An Overview About Pre -Employment Test
A lot of times hiring managers are asked why they should be opting for pre- employment tests. A main reason is that organization is in a position to hire quality candidates. Gone are the days of trial and error method where the best candidates can be chosen for a job. If pre – employment tests are administered in a proper manner it can save time along with costs for a company. This is in terms of selection procedures; decrease in terms of turnover improves the morale of employees and enhances productivity.
The concept of pre- employment tests
With the aid of pre- employment tests job applicants are screened and this can include testing of motor and physical abilities, emotional intelligence, personality, integrity and even language proficiency. Organizations are likely to rely on this test so as to figure out successful candidates in a given job. In doing so you can go on to unscreen those who are unqualified.
It does help the companies to identify the right candidates for a job, those who are likely to be performing better on a job, with the help of pre- employment testing additional savings on the time along with resources is achieved. Organizations with the aid of assessments are most likely to figure out candidates who are mostly likely to succeed in open positions and to filter out the not so worthy candidates.
This does help an organization to identify the right candidate for a given job role. With the help of pre employment test, it can lead to additional benefits and pave way for savings on the time and cost front. This peps up the employee morale and decreases turnover.
Some key issues to address when you are dealing with pre- employment test
There are numerous benefits that are expected to accrue when you rely on the use of pre- employment tests; organizations have to keep a couple of things in mind once they are planning to implement such assessments.
First and foremost you have to address the issue of validity. Here you need to figure out whether test measures are specific, what it is going to measure and on how it is going to predict future job performance or success. This has to be done before you go on to implement the assessment. This you can achieve by calculating the validity coefficient. This means the correlation between the job performance and the expected scores. The more the number the possible chances of a candidate likely to be doing better in a job and those who are going to perform poorly the chances reduce where they do not perform up to the mark.
Then you have to address the issue of reliability, means the test results are consistent with the test that measures an item. For a test to be reliable the score of an individual has to be the same each time they go on to opt for it. For example if someone takes the test today, obtains one score and next day another score emerges then the test results are not reliable. This does not serve any purpose in figuring out the score of a potential candidate. Just as the case with validation, the reliability has to be proven before you go on to implement a test.
Tips to keep in mind when you are using pre- employment assessment test
You need to conduct proper research when you are purchasing tests from vendors
You need to choose the right test and make it a point that they are valid and reliable
Do keep away from questions that have a personal nature or that are going to be rated as offensive.
The tests should not be solely relied so as to choose candidates
Just you have a mere 7 seconds in order to formulate opinion about an individual. This amount of time in the eyes of an individual is expected to be really short. Now the question is how a person or a company can be known in a matter of a few seconds. You have to read through the last few sentences of the paragraph.
In a lot of ways if you perform such opinion it may turn out to be counter- productive, but the sad part is that it is human nature. The moment you formulate an opinion about someone it defines their relationship with you in the days to come.
If you are in the HR domain you might be aware that the first impression really matters when a candidate walks through the door. The manner of dressing, how they speak enables you to formulate a positive opinion about them. Now based on these assumptions you can figure out whether they are going to be a good fit for your company or not. For example, if they forgot to iron their shirt it can relate to job performance, but if they did not bring a CV it is not a big deal as they might have send you a copy by email. Now the question is what are the other important things they did go on to forget when they are part of your organization.
As important as it works in your favour on how to gauge candidates once they come in, HR professionals also tend to forget that candidates also form an impression about HR. The series of opinions are vital for the success of the firm. Sadly, a lot of HR professionals are not bound to pay a lot of attention in making up an initial impression about a candidate that they meet. Just think about it as the stakes of hiring someone in your organization could be a lot higher. Now what about the case where you company might not be the best fit. There is a possibility that they might have some other opportunities available, and shop around the services before they arrive at a final decision. It is not about money as several things come into prominence.