7 Reasons To Use Pre-Employment Tests

According to recent data, businesses with engaged employees report 23% higher profits compared to those with disheartened workers. I believe this is because engaged employees are more focused and motivated, leading to increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Employees are the building blocks for any company. Can you imagine what will happen if the bricks which make up your building are of the wrong size? The entire building will collapse! Similarly, a company will collapse if its employees are not a good fit. Therefore, how the use of the pre-employment test in hiring gives these companies the best employees.

What’s the best way to go about it then? 

When all companies are trying to get the best talent to work for them, how do you ensure your company gets the right talent? 

Read on to find out why it is essential to make pre-employment tests a part of your recruitment process. 

Understanding Pre-Employment Testing

Pre-employment tests are a tool used to screen applicants. Just like universities use specially designed tests to screen students and decide which ones will be able to keep up and fit in, a pre-employment test assesses the individual to determine their skills and fit in the company. It may test the cognitive ability, personality, emotional intelligence, language proficiency along with work skills, motor, and physical abilities, and even the integrity of the applicants. 

Types of Pre-Employment Tests

82% of Fortune 500 companies use pre-employment testing. Though the forms of the tests may differ, they form a part of their recruitment process. These tests can be of multiple types, you can pick one or combine them for effective recruitment depending on your needs. 

Here is a quick list of the types available:

Job knowledge tests: 

These tests are suitable for screening candidates for specialized job profiles- for example, a software engineer. These tests then will contain questions testing knowledge to determine if he is a good engineer or not. 

It’s a good practice to make a list of skills you aren’t willing to train the new employee on. So by using the pre-employment test you can test these skills prior.

Personality questionnaires:

This helps assess the individual traits the candidate possesses. Therefore, its a great tool to get insights into the candidate and whether candidate is a good fit or not. 

Cognitive ability assessments:

94% of the companies using pre-employment tests include cognitive tests in the mix. These tests assess the cognitive abilities like basic verbal, problem solving, logical and numerical abilities of the candidate. 

Soft skills assessment:

This skill set emphasizes the non-technical aspects of the work. These include- communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and integrity. Therefore in such situations of customer or client interaction, these skills become of utmost importance. 

Hard Skill Assessment:

A job may require some specific skills for which the candidate should qualify. Imagine hiring a typist who is slow at typing, he won’t be very efficient of course. Thus, test his typing speed and proficiency in language using hard skill tests before hiring. 

Other employment tests:

Some companies have additional requirements for a job and may require other tests. For example, a company may require physical tests of the applicant to assess his fit or it may be a part of its policy to hire physically fit individuals for the position. 

Why should you be using these tests?

Convincing you to use a pre-employment test is equivalent to convincing you to inspect the fruits you buy and ensure they aren’t rotten and smell sweet for you to eat. So here I highlight 7 reasons why you should adopt pre-employment tests and make them mandatory in your recruitment process.

First and foremost, Pre-employment tests save a lot of time and money!

Google is nominated as one of the best places to work year after year.  On average, it receives 3 million applications a year! Now, imagine taking interviews and scanning the CV for all applicants. If Google decides to do that, it may have no time left to run the company! 

Statistics indicate that it takes 45 days to fill a new position. On the other hand, a recruiter spends 40 minutes per interview and receives an average of 250 applications per job posting. Now, these tests help streamline the process and increase the chances of finding the right candidate for the job.

Pre-employment will help save sweat, time, and costs!

Screen out the corrupted applications and bring objectivity 

Did you know, a study found that 78% of the resumes contain misleading statements and 46% actually contain lies? 

Making resumes unreliable and difficult to screen. Click to know how to find the right interview questions. 

Pre-employment tests are scientifically developed and are well-validated tests. These tests bring objectivity to the entire recruitment process. Test results can be standardized across candidates to make finding the right fit easier. 

Find the right person for the job

It’s difficult to find someone who is talented, has the skills, and is available for the job. While unemployment rates are soaring, it’s common to hire someone and find out they just can’t handle the work. In situations like these, you will wish you had a more effective recruitment system. 

Many companies rely on multiple interview rounds including senior leaders in the panel. It’s an expensive solution if you calculate the time and effort spend to conduct the same. 

Pre-employment tests will not only help assess his basic skills. These tests will also, test candidates skill set whether candidate has it all what you need. Hence, these will help determine if they can master the role. 

Employee retention made easier

“Don’t put a square peg in a round hole”- This is the basis of right hiring. Pre-employment tests help assess the aptitude, personality, interests and align it to the job role, helping you find the right pegs for the right position. This, in turn, improves performance and reduces the chances of employees quitting and getting fired. 

A study conducted in a call center, where a criteria basic skills test was conducted led to higher retention of the employees who scored better scores by 11%!

Also, did you know a study indicates may cost 16% of their annual salary to fill entry-level positions, 20% for a middle-level executive position, and a whopping 200% for the high-level executive position! Now imagine, if the attrition is high, these costs keep recurring. These tests help save costs by increasing retention. 

Increases productivity of employees

Let me tell you a story.

A clothing retailer, Mr. X wanted to increase the productivity of his sales associates. So he conducted the Criteria Basic Skill Tests to understand the relation between performance and the skills of his employees. This test measures the basic aptitude of an individual by questioning him on math, verbal, communication, and attention to detail skills. He found that the sales associates who performed well in the tests sold an additional $17 worth of goods per hour on average as compared to those who scored lower marks! 

Making it evident that if the aptitude aligns with the role, an employee is more motivated and thus, more productive to the company. 

Pre-employment, when administered properly, has the ability to predict the productivity of employees across various jobs and industries. This is because tests have the ability to determine the extent of knowledge, skills, and ability an individual possesses. 

Pre-employment test make your process defensible

One may assume that in tight market situations it’s easy to fill positions for a company. However, this is not the case. Companies have to follow proper guidelines and laws to recruit a person. For instance, A candidate can press charges if s/he feel they were led on or the employer relied on information outside the legal domain to deny him/her a job! 

Pre-assessment tests can come to the rescue if administered properly. These tests are used to screen the candidates in the hiring process. Interestingly these tests also have a scientific backing and are valid.

They also hold more importance as they can predict the individual’s success at the job as opposed to any other subjective method- like let’s say an interviewer’s judgment of the individual. For you to defend your hiring process- if they are ever questioned they can be your ace card. 

Helps manage people

Pre-employment test is more than just finding out about the skills of the new employees, it also helps understand their personality. That means finding out about what motivates them, what their working style is, and what their interests are. 

I understand it takes a lot of time to get to know people. But a 15-minute test can give you a head start to plan employee engagement activities and help you plan the career path of the employee in the company to reduce turnover. 

The Bottomline

The right implementation of the pre-employment test will save time, money and expenses. Therefore, it will keep your employees happier and longer. 

Try out Xobin as your pre-employment test partner. They have 800+ tests to choose from and even give you the option to customize. What’s more, it’s super easy and intuitive to use.