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4 Practices To Improve Enterprise Recruitment Process Through Skills Testing 

September 5, 2022 Business

Attracting the right talents for your company is one of the most crucial steps in positioning your business for success. After all, these teams of professionals are the ones behind your brand, driving sales, exceeding customer expectations, and generating business growth. Thus, as an enterprise, you can’t afford to lose qualified candidates because of unclear hiring and onboarding procedures. 

It’s time to delve into your existing enterprise recruitment process and evaluate what needs to be modified and revamped. This is where utilizing enterprise recruitment software becomes handy. Another surefire strategy is to utilize skills testing to match and prove that the skills the candidates write on their resumes are accurate and are the best fit for your company’s needs. 

Here are the best skills testing practices to assess whether a candidate is best positioned for the role you’re hiring:  

1. Set Hiring Goals  

Like all your other business strategies and plans, it’s essential to set goals prior to implementing anything. Start by setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals, as these make your hiring process more organized.

Write down the skills, abilities, and knowledge you need for the open position. Skills can be categorized in two ways, such as technical and soft skills. It’s important to note that there should be a balance between these two types, as any company needs people who are both knowledgeable about the industry and, at the same time, equipped with professional attitudes.  

Now, choose a method of evaluating candidates based on that list. You can prioritize which of the skills are most essential and which ones are worth turning a blind eye to. Also, decide on what kind of people you want your company to grow with for longer terms. For instance, if you’re looking for someone who has the potential to fill a leadership role in the future, it’s crucial to consider assessing more of their soft skills, such as teamwork and leadership skills.  

2. Choose The Appropriate Tools To Use   

Fortunately, enterprises are equipped with the help of recruitment tools. Such types of software help companies hire the right talents, effectively and efficiently at that. However, when there are numerous systems and tools available for you, it can be confusing to choose which ones your organization really needs. Having said that, consider these two essential types of software for your HR operations:   

  • Enterprise Recruitment Software  

Recruiting software is essential for accessing and engaging with the best candidates in your organization. A sound recruitment software system addresses the needs of recruitment and talent acquisition teams, as well as candidates. As the one on the hiring end, you should consider this software helpful for the ones on the opposite end, too. Instead of having them go through a tedious process for interviews and skills assessments, the software expedites the evaluation, grading candidates instantly without long waiting times for results.    

Good recruitment software will automate processes and reduce administrative work, making you and your team more efficient. In HR recruiting software, you can automate many functions, including logging all conversations and actions among members of your team and candidates. You can also manage multiple applications from various roles and have a closer look at top performers. 

  • Skills Assessment Tool  

Skill assessment tools are essential in making the hiring process smoother and faster. But, since there are many types of software available on the market today, it pays to ask the right questions. First off, you need to decide what type of tests you need to assess your applicants. Ensure that the tests provided make it hard for examiners to cheat, for instance. Also, consider how the results can be measured.  

Other factors to consider when finding the right skill assessment tool are whether the platform comes with customer service support and other related features. Lastly, consider your budget and decide whether a one-time, flat fee, or annual subscription is more cost-effective for your business. 

  • Outsource Skills Testing

Hiring companies may also choose to outsource skills testing. This strategy can prove to be beneficial, especially when the company doesn’t have enough resources and expertise in-house. As explained by the folks behind Hire Velocity – when you work with a specialized talent acquisition solutions provider, they can help tailor-fit their tests according to your needs, ensuring that the test results accurately reflect the applicant’s skills and qualifications. By outsourcing, you also save time and effort in designing and administering the tests to candidates.

 

3. Identify The Role And Have The Applicant Undergo The Necessary Assessments  

Job applicants ought to undergo assessments based on the role they’re applying for. For instance, when you’re hiring a writer, you should test their writing skills by having them write a test article. On the one hand, it’s not uncommon for a company hiring for a sales position to ask the candidate to give a sample sales pitch for a particular product the company sells. Both examples have one thing in common: there’s a need to provide an assessment test that helps evaluate the applicant’s capabilities based on the position they’re applying for.

However, it’s important not to overwhelm the applicant by providing too many or too lengthy assessments. When this happens, you could lose great talents who aren’t up for spending too much time on skills assessments. Having said that, it’d be wise to balance generating accurate results and ensuring the candidate won’t mind taking the tests. A single to three assessments will usually suffice.

4. Analyze The Results Of The Assessments  

Another critical practice for your enterprise recruitment process should be analyzing the skills test results. For skill assessments to be effective, they must be verified, whether they’re being used for hiring or assessing existing employees. The fact is that even assessments or tests done by reputable tools can be faulty in some way, so it’s essential to analyze them carefully. 

If you’re utilizing automated software and skill testing tools, one way to calibrate results is to use data and analysis for your assessments. Failing to take this step may lead you to hiring the wrong candidate.

Conclusion  

Hiring the right candidate for your enterprise is crucial and imperative as your employees can make or break your business. So, in the recruitment process, the skills test must assess both the employee’s technical and soft skills. Hopefully, the practices mentioned above, as well as the hiring tools, can help you to find employees who are efficient, knowledgeable, and high performers. You’ll be surprised to cut hiring costs when you can eliminate high turnover rates and retain suitable candidates for your company.