What You Should Look for in a Soft Skills Test for Hiring and Training

The evolution of technology is constantly reshaping the technical skills that top companies seek. However, the need for soft skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, and strategic thinking remains constant.

Determining whether an individual has the necessary soft skills to be successful in a job is challenging. However, it is important because an error in judgment can cause a mismatch that will be difficult to overcome. The 2018 LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends report, which surveyed over 9,000 recruiters and hiring managers found that the majority of respondents (59%) identified soft skills tests as the most useful candidate screening innovation.

Even employers in the Information Technology (IT) sector are realizing the increasingly large role soft skills are playing in the workplace. The importance of soft skills “is a topic I’ve spent a lot of time fretting over,” confesses Rob Lefferts, CVP of Microsoft Security. “Most of my team are program managers and management requires soft skills such as strategic thinking, listening, a constant commitment to learning, communication skills, problem-solving, and humility.”

For business and HR leaders, the selection, development, and retention of top-performing employees is a key driver of success, which is why it is usually at the top of their agenda. When thinking about the talent already in an organization and the people that are needed, the strategy used for recruitment, integration, and performance management will impact retention.

As artificial intelligence and automation make more and more technical skills obsolete, businesses will need to shift their focus away from hard skills training and provide training and development opportunities to help employees develop future-proof soft skills. The first step is identifying the soft skills that potential new-hires and existing employees possess through strategic assessment.

So, what soft skills tests should your organization use for hiring and training purposes? Let’s look at the most important aspects of an effective, reliable, and valid soft skills test.

A Testing Solution That Enables Customization

Many vendors offer soft skills tests online. However, it is critical to choose a provider that enables customization so that the test measures competencies directly related to the job role. You can’t administer valid soft skills tests until you have taken the time to figure out which soft skills accurately predict on-the-job performance. This can be achieved by completing a job analysis and identifying the core competencies required for a role. eSkill’s dedicated U.S.-based Client Success Managers can help you complete a job analysis and select or develop a corresponding soft skills test.

With hundreds of job-based and subject-based off-the-shelf assessments, modular subjects, and thousands of subtopics along with their individual questions, creating a soft skills test online is quick and effective. eSkill offers the broadest range of customization options amongst pre-employment testing companies.

Customize Tests by:

• Merging multiple topics and sub-topics into one test. Create a comprehensive assessment by merging multiple skills, aptitudes, and personality traits into a single test
• Editing templates. eSkill’s assessments are editable as a template so that you can easily modify off-the-shelf tests and save your own versions.
• Add questions to the test. Add, edit, or bulk upload questions from eSkill’s library to any off-the-shelf test.

It is important to select and customize the right assessments carefully. Using an assessment that is customized to fit a job’s requirements is more compliant with Federal guidelines for employment practices than not administering a test at all. With a nearly 20-year history Equal Employment Opportunity Commission compliance, eSkill is trusted by top companies. eSkill’s assessment experts can assist your hiring team in creating valid, customized job-relevant assessments that are legally defensible.

A Comprehensive Solution

When choosing a soft skills test, you must consider the additional assessment tools that vendors provide. These tools are used to bolster soft skills test and paint a complete picture of individuals.

eSkill’s Suite of Assessment Solutions Includes:

• Job-Specific and Skill-Specific Assessments. eSkill’s provides the largest library of automated pre-hire assessments in the industry. Use these assessments with any of eSkill’s off-the-shelf or customized soft skills tests, with voice or video interviews, or as a stand-alone product.
• Video and Voice Interviews. Candidates record video or voice responses to pre-determined questions posed by hiring teams. Combine voice and video interview questions with other eSkill tests or use as a stand-alone product.
• Variety of Question Types. Hiring teams can choose from hundreds of prewritten questions and add their own questions. Combine open-ended questions with job-and skills-related questions and simulations and video questions to create a comprehensive assessment.
• Team Scoring. The team scoring feature enables recruiters to build a team of in-house evaluators that can review and score candidate responses to open-ended questions, one-way video interviews, and recorded voice interviews.
• Custom Simulations. eSkill offers realistic simulations that recreate your typical working environment. Use in any test along with job-related and video questions to evaluate how a candidate will perform on the job.
• Integration with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). eSkill’s testing platform seamlessly integrates with your ATS so HR personnel can easily keep track of job postings, candidates’ test results, and recorded interviews.

A Test That Provides Data to Support Employee Development

Data gleaned from eSkill’s soft skills tests help employers identify the strengths and attributes that are required for success and support the hiring and development of individuals who best demonstrate them. Leverage this data to create individualized learning and development plans to help each employee develop the skills and behaviors needed to contribute to successful business outcomes. This information also enables HR to identify future leaders and high performers from within the business and create proper succession paths to build a performance-driven organization.

eSkill’s soft skills tests incorporate measures of behavioral characteristics using nonobvious correlations. This unbiased approach to assessing soft skills allows employers to make data-driven hiring and employee development decisions. With customization options and the capability to integrate soft skills tests with a variety of assessment tools, eSkill stands out as an industry leader in evaluating soft skills.

Interested in Soft Skills Tests for Hiring and Training?

Learn more about the benefits of using eSkill’s soft skills tests online to find qualified candidates quickly.

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