BY EMILY HEASLIP
Skill
testing can give recruiters a competitive advantage in today’s
ultra-competitive job market. Not only that, but candidates who are hired on
merit, rather than background, tend to stay longer and perform better over the
long term. Here’s how to use skills assessments to fill your open positions and
to keep your pipeline full of happy, engaged candidates.
What is a Skill Test?
A skills
test is an assessment used to provide an unbiased, validated evaluation of a
candidate’s ability to perform the duties listed in the job description.
Typically, a
skills test asks a variety of questions in different formats to see how
candidates perform on-the-job tasks. A good skills test includes questions that
are capable of being answered by someone already doing the job and can
accurately measure key performance metrics. Questions should also be
specifically tailored to relate to the responsibilities of an open position.
Many skills tests include immersive
experiences, like
coding challenges or job simulations, to mimic how a candidate performs when
faced with a real-life scenario.
Other types
of job-readiness evaluations deploy validated psychometric assessments to
identify those in-demand soft skills: things like motivation,
conscientiousness, resilience, and emotional intelligence. A personality assessment varies from a skills test in that it
predicts how a person will behave in a specific scenario, rather than their
ability to complete a task.
While skills
test cover task-related abilities, like coding, copywriting, or sales, some
pre-employment assessments integrate the less tangible capabilities – things
like teamwork and leadership. These qualities are sought after by executives at
more than 900 companies, according to a Wall Street
Journal survey of
executives. Yet, 89% of those surveyed said they have a “very or somewhat
difficult time finding people with the requisite attributes.” Where traditional
hiring methods fall short, a skills test can easily clarify a candidate’s true
talent.
Overall,
skills tests can play a critical role in predicting on-the-job success. More so
than resumes or job interviews, a skills test can assess the true potential of
a new hire to go the distance with the company. Here’s how skill testing works,
and why more companies than ever are starting to integrate skill testing into
the recruitment and hiring process.
How Skill Testing Works
Skill
testing works best when the questions being asked are specifically crafted to
the role and needs of the team hiring the new candidate. In designing a skills
test, combine different types of questions to get a 360-degree view of how a
candidate will perform in different scenarios.
There are a
variety of ways to set up a skills test – and we’ll get into the mechanics of
how to actually run the assessment in the next section. But, designing a
thoughtful aptitude test takes some initial foresight on behalf of the hiring
manager and team. Research by Deloitte suggests this sample process for
selecting and implementing skill testing questions:
Define the
“human elements” needed to perform the job
Compile
questions that will measure and predict these human elements
Use the data
gathered by the skills assessments to empower the next round of the screening
process
Post-hiring,
evaluate the efficacy of the hiring assessment to ensure the questions
delivered the best result.
Ultimately,
the best use for an aptitude test is to help recruiters move away from the
resume and allow candidates to prove they are the real deal. Crafting the right
series of questions should be a collaborative process between the recruiting
team and the team hiring the new employee. Here’s how these teams can set up
and run a skills test.
How to Set Up and Run a Skill Test
In designing
a skills test or pre-employment assessment, there are a few specific steps to
take in order to thoughtfully structure your questions. Vervoe recommends
following these best practices in setting up and running your
skills test. These tips can help with candidate engagement and lead to high
rates of completion.
Your skills
test should include a minimum of six questions; somewhere in the eight to ten
range is best.
At least a
few questions should require text answers; start with a text-based response in
the first question, rather than a video or immersive question.
At least one
question should be multiple choice.
Include an
“immersive” style question, in which the candidate edits a document,
spreadsheet, or presentation.
To retain a
candidate over the entire experience, start with easier questions and build up
to more difficult ones later in the assessment.
Try to
minimize use of timers to account for technical difficulties and give the
candidate the best chance of success.
We also
suggest that video responses not be timed; there are too many technical issues
that can result from a candidate trying to film a one-way video
interview. If you do
wish to set a time limit, make sure it’s at a minimum of five minutes.
Running a
skills test through Vervoe, or any other platform, is relatively
straightforward. Vervoe’s Talent Trials let you select questions from a library
of assessment tools, or design your own questions based on the specific needs
of your company. The Talent Trial library offers questions and trials created
by experts in their fields, meaning they have at least 3+ years of experience
in their specific area of expertise. You can preview questions from any of the
Talent Trial areas and add them seamlessly through the Vervoe platform.
Now that you
know how to set up an aptitude test, when should you deploy this tool during
the hiring process?
Using Skill Tests During Hiring
Timing is
everything when it comes to adding a skill assessment to your hiring process.
Research by Harvard
Business Review
revealed that skills tests should come early in the hiring process. According
to their study, “Many service companies, including retailers, call centers, and
security firms, can reduce costs and make better hires by using short,
web-based psychometric tests as the first screening step. Such tests
efficiently weed out the least-suitable applicants, leaving a smaller,
better-qualified pool to undergo the more costly personalized aspects of the
process.”
Skill tests should be used to screen candidates in, not out. The issue many
recruiters face is that the volume of candidates makes it impossible to
carefully consider each person’s ability. Smart algorithms and AI tools can
turbo-charge candidate assessments by scoring results quickly and removing human
bias from the
equation. Vervoe’s algorithm scores candidates using a multi-layered approach.
Candidates are ranked based on how well they performed, rather than filtered
out if they didn’t achieve a certain benchmark. The top candidates easily rise
to the top; but no one misses out on being considered for the next round. When
used early in the hiring process, Talent Trials can select a more diverse pool of
applicants to
continue onto the next phase.
Skill Test Examples and Templates
Excel skill
tests, coding skill tests, typing skill tests, and other computer skill tests
are the most common forms of pre-employment assessments. Some companies focus
on questions that are task-related, e.g. “Create a Powerpoint Slide that has a
video embedded in the presentation.” Questions can get hyper specific to test a
niche skill, like a coding language, or be posed more broadly to test the
general requirements for success at a certain level.
Some
companies choose to focus on verifying the skills that will help a candidate
succeed beyond the immediate position. This approach skews closer to a
pre-employment assessment, with questions designed to reveal if a candidate can
climb the corporate ladder, adapt in a challenging work environment, or respond
under pressure. For example, one call center rep test included questions such
as, “You have an elderly customer on the phone who is having trouble
understanding your instructions. A colleague is also trying to transfer a call
from a customer you served before, and you have a scheduled follow-up call
happening in 5 minutes. How would you handle and prioritize in this situation?”
Multiple
choice, open-ended questions, and pre-recorded video responses are all great
ways to see if a candidate has what it takes to do the job well. But, do
candidates enjoy answering these types of questions?
Do new hires like doing skill tests?
By most
accounts, candidates appreciate the opportunity to showcase what makes them
great at their job. Orica, the world’s largest provider of
commercial explosives, integrated skill testing into their interview process to
the delight of their job candidates. In revamping the interview process for
graduate students looking to join the Orica team, recruiters consolidated their
online evaluation components into one platform, Vervoe. The Talent Trial test
combined questions focusing on skills, logic, and values.
An average
of 86% of
candidates completed
the online process, and the reviews were mostly positive. Here’s what the
candidates had to say about the skills test:
“The tests
required total engagement and thought, and were a clear demonstration of what
makes Orica different from any other company.”
“I think the
questions were very diverse and it allowed me to showcase myself, my skills and
abilities in different ways.”
“It gave me
an opportunity to showcase who I am as well as challenge my skills”
This is just
one example of how a skill test can change the entire interview process for a
potential new hire. In a job market where people spend an average of 11 hours a week looking for a new job, it’s easy to
get burned out, fast. Every job description starts to look the same; every
interview begins to feel stale.
When given
the opportunity to showcase their talent through real-world tasks, job
candidates will jump at the chance to be engaged with
the job description,
rise above their resume, and challenge themselves. Companies that use Vervoe’s Talent Trials experience a 97% candidate
completion rate, which is among the highest engagement rates in the industry.
Candidates love the opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Even if they
aren’t hired, skills testing offers a break from the repetition of the stale
interview experience.
What are the benefits of a skill
test?
The benefits
of a skills test aren’t limited to the candidate experience.
Recruiters
looking to hire diverse, high-performing teams with better efficiency and
consistency can use pre-employment tests to their advantage. Skills tests are a
better predictor of performance than resume screenings or traditional
interviews alone. Resume screenings are bad for three reasons. First, studies
suggest that it’s common for candidates to
lie on their CV. The
person you think you’re hiring may not actually possess the qualifications you
think they do.
Second,
resumes only provide a high-level view of a candidate’s credentials and work
experience. These items don’t offer qualitative insight into actual on-the-job
performance. Coupled
with recruiting biases that are built into the process, the third threat is
that recruiters are privileging candidates based on background and
demographics, rather than talent. Perhaps this is why new hires crash out as
often as they do. According to one study, 46% of new
hires “fail” within
the first 18 months of being hired.
Do skill tests work?
In our
experience, skill testing works better than traditional hiring methods
– with some caveats.
Without a
doubt, aptitude tests can be used to replace resume
screening. This
style of sorting through candidates increases the chance that the best
candidates will be unfairly eliminated. Good people get screened out, rather
than screened in. So-called “pedigree proxies” – resumes and cover letters
– are not indicative of job performance, yet they are often the quickest
way a recruiter or algorithm can think of to cut down on their stack of
candidate resumes.
Skills tests
improve time to hire while allowing the hiring manager to see how someone will
do the job, before they get the offer. This reduces turnover costs, which add
up quickly: the cost of making the wrong hire can be up to 2.5x salary, easily over $100,000. Working with Vervoe’s Talent Trials,
on the other hand, can help a recruiter identify the best people at under $100
per hire.
The best
skills tests, however, need the right formula to help the candidates
succeed. Some
recruiters focus narrowly on the skills that will help a new hire succeed in
the immediate position for which they are hiring. Yet, many CEOs emphasize the
importance of soft skills – things like leadership and teamwork. New hires may
end up being disappointed and leaving because they lacked the soft skills
needed to adapt to their
new team, not
necessarily the skills to perform the job. Recruiters must integrate questions
into their skill assessment that focus on critical soft skills that predict
long-term success. These validated psychometric assessments are key to
assessing “culture fit” without defaulting to recruiter
bias.
Skill tests vs. interviewing
In
conclusion, we’ll leave you with few thoughts on skill tests compared to
interviews.
First,
interviews, in general, need a total overhaul. Recruiters have been asking the
same, outdated
interview questions
for decades. Many candidates get overwhelmed by the performance anxiety
inherent in the interview and may make (forgivable)
mistakes.
Nevertheless, many recruiters like the security of meeting someone before
making an offer.
Many
recruiters seek the same insight from a group interview or case study that they
would get from an individual skill test. Unfortunately, using these methods
can’t give you the same valuable information as a straightforward aptitude
assessment. Case studies can be too conceptual; rather than
seeing how a candidate will approach the work listed in the job description,
case studies ask abstract questions. The goal of asking “how many tennis balls
can fit on a Boeing 757” is not to see if the candidate can guess the right
answer, but to see how they approach the question and reason through their
response. But this knowledge doesn’t always serve a recruiter with the best
predictor of on-the-job success.
Group
interviews provide more insight – into a candidate’s teamwork, leadership,
and communication, for example. Yet, in a group scenario, extroverts tend
to dominate. It can
be difficult to see how each candidate performs as an individual while trying
to consider the group at once.
In summary,
skill testing is all about understanding whether a candidate can do something
or knows something. It’s about verifying their ability to go the distance with
your company. Pre-employment assessments differ slightly in that they focus on
predicting how a candidate will behave in certain scenarios, not what they can do.
By combining questions from skills testing and pre-employment assessments,
recruiters can get a more accurate picture of the candidate’s ability.
Source: www.vervoe.com
