Staffing firms worldwide are scrambling to recruit top talent for their clients. The problem is mainly due to a global talent shortage that has been growing for the past decade.
Companies’ needs have changed because technology has become more sophisticated. Unfortunately, applicants’ skills have not kept pace. Around 69% of global organizations reported talent shortages in 2021, an increase from 35% in 2013.
How The Talent Shortage Affects Staffing Firms
Staffing firms are paid to find candidates that meet clients’ needs. If they cannot find applicants with the right skills, they could invest hours of work and not see a return. Presenting unqualified candidates to clients is not an option because the staffing firm could harm its relationship with the client and damage its reputation in the industry.
Fortunately, staffing firms can implement an industry-leading assessment solution like the industry-leading eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM and use staffing skills tests to recruit and screen applicants.
How Staffing Firms Use Assessments
Staffing firms’ ability to recruit top applicants quickly and efficiently is essential when clients task them with finding the perfect candidate for an important job. They can no longer rely on resumes, interviews, and other traditional recruitment tools because the information is probably inaccurate. In a 2020 survey, 78% of job candidates admitted to lying on their resumes or during interviews.
Employment assessment tests allow recruiters to make data-driven hiring decisions instead of relying on possibly inaccurate information. Using staffing skills tests improves candidate quality, which means making better placements, increasing revenues, and improving profits.
Staffing Skills Tests to Use in 2023
The eSkill Assessment Library contains hundreds of validated job- and subject-based skills tests. If you are new to assessments, industry professionals recommend that you begin with the following staffing skills tests to see an immediate improvement in placements and increased revenue.
Basic Computer Skills Tests
The percentage of jobs that require computer proficiency increases annually. According to a Brookings study, 56% of jobs required low-level digital skills; 40% required medium-level digital skills, and 5% required high-level digital skills in 2002. By 2016, 23% required high digital-skill proficiency; 48% required medium-level digital skills had increased to 48%, and the percentage requiring low digital skills fell from 56% to 30%.
The Basic Computer Knowledge skills test measures applicants’ digital knowledge, such as knowledge of operating systems, email etiquette, and ability to use the Internet. Many staffing firms also use the General Typing skills test to measure applicants’ typing speed and accuracy.
MS Office® Skills Tests
MS Office® skills tests measure MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook proficiency. In the assessment library, you will find assessments for MS Office versions from 2013 through 2021 and MS Office 365 and MS Office XP. You can also use job-related staffing skills tests such as Data Control Clerk and Data Entry Operator to evaluate applicants’ knowledge of Excel, spreadsheet setup and organization, and data checking.
Industrial Trade Skills
Staffing firms with clients in manufacturing and industry use technical staffing skills tests such as Basic Industrial Math, Mechanical Aptitude, Blueprint Reading, and Basic Electronics. Job-related skills tests that are popular with industrial and manufacturing companies include Maintenance Technician, Assembly Technician, Service Technician, Electronics Technician, and Welder.
Organizational Skills
Since many firms are short-staffed, employees are being asked to assume more responsibilities. As a result, clients see organizational skills as essential for many positions. So, staffing firms verify that candidates have good organization, planning, multitasking, and other related skills. This is particularly true for remote and hybrid employees, who now comprise around 40% of the workforce.
Simulations
Staffing firm professionals include simulations in assessments to present applicants with realistic job-related situations and see how they perform. eSkill offers Digital Literacy, MS Office Chat, and Multitasking simulations that you can use alone or in combination. For example, if you were recruiting customer support representatives and your client wanted applicants with good Word and Excel skills, who could manage multiple customer interactions simultaneously, you could assess all those skills with these four simulations.
eSkill’s simulations are particularly valuable because they allow for shortcuts—multiple ways to get to the correct answer, a feature that no other assessment solution offers.
Get Started with Assessments at Your Staffing Firm
The eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM integrates seamlessly with popular applicant tracking systems (ATSs). So, adding staffing skill tests to your firm’s hiring process is easy. Also, when your team creates assessments, they can either administer them as part of the application process or send individual email invitations.
When candidates complete and submit assessments, the results are automatically uploaded to your dashboard to be sorted and ranked. You can review questions applicants missed, see a breakdown by skill level, and then present the best candidates to your clients.
Do you want to learn how staffing skills testing can help you make better placements and increase revenue? Contact us to request a demo.