Hiring has become challenging in both the public and private sectors. According to a ManpowerGroup 2023 Global Talent Shortage report, leaders in 77% of organizations say they have difficulty finding qualified candidates to fill critical jobs.
According to a Korn Ferry report, there is a global talent shortage of over 85 million people, a number roughly equivalent to the population of Germany. The problem has become so serious that 71% of CEOs say a skills shortage is their biggest business challenge.
Since recruiting is so challenging, government organizations must ensure they hire the right person the first time. So, many agencies are turning to career assessment aptitude tests to identify top candidates.
What Are the Benefits of Using Career Assessment Aptitude Tests
Career assessment aptitude tests are more reliable than resumes and interviews because they show which applicants have the required job skills and which candidates are a good fit for your organization. These are some benefits government agencies see when they implement career aptitude tests.
Quickly Screen Applicants: If your agency is like most, you receive hundreds of responses for a single job posting. Career assessment aptitude tests allow you to instantly identify the best candidates and weed out those lacking the necessary skills and experience.
Decrease Time-to-Hire: Your hiring team can avoid wasting hours reviewing resumes from unqualified applicants and concentrate their time on top candidates.
Reduce The Chance of Hiring Mistakes: Hiring mistakes are counterproductive and negatively affect team morale. They are also expensive. A bad hire can cost your company thousands of dollars in recruiting expenses, staff disruption lost productivity, and loss of public and vendor goodwill.
Flexibility in Creating Career Assessment Aptitude Tests: Leading assessment solutions like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM include a library of validated assessments you can use as-is or modify by adding and deleting questions.
CustomizeCareer Aptitude Tests: Top assessment solutions allow you to build customized skills tests perfectly tailored for your job roles by choosing questions from multiple assessments and adding your own content.
Simulations: To ensure candidates can apply what they know on the job, you can include simulation questions that replicate job-related situations. Industry-leading assessment solutions include simulations like MS Office®, Chat, Multitasking, and Digital Literacy.
How Career Assessment Aptitude Tests Help You Reduce Turnover
Once you hire the right people, you must keep them to build a strong team. These are some ways a career aptitude testing solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM helps you reduce turnover:
Hire The Right People the First Time: If employees are happy working at your agency and enjoy their job, they will likely stay instead of exploring other opportunities. When you use career aptitude testing, you avoid hiring people who lack the required skills and experience and are not a good fit for your work environment.
Expedite Onboarding: According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), organizations with an effective onboarding program retain 91% of new hires during their first year of work. Career assessment aptitude tests make onboarding a positive experience by showing which skills new hires have mastered so you can focus training on areas where they need help.
Proactive Employee Development: Being proactive about employee development can help you reduce turnover by 25–30%, and career assessment aptitude tests are the cornerstone of a good employee training and development program.
How Career Assessment Aptitude Tests Help Organizations Improve Hiring
These are some government agencies that have used career assessment aptitude tests to improve the quality of hire, retain top employees, and minimize hiring mistakes:
Canadian Government: In 2020, the Government of Canada began consolidating the job aptitude testing processes of 118 locations in eight service centers across six provinces. It plans to map over 65,000 skills tests in the eSkill Assessment Library to country-wide behavioral and technical competencies.
World Health Organization: The World Health Organization uses some online career aptitude tests, but most testing is done on-site. Candidates are given a scenario and set of problems, and they have two hours to think of a plan and write a document that offers a solution. Scenarios are real-life job situations that have either already been addressed or must be addressed.
City of Philadelphia: The City of Philadelphia uses career assessment aptitude tests to assess candidates who apply for non-managerial positions, including general clerical and administrative positions. Most positions are in Health and Human Services, Public Works, and Public Safety.
State of Colorado: The State of Colorado uses career aptitude tests in 11 agencies and four educational institutions statewide, including the Department of Personnel & Administration, Department of Revenue, and Colorado State University, to assess candidates for non-managerial positions.
Town of Okotoks: The Town of Okotoks uses career assessment aptitude tests to pinpoint candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. If a strong applicant has training gaps, hiring managers can either decide to hire the candidate and work with them to develop those skills or decline to move forward.
Vantage: Vantage uses career aptitude tests to identify skills mature job-seekers need to enter or re-enter the workforce. It started by testing typing skills and now uses many of the skills tests in the eSkill Assessment Library.
Do you want to knowhow implementing career assessment aptitude testscan help you reduce turnover throughout your company? Contact us to request a demo.
