have trouble finding qualified candidates is that they do not know how to accurately gauge a candidate’s skills. When a business owner asks, “Why is it so hard to find good employees?” the first response should be to ask how they are evaluating candidates. Implementing skills tests should be at the top of their list of solutions.
Skills Tests Make the Hiring Process Work Better
Skills tests are a straightforward, easy way to make your hiring process both more accurate and more efficient. Skills testing saves you time and money by speeding up your hiring process and companies that use them are more likely to find candidates that have the required skills or can meet the job requirements with minimal training.
Adding eSkill’s assessment tests to your hiring process is as simple as integrating a test into your application software. This allows candidates to take tests as they complete the job application. You can choose from a vast library of over 800 tests, all of which are organized by job or subject. Alternatively, you can build your own custom tests using pre-prepared questions along with your own questions.
As candidates complete and submit tests, it is easy to sort them by score to identify the ones who are best qualified. You can also generate a report that provides detail on how candidates answered questions and easily compare potential hires against your baseline expectations.
You can assess both hard and soft skills, which helps employers struggling to find workers to determine which candidates will have the best Job Fit. For example, if you are testing candidates’ customer service or leadership or, relationship building skills, eSkill has tests that can help you quickly determine which ones are best suited for the job.
Good Workers Are Hard to Find, So Retention is Key
While it is sometimes hard to take the long view, employers struggling to find workers can also use skills tests to ensure their company’s continued success. Employee development is a key aspect of worker retention, and skills testing is an excellent way to make your training programs as efficient and effective as possible.
After you make an offer, you can use the new hire’s assessment results to create a professional development program that enhances strengths and provides training to improve weak areas. This will help employees to develop and specialize their skills and help your company to grow.
When you show employees that you are invested in their futures, it builds loyalty toward your company. Not only does an employee feel as though they are part of something larger, but it also inspires commitment because the employee wants to give back to a company that is dedicated to helping them learn new skills and meet their career goals.
Interested in Using Skills Tests to Overcome Your Hiring Challenges?
Learn how using the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM can help you find candidates with the best Job Fit for your open positions. Requests a demo today.