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While it may be tempting to rely on subjective data such as face-to-face interviews and first impressions to evaluate candidates, it is far from a reliable form of measurement. Resumes have always been considered to be reliable, but they often portray only what candidates want you to see, not an accurate picture of their skills and aptitude. Relying on objective data such as results of job-relevant online assessment tests allows employers to make informed hiring decisions.

When properly created and administered, hiring assessments predict the potential performance of candidates in the workplace. Recent research shows that using hiring assessments increases the likelihood of placing the right person in the right position from 50% to 80%. With the assistance of an employment assessment company like eSkill, selecting and administering online assessment tests is effective and efficient.

  1. Analyze Job Requirements

In today’s tough talent market, using a college degree or past work experience as a proxy for employability is not sustainable, nor is it a smart business move. When education or previous experience are the benchmarks for making it to the shortlist of candidates, many qualified applicants are automatically disqualified. With unemployment at historic lows, employers cannot afford to overlook individuals with twenty years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience just because the right box wasn’t checked on the application.

To truly gauge the potential of candidates, employers must first determine the core competencies that they are seeking. Without knowing the exact skill sets and aptitude needed for a position, it is not possible to make an informed hiring decision. Conducting a thorough job analysis is the best way to understand the competencies needed for a position.

A job analysis is a detailed, clear, and focused process designed to uncover the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required for success on the job. To conduct a job analysis, interview employees currently in the position, and review performance standards to clearly define the critical competencies. Use the critical competencies to design the hiring process, from recruitment to pre-hire assessment to employee training.

  1. Create a Valid Assessment

After determining the core competencies needed for a position, eSkill’s dedicated U.S.-based Client Success Managers can assist you in selecting or developing a hiring assessment. In order to obtain useful results and minimize the risk of litigation in the hiring process, the online assessment test should align directly with the output of the job analysis. eSkill’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to select and customize job-relevant assessments.

With hundreds of job-based and subject-based off-the-shelf skills tests, modular subjects, and thousands of subtopics along with their individual questions, creating hiring assessments is quick and effective. Easily combine multiple skills into one test or add, edit, or bulk upload your own questions to any of eSkill’s assessments to create a comprehensive evaluation.

After the online assessment test has been created, validity must be established in order to comply with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Test validity is the extent to which a test accurately measures what it is supposed to measure. Administering the test to employees currently in the position is one way to establish validity. If test scores correlate with employee performance–high-performing employees score high on the assessment and low-performing employees score low on the assessment, then it is reasonable to assume that the test is valid.

Do not let the legal aspect of online assessment testing deter you. Using a hiring assessment that is demonstrably customized to fit a job’s requirements, per a job analysis, is more compliant than not administering a test at all. And eSkill’s expert staff will be able to assist you throughout the entire process. eSkill boasts the best compliance record in the employment assessment industry with a nearly 20-year record free of litigation.

  1. Leverage Accurate Predictors of Job Performance

After you have established validity, it is time to begin administering the skills test. After each online assessment test is completed, the results are immediately available and can be reviewed, shared, and documented with detailed reports on the hiring team’s dashboard so they are accessible anywhere and anytime. For additional benefit, you can use the team scoring feature to gain more accurate predictors of success.

Data gleaned from hiring assessments can be used to inform strategic talent management decisions. Using the results of skills tests, rather than education credentials or previous experience as a proxy for employment, enables employers to identify qualified talent quickly and effectively.

Streamlined Hiring

eSkill’s user-friendly testing platform can be accessed anywhere in the world, which makes it easy to evaluate applicants remotely. This means your company’s talent search doesn’t have to be limited to one geographic area. eSkill automates the administration of assessments, and with customer service representatives available to test-takers 24/7, clients save valuable time and resources.

Evaluating candidates with online assessment tests levels the playing field because hiring assessments eliminate the risk of unconscious bias in the beginning stages of the screening process. eSkill’s assessments produce standardized scores making a comparison across applicants simple. Easily scale your talent acquisition efforts to immediately improve the diversity and reach of your talent pool with eSkill’s online assessment tests.

eSkill’s expert staff make it easy to develop valid employment assessments that match job requirements. Follow these three steps to optimize your organization’s talent management process. By administering eSkill’s legally defensible pre-employment tests, you will be able to identify qualified candidates efficiently and effectively.

Interested in Using Hiring Assessments?

Learn more about the benefits of using eSkill’s online pre-employment assessments to find qualified candidates quickly.

Request a demo today.

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