There are lists of pros and cons for every aspect of the hiring process. While most hiring tools may generally seem beneficial, there are those that are preferred over others. Additionally, the results of implementing those tools are something that is often overlooked by hiring managers.
The same can be said for pre-employment tests.
Pre-Employment Tests & How They’re Used
From being customizable to pre-made, pre-employment tests are useful in the hiring process to weed out any unqualified candidates early on. They are typically given as one of the first things candidates receive from hiring managers. Those tests provide a basic understanding of candidates’ skillsets.
Hiring managers can choose general, pre-design tests or create their own. However, the depth of the tests may vary, which can impact the candidates’ emotional levels. Too many times, candidates are presented with pre-employment tests that are vague, complicated, or irrelevant to the offered position. This means that constructing tests tailored to the business and position is important.
Top 4 Points of Interest
- Hiring highly qualified candidates.
- Decreases time spent hiring.
- Uses data to reduce bias.
- Lower turnover rates.
Hiring Highly Qualified Candidates
Pre-employment tests are designed to assess candidates’ skills. Tests in this category can make up technical skill assessments, which do just that and more. Technical assessments could be specific to the business and job duties—creating a list of highly qualified candidates. Pass or fail, as well as point, systems are used to grade those types of tests, depending on the person giving them. The ability to hire quality candidates is as the top benefit of pre-employment testing.
Decreases Time Spent Hiring
A fast-paced society means the hiring process has been forced to speed up while maintaining its effectiveness and quality. Pre-employment tests decrease the time for hiring managers since they can lower the candidate pool through eliminations. Candidates who pass them would move on to the next part of the process. Previously, hiring managers had to manually go through resumes and conduct interviews. With access to automated tools such as pre-employment tests, they have been able to significantly decrease the time spent hiring new employees. The removal of the manual resume reviewing process prior to several rounds of eliminations makes this the second most popular benefit of pre-employment testing.
Uses Data to Reduce Bias
Creating non-biased tests and placing them at the front of the hiring process has significantly decreased overall bias. The pre-employment tests are focused on the skills of candidates, rather than their physical or cultural characteristics, for example. Collecting data from previous tests is also beneficial for hiring managers to understand where the biases occur so they can eliminate them.
Lower Turnover Rates
It takes a lot of time, money, and resources to hire employees. Unfortunately, if an employee leaves after, say, a few months at the company, that’s considered a turnover. The traditional hiring process inadvertently increased those turnover rates over time. Most companies kept their hiring process the same even though more up-to-date tools were available. Implementation of these tools, which could help find candidates that fit with a business’s desired skillsets and company culture, was able to lower those turnover rates. A combination, on the other hand, of all the benefits is what makes pre-employment testing so effective.
