Dr. Shayna Cooke
In today's competitive job market, where a single job posting can attract hundreds of applicants, finding the right talent has become increasingly challenging. The average number of applications per hire has surged by 120% since 2021, leading to lengthier interview processes and greater pressure on hiring teams. As organizations strive to recruit top talent, questions arise about the most effective recruitment strategies, talent retention, team building, and fostering organizational growth. Perhaps it's time to explore methods beyond traditional applications and resumes to make better hiring decisions.
One approach gaining traction is the implementation of pre-hire assessments, which can help streamline the interviewing process. According this LinkedIn blog from 2022, 76% of organizations with more than 100 employees are using assessments in their hiring process. However, it's crucial to ensure that these assessments effectively measure the qualities you're seeking in candidates.
This involves defining what you want to evaluate and ensuring the assessments are both valid (measuring what they're designed to measure) and reliable (producing consistent results). By incorporating pre-hire assessments, organizations can streamline applicant screening, potentially reducing time-to-hire and improving turnover rates by matching candidates with the right skills to open positions.
Here are some pre-hire assessment options:
Skills Assessments
During the hiring process, you can implement applicants taking a skill-based test to provide an accurate measurement of the candidate's qualifications and capabilities. To ensure avoiding discrimination, implement this testing at the same stage in the application process for all candidates and obtain results that can be compared across the board.
Work Samples
Present candidates with a problem allowing them to submit an outline of how they would deal with that issue or a small project to work on. This process can provide you with insight into how the candidate thinks, processes information, and provides an example of how they handle tasks.
Gamified Assessments
Platforms like HireVue offer interactive games accessing candidates' cognitive abilities, critical thinking skills, personality traits, and emotional intelligence. These interactive games allow you to identify candidates' strengths and weaknesses.
Video interviews
Recently, video interviews have become much more common in the hiring process. They can either be a pre-recorded set of questions that a candidate records and responds to that is sent to the hiring team as the initial step in interviewing or they can be real-time interviews held on Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or another video platform. Video interviews can be helpful for remote positions or if a hiring manager is located in a different area than the candidate.
Peer Interviews
Peer interviews offer a unique perspective, allowing candidates to gain a deeper understanding of the role they are applying for as well as the culture of your organization. If you are to implement peer interviews at your business, be sure to provide guidance and training to the peers who will be conducting the interviews regarding questions to ask, how to take notes during an interview, and how to assess a candidate's viability for the position.
There are many options to enhance your recruiting process from the traditional resume and application process. It's pertinent that whatever method you choose for your hiring process you are subjecting all candidates to the same evaluation at the same stage of the recruitment process to ensure fairness. By selecting and implementing the right assessments, employers can streamline their recruitment process, identify top talent from the pool of applicants, and foster success.