Sifting through CVs and interviewing countless candidates for a hard-to-fill role takes a great deal of time and energy, as you’re no doubt aware. Introducing tests along the way can be an excellent method of filtering applicants, if done correctly. However, many companies struggle to reap the rewards of testing by implementing inadequate processes.
To consider a recent example of this, a leading company aimed to raise the quality of candidate appointments. To do this, they introduced testing into the selection process using aptitude tests for all candidates applying for a role within the organisation. The business in question used a blanket approach to testing, so that the same tests were used regardless of the vacancy in an attempt to ensure a level of consistency.
However, the impact of introducing the tests has been significant in a number of ways. Not only have they found a significant percentage of white collar candidates dropping out of the process at the testing stage, but also many of their blue-collar candidates are failing the tests. As a result, over time the company feels it has managed to raise the bar of people joining the organisation, but one that is lacking in blue-collar talent.
Ironically, the company in question has had to turn to recruitment agencies to fill those manual roles on a temporary basis, often from the same pool of candidates that had originally failed the tests for permanent roles. Not only has there been a significant delay in the hiring process, but there is now an increased use of third-party providers to provide the same candidates to the business, but at twice the cost.
Needless to say, the company is beginning to question the validity of testing or how beneficial it can be as a method of filtering applicants. What becomes clear from this example is that before any testing is implemented into a selection process, a certain amount of research should be carried out on the roles looking to be assessed. Once the key skills are identified, only then can the appropriate testing tools be implemented, which may result in different assessment and selection processes for each role and/or level.
We all know that without consistency any assessment & selection framework is automatically flawed and will not provide a fair assessment of all candidates. However, a blanket approach to testing can also prove to be quite damaging despite a company’s best intentions. Consistency is achieved by the application of the same relevant testing processes against specific role requirements every time that role is recruited.
