All organizations focus on maximizing productivity because their success and possibly survival depend on how well they outperform their competition and meet growth goals.
Hiring the best talent is the key to improving productivity and meeting deadlines. Suppose you have a cross-functional project which should take three years to complete. A McKinsey study showed you could significantly reduce the project length if you have the right talent:
- It would take less than two years to complete the project if you replaced 20% of the average performers on a project team with great talent.
- If the team members were 400% more productive, the project would take less than a year to complete.
- If the talent on a competitor’s project team were 20% better than yours, that company would beat you to market on the same project, even if you had a one- or two-year head start.
If your organization is like most, your HR team finds recruiting qualified candidates for critical job roles challenging. According to a Korn Ferry report, there is a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people. If not addressed by 2030, it could cost businesses around $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues.
Skills assessment tests are the best way to identify top-quality candidates who can help you meet your organizational goals. They are also an essential tool for weeding out unqualified applicants. According to the American Management Association (AMA), almost 90% of companies that assess job applicants will not hire candidates if their test results show they lack basic skills.
How Skills Assessments Improve Hiring Outcomes
HR leaders know that using a skills assessment testing solution such as the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM is the key to making the best hiring decisions. These are some of the reasons why.
- Expedite Applicant Screening: HR teams often receive thousands of applications for a single job. By reviewing skills assessment results, they can easily find the best-qualified candidates and promptly move them to the next stage of the hiring process.
- Eliminate Unqualified Applicants: Many candidates lie about their experience and qualifications. A 2020 survey showed that over half of job candidates admitted misrepresenting or exaggerating their qualifications on their resumes. Skills assessment tests enable recruiters to make hiring decisions based on quantifiable data instead of relying on information that may or may not be correct.
- Minimize Hiring Mistakes: Every business leader wants to avoid hiring mistakes because they are expensive and hurt productivity. According to LinkedIn and the US Department of Labor, the cost of a bad hire could be as high as $240,000 when you consider recruiting expenses, team disruption, customer goodwill, and potential litigation.
- Reduce Turnover: Employee turnover is a productivity killer. According to a Gallup report, turnover costs US businesses $1 trillion annually. And this does not account for the proprietary knowledge and experience tenured staff possesses. When you use a skills assessment solution, you can improve the overall quality of hire. When you hire the right people and place them in the right jobs, they will likely stay longer and grow with your company.
- Eliminate Unconscious Bias: When trying to fill a critical role, you want to hire the best person for the job. However, unconscious and subjective bias can influence hiring decisions. Skills assessments enable you to evaluate job candidates accurately and objectively and make data-driven hiring decisions instead of relying on “gut” feelings. This is important because studies show that companies that prioritize diversity in the workspace through gender (25%) and ethnicity (36%) are more productive than their competitors.
Improve the Effectiveness of Skills Assessments
Skills assessment test results show which applicants have the skills to perform a job. However, they do not tell you all you need to know about candidates. The eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM offers other features to give you a 360o view of candidates.
- Behavioral Assessments: An applicant’s test scores may show they are perfect for a job; however, they may not fit your company culture well. Using behavioral assessments in addition to skills assessment tests shows you which candidates are the best fit for your corporate culture.
- Video Response Questions: It is difficult to measure some abilities, such as verbal communication and foreign language proficiency, using a written assessment. Video response questions help you accurately measure these abilities.
- Simulations: The best way to see if applicants can do a job is to watch them perform job-related tasks. For instance, you can use MS Office® simulations to evaluate Word® and Excel® proficiency and the Digital Literacy simulation to measure basic computer knowledge and Internet and social media expertise.
Skills Assessments Improve Hiring Outcomes
Organizations strive to make the best possible hires to improve productivity and meet growth goals. By implementing a skills assessment testing solution such as the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM they can streamline their entire hiring process and make informed hiring decisions based on hard data. They can also lower hiring costs and decrease time-to-hire. Many eSkill clients have reduced hiring costs by 70% and time-to-hire by 60%.
Do you want to learn how skills assessment tests can help you make better hires? Contact us to request a demo.
