Pre-Employment Skills Tests & Video Interviewing: Your Secret Weapon for Hiring in 2020

At the beginning of 2020, the world watched as the coronavirus pandemic changed the world as we knew it. Mandatory shutdowns and social distancing measures quickly shifted many employees out of the office and into their homes.

A recent survey of adults in the United States (US) found that nearly half of workers employed pre-pandemic are now working remotely. And it is now apparent that remote work may last long after coronavirus. In fact, nearly two-thirds of hiring managers surveyed report much of their workforce will continue to work from home moving forward.

A shift to remote work has not been the only significant change to the talent acquisition landscape in 2020. The US unemployment rate skyrocketed with the advent of coronavirus, and just starting to return to normal. In April, the US reached a historic 14.7% unemployment rate–the highest rate ever recorded by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it is anyone’s guess when we will return to last year’s candidate-driven labor market.

As organizations move towards recovery, they must think strategically about the implications of the technological tools they use to assess candidates. With a diverse and expansive talent pool looking for employment, organizations must adjust hiring processes to efficiently screen hundreds of applicants.

From on-demand video interviews to pre-employment skills tests, eSkill’s cloud-based suite of candidate assessment solutions optimizes hiring efficiency. With eSkill’s innovative platform, organizations can automate and streamline time-consuming tasks, reduce time-to-hire, and improve quality-of-hire.

Implement a Talent Strategy for the Digital Age

Now is the time for human resources (HR) leaders to add strategic processes so they can survive and grow in 2020 and beyond.

Below is a look at how human capital leaders can transform their hiring processes into sustainable, data-driven methods to identify top talent.

Look Beyond Improving Efficiencies. It is tempting to become laser-focused on cost-cutting measures and efficiency goals when redeveloping talent acquisition strategies. However, business initiatives that create value for an organization as a whole are more likely to garner support and funding from company stakeholders. To ensure your hiring strategies provide value for your organization, collaborate with the C-suite to:

• Create clear connections across critical skills and jobs, team objectives, and organizational goals.
• Identify talent shortages and pain points throughout the organization.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Sales to improve recruiting measures.

Select an Integrated Digital Platform. Securing a digital platform that enables your organization to leverage well-integrated candidate assessment tools is the key to building a sustainable talent acquisition model. eSkill’s suite of pre-employment testing solutions, including video interviewing software and skills tests, seamlessly integrates with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) for a streamlined approach to hiring.

Develop a Robust Approach to Candidate Assessments

HR professionals are acutely aware that the longer it takes to make a hiring decision, the more likely a qualified candidate will accept a competitor’s offer. So, it pays to implement a thorough evaluation process to screen applicants.

With eSkill, HR leaders can reduce time-to-hire and identify top talent with data-driven insights by implementing streamlined processes, including: 

1. Automated Skills-Based Pre-Employment Testing. Select and customize skills tests for any position using eSkill’s extensive Test Library and automatically send them to applicants.
2. Candidate Auto-Progressing. Select passing scores for skills tests and send automated messages to job-seekers based on their results. For instance, test-takers with a passing score receive an invitation to complete an on-demand video interview, and candidates who do not meet the requirements for the position are directed to a list of other positions for which they may be better qualified.
3. On-Demand Video Interviews. eSkill’s on-demand video interviewing solution simplifies and standardizes the interview process. On-demand video interviews present all candidates with the same pre-recorded interview questions in the same order. Selected evaluators then watch and score the interview responses remotely using the same set of scoring criteria.
4. Team Scoring. An administrator or administrators can use eSkill’s Interview Reviewer tool to assign specific hiring team members to evaluate on-demand interview responses. eSkill automatically notifies assigned evaluators when a video response is available for scoring and they independently score responses using the predetermined scoring criteria. Administrators can then view the results in real-time and aggregate multiple evaluators’ scores to reach an objective evaluation of candidates’ answers.
5. Identity Verification. Organizations can use eSkill’s Video Interview tool to capture a picture of the candidate along with their ID to verify the test-taker is who they claim to be.

With organizations forced to pivot to virtual hiring processes during the pandemic, HR professionals can lead the way to a broader digital transformation. Since it offers the capability to integrate with existing HR systems, eSkill’s suite of cloud-based candidate assessment tools is your secret weapon for hiring in 2020.

Interested in Pre-Employment Skills Tests & Video Interviewing Solutions?

Learn more about the benefits of using eSkill’s customizable pre-employment skills tests and on-demand video interviewing platform to find qualified candidates quickly.

Request a demo today.