Pre-Hire Assessment: 
10 Ultimate Truths

A business impact study will define the very specific mix of characteristics that leads to success in your organization. Once you define these characteristics, it's a short step to pinpointing the assessment mix that will give you that profile picture of each applicant.

Some examples of the results that pre-hire assessments have achieved include:

Pre-hire tests save time, energy and heartache. They speed up time-to-hire by helping you focus on the very best, very quickly. And they reduce hiring manager time spent in interviews with poor quality candidates.

There have been some dramatic results reported by organizations:

Pre-hiring tests and assessments give you robust information to supplement your decision making. They also say something about your company. Leading edge tests that show the job and your organization in the right light help differentiate you as an employer – just as sleek, integrated processes and feedback do. However, get it wrong and your use of assessment could be a brand detractor! So, choose well and bear in mind:

The content's relevance — Be aware and avoid ability tests using outdated questions, personality questionnaires that don’t ask about work behavior and assessments that bear no resemblance to the job or your company. 

The test-taker experience – Make the assessment look great and work on any device. Work with consultants to design the overall process, where the tests fit in and adds the most value, and where decisions are made. Look at psychometric tests that can be used on a smartphone, tablet and desktop. Think about integration with your ATS to provide a secure, single sign-on experience. Also, make sure you can add your own logo, color palette and customized content. 

Act quickly – Make sure the results you get from your tests mean you can make decisions quickly – whether it’s sifting out those unsuitable for the role or homing in on the best people. Don’t risk your competitor being faster than you.

Engage, engage, engage – How you treat your candidates says a lot about your organization. Psychometric tools give you the information to manage expectations with your applicants and the opportunity to engage with them. 

Make it cool – New developments in talent amean great assessments are now available to be completed on a mobile device, via video or set within your own business using your own real-world scenarios and examples. 

Some real-world examples of what this can look like:

As an organization, you have your own specific values, competencies and business strategy. What you’re looking for is likely to be different from what other companies value. Modern psychometric tests let you focus on the specific skills, abilities and characteristics you need. Create your own profile and tailor your assessment to fit your specific needs.

Real-life examples:

Years ago, psychometrics were the domain of theorists in ivory towers, but they have been transformed. Now they’re part of an enhanced user experience through shorter and engaging tests that are highly relevant to the job in question and optimized for smartphone use to appeal to everyone. And the transformation continues! AI is being trained to support scoring, interpretation and decision-making – all legally defensible, when done right.