Bad hiring decisions can prove costly and morale-draining, which is why companies looking to recruit like to employ various methods of candidate assessment, including pre-employment tests. However, whether you utilize Myers-Briggs, DISC, Calipers, or Predictive Index scores, by hiring a recruitment agency, you can find better employees much more easily.
Job-specific skills tests are accurate, reliable, and consistent and are useful in assessing a candidate’s aptitude. For candidate assessment that digs beneath the surface and uncovers the level of motivation and potential that someone may exhibit in the workplace, a staffing agency may be your best bet. This is because extensive experience, combined with a systematic approach will lead to an examination of all qualified candidates to find you the person that you are looking for.
Drawbacks of Pre-Employment Tests
There are many drawbacks when it comes to assessment tests that are commonly used to screen interviewers. A Harvard study sketched out some of the reasons why this is the case. Anyone with significant experience in recruitment can also point out other shortcomings of these tests.
Cost
Not every company has the financial resources to buy pre-employment tests, which can cost anywhere from $100 to $5,000 per candidate. Furthermore, analysis of these tests also costs valuable time from hiring managers. A recruiter bears these costs and invests their own time during pre-employment testing.
Rules and Regulations
Humans in general have very common cognitive biases, and a need to validate first opinions. These biases can still come into play even with a test, especially if there isn’t a well-structured or consistent process involved in tests. Recruiters know how to use a systematic approach to eliminate common biases.
Job Knowledge Test/Skill Tests
If a job requires specific knowledge or skills, it is essential to test candidates to learn about their ability. Making candidates complete examples of the work they need to perform, but it takes extra time and energy to administer such tests. Again, a staffing agency understands which questions to ask candidates due to experience.
Aptitude/Intelligence Test
Testing cognitive aptitude capabilities such as problem-solving, critical thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to utilize new information can be a strong predictor of job performance.
Popular tests of IQ itself include Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales, Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Raven’s Progressive Matrices, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The jury is still out on exactly how IQ correlates to job performance, however, as further studies are needed with larger sample sizes and better ways to measure data.
Personality Test
These types of tests can tell you about a candidate’s personality traits, and even predict some behaviours. The questions can also be structured in a way that reveals truthfulness of the candidate. Some examples of these tests popular with employers include the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire; Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness (DISC); Caliper Profile; and California Psychological Inventory.
Relevancy
It is possible to utilize extremely reliable methods of testing that do not have any relevance to the position you are hiring for. When a job involves experience in a particular area, an employer should take care to ensure tests are directed at main competencies.
For example, if you are looking for a heavy machine operator, it makes no sense to drill them on their written language abilities. A recruiter undertakes the most relevant methods of candidate assessment and ensures all testing is relevant.
Reliability
Many candidates might excel on a particular type of test, but be lacking in other areas that are vital to job success such as motivation. Furthermore, candidates have learned how to pass tests by supplying answers they know employers will want to hear.
Also consider how consistent the test is. Would people at a similar level of ability score comparably? A recruiter knows how to employ reliable candidate assessment tools for consistent results.
Same Test for Everyone
Each candidate needs a fair chance with the same assessment tools being used in each case. Time constraints and bias might leave employers with no choice but to administer fewer tests in some cases. Remember that a recruitment agency has more time to perform thorough pre-employment testing for all candidates.
Personal Assessment Missing
When a hiring manager is looking for the right fit, they often have unstated criteria beyond a job description that they use to filter candidates. The energy, interest, and professionalism of a candidate cannot be uncovered without getting much closer to a candidate. As recruiters have unfettered access to candidates, they can learn more to guide their job search.
Unable to Provide the Complete Portrait of a Person
A person’s complete picture is never going to be represented by a test score. There are many intangibles when it comes to candidates that have to be assessed using other methods. This means that good candidates can easily slip through the cracks if a company relies on test scores alone. A recruiter sees much more than most companies get to when it comes to the interview phase because they make it their business to find out more.
How a Recruitment Agency Does the Work
When you utilize a leading recruitment agency, they have significant expertise in assessing candidates with a variety of tools and tests. A recruiter invests the time that HR or hiring managers would have to put into administering relevant tests of candidate’s aptitude. Furthermore, the most important indicators for future job success can be uncovered by a recruiter because they work with much greater proximity to candidates than employers have during the interview process.
How Resolve Recruit Can Help
Are you looking for the right employees to join your company, and need the best pre-employment testing methods available? Mississauga-based Resolve Recruit Inc. can help by providing unparalleled candidate assessment services. Our recruiters have a nose for finding talented people and placing them in organizations where they are a great fit. We’ve been connecting highly-skilled people with great companies to work for within the GTA since 1999. Contact us today to learn more about the jobs and other services we offer.
