While pre employment testing has been on companies' radar for a while, it has become a more recognized (and popular) method of building a great workforce today. From assessing everything from personality to integrity, cognitive aptitude to emotional intelligence, to communication skills, basic mathematics and physical abilities, these tests can tell an employer a lot about a potential candidate, going far beyond the traditional interview in helping employers put the right candidate in the right job.
About Pre Employment Testing In Today's Job Market
According to report compiled for the Aberdeen Group, the majority of today's most successful business believe that testing enables them to more quickly and accurately determine just how effective and capable a candidate would be on the job. According to Aberdeen’s research, companies that have implemented pre hire testing programs appropriately and effectively have seen terrific returns on their investment. They are 24 percent more likely to have a high percentage of employees who exceed performance expectations, 17 percent more likely to have employees who rate themselves as highly engaged, and 36 percent more likely to be satisfied with new hires than businesses that do not use pre employment testing.
According to Fortune Magazine, there is also a trend towards more intensive pre hire screenings in many industries, which some experts attribute to a growing focus on more selective hiring. That focus seems to be driven by employers' desire to not only find employees who are well-suited to a specific job, but someone who will also be a good fit in terms of workplace culture. Considering that, according to the Harvard Business Review, a single bad hire can cost companies from $25,000 to $50,000 or more, it's a pretty important goal.
How Should You Use Pre Employment Testing?
Using pre hire testing to your advantage is an individualized process that depends heavily on what your business does and your personal management goals. For instance, if your company is sales-oriented, personality and sales aptitude tests may benefit you, while businesses within the health care, financial or service industries might find work skills, cognitive and character assessments more useful.
For companies hiring to fill physically demanding jobs, such as construction, health care, warehouse work, manufacturing or any other position that involves strenuous labor, however, physical abilities testing is a wise investment. By testing a candidates' ability to perform job-specific tasks and functions, physical abilities tests ensure that potential hires have the physical capability to meet the unique challenges of these jobs. Since employees who struggle with those demands are at greater risk for injury than fitter, more capable workers and are less likely to remain in the job, physical abilities testing can offer a wide variety of benefits in terms of increased workplace safety and reduced injuries and employee turnover.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember as you explore pre employment testing is that these testing programs must be compliant with federal workplace regulations to avoid legal difficulties. Additionally, pre hire testing programs – especially physical abilities screening programs – are most effective when they are customized to your company's needs, reflecting both your individual hiring priorities and the actual everyday demands of the workplace.
That means that off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all testing solutions are not your best choice. An individualized, objective testing protocol, built with the help of an experienced physical abilities testing provider, is the key to getting the results you need. Investing in a high-quality, job-specific testing process will help you reap the benefits the smart money says you can’t afford to do without.
