Test Before Hiring to Find the Best
03/05/07
An American Management Association survey of employers who test job applicants revealed something astounding: More than a third of the applicants were found “deficient” in basic skills. In other words, they couldn’t read, write, or add and subtract well enough to qualify for the job.
These employers must have breathed a sigh of relief every time a test uncovered such an applicant—another problem avoided. Yet the survey also showed that only a third of employers even test job applicants, meaning plenty of substandard workers find their way into company payrolls nationally.
Testing Benefits
Although testing is not a cure-all for your hiring problems, it can be a very important part of the selection process. Besides helping you avoid those with poor skills, testing especially helps you filter out the bad-egg employees who can make your life miserable – for months or years.
Testing offers yet more benefits. According to G.Neil’s in-house testing expert, Dr. Jodi Schwartz, “Employment tests allow consistency in the hiring process and provide a standard benchmark against which to evaluate candidates. Individual test answers also offer a basis upon which to ask pointed and probing questions in follow-up interviews.” Best of all, “validated” tests are proven to predict job performance. Simply put, testing points to the applicants who will most likely succeed on the job.
Must-Know Concept: Validation
Validation is not a “nice to know” concept for HR people and hiring managers, it’s a “must know.” That’s because the EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, designed to remove bias from the selection procedure, apply to testing. (The Guidelines cover employers with fifteen or more on the payroll.) If you’re going to test, says the EEOC, the test must be valid. And that simply means, explains Schwartz, “that a test measures what the test creator says it measures.”
A test on sales ability, for example, must truly predict the ability to sell. Creating valid tests, like all those offered by G.Neil, is labor-intensive. But valid tests give employers the predictive capabilities they need. “Our tests are validated using real companies in real job situations,” says Schwartz.
First Step: Assess the Job
Before you test, do some homework. Ask yourself, “What skills or personality characteristics are critical for success in this position?” Answer that by observing, and by talking to current jobholders and supervisors. For example, a customer service job, you’ll discover, usually requires a service orientation, an outgoing personality, the ability to empathize, and attention to detail.
Once you’ve assessed the job, says Schwartz, “look for a test that measures those things.” Generally, you can choose among three different test categories:- Skills. Testing skills is a sure method for filtering out unqualified candidates. For the customer service job just mentioned, for example, you might choose G.Neil’s Clerical Skills Test or the Skills Profiler.
- Personality. Personality tests reveal whether a job candidate has the right traits for success. For instance, the customer service job may call for G.Neil’s Workplace Personality Profile to measure the test-taker’s service orientation, flexibility, reliability, and other critical traits.
- Aptitude. Need to hire someone who can grow with the job or the business? “Aptitude tests show the potential for learning and overall cognitive abilities,” says Schwartz.
Do you need to test each candidate in all three areas? Advises Schwartz, “Job performance is made up of all three, so the ideal selection procedure will involve each component. The specific skills and personality traits you assess depend, however, on what is required of the job.”
Testing Best Practices
The following best practices will help you get the most out of your testing program and stay away from legal trouble:- Use only valid tests. Beware — many tests marketed to HR people have not been validated.
- Test everyone. If you choose to test, the Uniform Guidelines say you must test all the applicants for a common position.
- Do your own validation studies. “It’s a good idea to do your own validation studies,” counsels Schwartz. “Test current jobholders to give yourself a local benchmark for particular jobs. You want to make sure the test predicts success in your workplace.” Doing your own studies will help buttress your position if an applicant ever challenges your selection process through court action.
- Evaluate your program. Evaluate the testing program periodically to ensure the tests you use remain valid predictors of performance in a given work environment. “Testing — and the whole selection process, for that matter — needs to be fair,” says Schwartz. “Everyone should be given equal opportunity for a particular job.”
ADA Considerations
According to Schwartz, one pothole employers fall into is using tests that ask questions that solicit medical or psychological information. This runs counter to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which applies to employers with fifteen or more employees. “Before you make a job offer, you can only use tests that measure job-related skills and personality traits, and aptitude.” Make sure the test publisher has had the test you want to use reviewed by an attorney to ensure it complies with the ADA, as all of G.Neil’s tests do.
Another ADA consideration: Be prepared to make accommodations for test takers. You may, for example, need to read a test aloud to a visually impaired applicant, or allow more time for a dyslexic applicant.
Testing: Just One Piece of the Puzzle
Even though testing is a great way to weed out troublemakers and other poor candidates, never forget that it’s only part of the selection process. A good test score, concludes Schwartz, “is an indicator that an applicant has the skills, aptitude, and personality characteristics required of the job. But test results need to be combined with other selection tool results — like interviews, background checks, and so forth — to make a good hiring decision.”
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G.Neil employees can help you pick out the right tests for your situation, and Dr. Jodi Schwartz herself is available for consultations and referrals for those whose testing needs are out of the ordinary. For more on testing, head to:
newhiretesting.com or gneil.com/testing.