The last two years have been challenging for organizations in all industry sectors. They have had to adjust business operations to deal with a global pandemic. They have had to navigate their way through a multitude of supply chain issues to meet customer demand. Now they are struggling to fill critical positions due to an unprecedented talent shortage that shows no signs of ending.
A large part of the problem is that job requirements and skills that are in demand have changed, but most employees’ skills have not. This has caused a skills gap that is so serious that 71% of CEOs believe say a skills shortage is their most significant business challenge for the foreseeable future.
Companies that want to find and hire top-quality talent use tests for employment to identify the best-qualified candidates to maintain their competitive edge. They also use employment skills tests to identify current employees who are ready to move into new, more challenging roles.
How Employment Skills Tests Help Companies Make Better Hires
HR leaders use employment skills tests to make data-driven hiring decisions based on quantifiable information. Since 85% of job candidates lie on resumes and applications, it is too risky to trust the information candidates provide. In contrast, tests for employment instantly show which applicants have the required skills.
When asked why they use employment skills tests, HR leaders cite these benefits for implementing an industry-leading assessment solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM.
- Expedite Candidate Screening: When recruiters post a job, the company often receives hundreds or thousands of responses. If applicants are required to complete tests for employment, the HR professionals can quickly sort the results by score, identify the top applicants and eliminate the unqualified individuals. This saves them the hours of time they would have spent manually reviewing resumes.
- Customizable Employment Skills Tests: One-size-fits-all skills assessments are not practical because every organization has different needs. HR professionals want to have the ability to add or remove questions from pre-prepared skills tests, build a test by choosing questions from multiple skills tests, or build their own skills tests. They can take advantage of all three of these options with the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM, using pre-prepared assessments from the eSkill Assessment Library.
- Simulations: The best way to confirm that a candidate can do a job is to present them with scenarios they would encounter on the job and see how they respond. For example, if you are hiring customer service representatives and want to ensure they can handle several customer inquiries simultaneously, include the Chat and Multitasking simulations in your employment skills test to evaluate how quickly and accurately candidates respond to customers.
- Video Response Questions: A candidate may look great on paper. However, HR leaders like to include video response questions in tests for employment to get to know applicants better and evaluate abilities that cannot be measured using a written assessment. For example, if you are hiring technical support representatives, it is essential to confirm that the candidates have the required technical skills. However, they will also need to speak with customers on the phone to explain how to use applications and help them solve problems. By including video response questions, you can ensure they are articulate and easy to understand.
How Employment Skills Tests Help Companies Improve Training
The name makes it sound like employment skills tests are only used to screen and evaluate job applicants. However, companies also use them for employee training and development. HR and learning/development leaders mention these benefits when asked how they use the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM to improve training.
- Identify and Address Skills Gaps: It does not make sense to train new hires or current employees on materials they already know. So, HR and learning/development leaders use skills assessments to determine what areas new hires and employees have mastered. This enables them to focus training in areas where employees need more help.
- Upskilling and Reskilling: The best person for the job may already work for your company. So, HR and learning/development leaders use data from tests for employment to identify employees who are ready for new challenges or could be, with more training, and develop upskilling and reskilling programs to address current and future hiring needs.
- Create Individual Training Plans: Employees have different motivations and career goals and want help reaching them. So, they will look elsewhere if they are not getting what they need at their current company. According to the HR Daily Advisor, 71% of employees said they would leave a job if they did not feel the company took an interest in their personal and career development. So, HR and training professionals use assessment solutions such as the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM to create individual training plans tailored to each employee’s current and future career goals.
Employment Skills Tests for Hiring and Training
Organizations that want to find and retain good employees know that tests for employment help them identify and hire top talent and find outstanding employees to groom for new, more challenging roles.
Do you want to learn how employment skills tests can help you improve hiring and training outcomes? Contact us to request a demo.