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The idea of implementing a pre-employment assessment can seem like a daunting undertaking for hiring managers. After all, they are already tasked with the arduous job of reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates and providing recommendations for new hires. When used correctly, however, a pre-employment assessment can actually save the hiring manager’s valuable time during the process. Additionally, it can lessen the chances of hiring the wrong candidate, saving the company’s all-important financial resources. Conducting assessments prior to hiring greatly improves your pre-employment screening processes. Hiring managers should review the considerations for implementing a pre-employment assessment outlined in this post prior to making a decision.
Determining Which Pre-Employment Assessments Your Company Needs
As a hiring manager, determining which pre-employment assessments your company needs, requires some research and thought. The key is to establish a list of core competencies that are preferred for your potential hires. This way, you can choose the appropriate hard or soft skills tools to assess for those desired traits. For example, if you are searching for someone who has the aptitude to learn new skills quickly, then a cognitive test is in order. Similarly, you may choose to administer an assessment for a person’s writing skills if that is a chief requirement for the job. Regardless of which pre-employment assessments your company needs, the experts recommend total testing time of less than one hour.
Integrating With Other HR Systems
Once you have made the decision to implement a pre-employment assessment, it is wise to consider how it will integrate with other HR systems. If you are currently using an applicant tracking system, for instance, you will want to make certain that the two are able to talk to each other. This will streamline the hiring process and put all of the data in one place. Hiring managers who are not utilizing an ATS at the moment should still consider these integrations for future scalability. Adopting pre-employment assessments without giving thought to how they integrate with other HR systems is shortsighted.
Potential Benefits
The potential benefits from implementing pre-employment assessments should be exciting to hiring managers. Although they are not foolproof, pre-employment tests offer insight that can help eliminate candidates that do not meet your company’s standards. Think about how much time this will save you during the hiring process. The potential hire’s interview process will end before they ever meet with you. Moreover, these tests will ultimately save the company money by weeding out applicants who are not an exact fit for the job. They are never stepping foot through your company’s doors so you will not be spending financial resources for onboarding. These are the two key potential benefits of pre-employment assessments that hiring managers should thoughtfully consider.
Legal Considerations
Hiring managers looking to implement a pre-employment assessment should be aware that there are laws governing this aspect of the hiring process. Admittedly, it is probably not your place to interpret the laws. However, you need to know that rules exist to prevent discrimination and safeguard unbiased hiring practices. The best way to be legally compliant with regard to pre-employment assessments is to implement tests that are job-related. Doing so will furnish objective data and provide protection for the company should a lawsuit arise. When it comes to legal considerations for implementing a pre-employment assessment, it is strongly recommended that hiring managers consult with an attorney.
Reflect Your Company’s Culture
The experience a potential hire has with the pre-employment assessment should reflect your company’s culture. You can do this by evaluating assessment tools that are customizable. Before you start uploading random information, give the company culture some thought. You may decide, for example, that branding is an important aspect of your business. It would then be important for hiring managers to add the logo and change the default colors of the pre-employment assessment. Additionally, you may want to upload a short video of the last company picnic if that is indicative of what is important to your company. Adding small touches like these to the pre-employment assessment gives the applicant a glimpse into what your company’s culture is all about.
There are several considerations you must analyze prior to conducting pre-employment assessments on prospective candidates. Hiring managers should first determine which pre-employment assessments the company needs. Employee tests improve retention, enhance candidate screening, and boost transparency for new hires. Once you have narrowed that down, verify if you can integrate them with other HR systems like an ATS. There are many potential benefits for implementing tests for potential hires but time and money are at the top of the list. Hiring managers should be wary, of course, and follow applicable laws regarding the use of pre-employment assessments. This will ensure that your company avoids litigation in this area. You should customize the experience as much as possible to accurately reflect the company’s culture. There is much to consider when implementing a pre-employment assessment. If you are a hiring manager, consider the information in this post when implementing a pre-employment assessment.
