If your staffing firm is like most, you are finding it challenging to recruit top talent to fill critical job orders for clients. This is because we have a global talent shortage that has been growing for the past decade.
The main problem is companies’ needs have changed because of technological advancements, but applicants’ skills have not kept pace. Around 69% of global organizations reported talent shortages in 2021, an increase from 35% in 2013.
According to a Korn Ferry Future of Work report, there is a global talent shortage of more than 85 million people. Industry experts say that if this problem is not resolved by 2030, organizations worldwide will lose around $8.5 trillion in annual revenues.
What The Talent Shortage Means for Staffing Firms
If staffing firms cannot find candidates who meet clients’ needs, they are not paid. They cannot present poorly qualified candidates to clients because they could lose the client’s business, damage their reputation, and hinder their ability to attract new clients.
Fortunately, staffing firms can make the talent shortage work to their advantage by implementing a pre-employment skills testing solution like the industry-leading eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM.
How Staffing Firms Use Pre-Employment Skill Testing
Speed, efficiency, and accuracy are paramount when clients task staffing professionals with finding the perfect candidate for a critical job role. These are some ways staffing firms can use pre-employment skills tests to make better placements, increase revenues, and improve profits.
- Streamline Applicant Review: Pre-employment skills tests help staffing teams eliminate hours of work they would spend reviewing resumes and quickly identify applicants with the skills required for a job. This enables them to create shortlists more quickly, which leads to more successful placements and higher revenues.
- Make Data-Driven Decisions: In the past, staffing firms used traditional tools like resumes, job applications, and interviews to screen candidates. Unfortunately, this is no longer possible because 78% of candidates lie on their resumes. By using pre-employment skills tests, firms can quickly review test results and use hard data to determine which candidates are most qualified for the job. This results in more qualified candidates, which means happier clients.
- Create Customized Pre-Employment Skills Tests: Generic pre-employment skills tests can be ineffective because job requirements differ by organization. The same job at one company may have different responsibilities and skill requirements from the same position at another company. So, one-size-fits-all employment tests may not be practical in many cases.
With the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM, staffing professionals have access to a library of hundreds of validated job- and subject-related skills tests and can customize them to perfectly match each of their job roles.
For example, the Data Entry Operator and Data Control Clerk pre-employment skills tests may be perfect for your needs if you are recruiting data entry operators. If your client has emphasized that the candidates must have specific skills such as knowledge of advanced MS Excel® features, you can require applicants to complete subject-based pre-employment skills tests such as Advanced MS Excel and MS Excel Functions.
- Add Simulations to Pre-Employment Skills Tests: A surefire way to ensure applicants have the right skills for a job is to watch them complete job-related tasks. Simulations enable staffing professionals to create questions that replicate job-related scenarios. They and their clients can see how applicants handled specific situations and review the steps they followed to complete each task.
For instance, if a client has asked you to recruit mechanics to service their vehicle fleet, pre-employment skills tests like Automotive Mechanic Knowledge and Diesel Mechanic Knowledge will help you confirm that candidates have basic automotive knowledge. Including simulations that prompt candidates to solve problems related to the types of vehicles they will work on shows you they have the required technical expertise for the job.
- Minimize Unconscious Bias: Unconscious bias refers to preconceived attitudes and stereotypes that can negatively impact hiring decisions. A Bright Talk survey shows that 79% of HR professionals said subjective bias can influence both recruitment and succession planning decisions.
Hiring teams are tasked with judging candidates fairly and impartially, and most team members do their best to adhere to the process. However, unconscious bias can still influence members’ decisions if they have a similar background or share common experiences with a candidate.
Pre-employment skill tests help organizations minimize unconscious bias because they deemphasize the importance of resumes, applications, and interviews and focus solely on candidates’ skills and abilities.
Get Started with Pre-Employment Skill Testing at Your Staffing Firm
Incorporating pre-employment skill tests into your staffing firm’s hiring process is easy because the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM integrates seamlessly with popular applicant tracking systems (ATSs). So, when your recruiters create assessments, they can opt to administer them as part of your application process or send individual email invitations to applicants.
Once applicants complete and submit pre-employment skill tests, the results appear on your dashboard so you sort and rank candidates at a glance. You can also see a breakdown by skill level, review questions applicants missed, and then present the best candidates to your clients.
Do you want to learn how pre-employment skills testing can help you recommend better candidates to clients and improve placements? Contact us to request a demo.
