Organizations hire staffing firms to recruit applicants with the qualifications to fill critical job roles. It can be difficult to find candidates who meet all of a client’s requirements. This means an agency could invest hours of work and not see a return on its investment (ROI) if the team’s recruiting efforts do not produce suitable candidates.
The alternative is worse. If a staffing firm presents candidates who do not meet a client’s requirements, they risk ruining a business relationship and could damage their brand and industry reputation.
It has become challenging to recruit applicants for all types of positions because we are in a global talent shortage that has been growing for the past decade. The problem is mainly due to a skills misalignment because companies’ needs have changed, but applicants’ skills have not kept pace.
A Gartner survey shows the time required to fill positions increased by 18% from 2020 to 2021, and according to a ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage survey, 75% of companies are having difficulty filling essential jobs.
Since speed, efficiency, and accuracy are a priority to retain clients’ business, staffing firms use pre-employment assessment testing solutions like the industry-leading eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM.
this platform enables staffing firms to screen large volumes of applicants and quickly identify the ones to include on shortlists they present to clients.
It’s easy to understand why staffing firms and companies love employment testing solutions. However, they also improve the hiring experience for candidates.
How Pre-Employment Tests Improve the Candidate Experience
If you search the Internet, you will find many articles that claim job applicants do not like pre-employment skills tests. However, these are some ways pre-employment assessment tests improve the candidate’s hiring experience.
Reduce Unconscious Bias: Traditional hiring tools such as resumes and interviews are not as objective as pre-employment skills tests. Candidates can have the best qualifications for a job but be ignored by a hiring team because they do not have a college degree, did not attend the “right” university, or for many other reasons. Pre-employment assessment tests minimize the chances of this happening because hiring team members make decisions based on hard data instead of gut feelings.
Everyone Gets a Fair Chance: Pre-employment skills tests level the playing field, ensuring all applicants receive equal consideration. All candidates take the same test and answer the same questions in the same order. Hiring team members rate everyone using specific criteria, and they have no direct interaction with candidates as they would during screening calls and unstructured interviews. So, there is no chance that they will unintentionally spend more time with one candidate over another.
Speeds Up the Hiring Process: One of the biggest complaints candidates have about hiring processes is it takes too long to get a response. This is because staffing firms need hours to review resumes and schedule and conduct interviews. There are often second and even third interviews, which further prolongs the process. Pre-employment assessment tests alleviate these problems because they enable recruiters to instantly screen applicants, identify the most qualified candidates, and move them to the next step. Pre-employment tests also eliminate the need for multiple interviews because the hiring team focuses on what applicants can do instead of how they perform during face-to-face interviews.
Show Respect for Candidates’ Time: Candidates frequently complain that pre-employment skills tests are a waste of time. This is usually because they cover skills that are irrelevant to a job. As a result, many applicants get frustrated and leave before they complete the application process. The eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM allows you and your team to customize pre-employment assessment tests so you only test candidates on the skills they need, and you do not require them to answer questions that do not pertain to the job.
Expands the Talent Pool: When staffing firms use pre-employment skills tests, they can uncover applicants with non-traditional backgrounds they might have overlooked. For example, a candidate might be a self-taught Java programmer or web designer. However, they would not be considered if they applied for a job as a Java programmer or web designer due to their lack of a college degree or work experience. If they get a top score on the Java Developer or Web Designer skills test, a staffing firm can confidently recommend them to a client because their pre-employment assessment test results prove they could do the job, regardless of how they acquired the experience.
Get Started with Pre-Employment Skills Testing
Implementing a pre-employment skills testing solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM will help your staffing firm simplify recruiting, improve hiring outcomes, and provide a better experience for candidates.
Do you want to learn how pre-employment assessment tests can help you improve hiring outcomes and candidate experience? Contact us to request a demo.