Eric Friedman is the Founder and CEO of eSkill, a global leader in skills testing and behavioral assessment solutions for employers.
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Staffing firms are in business to help clients fill essential job roles. However, this has become increasingly difficult due to an unprecedented global talent shortage.
According to a Gartner survey, the time required to fill a job increased by 18% from 2020 to 2021—about two additional weeks. A ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage survey shows that 75% of companies have reported talent shortages and are finding it challenging to recruit candidates with the required experience to perform critical jobs.
If staffing agencies invest hours recruiting and screening candidates for a specific job and are unsuccessful, they do not get paid. If they present candidates who do not meet the client’s requirements, they risk ruining their relationship with the company and damaging their reputation in the industry.
Staffing professionals are adopting employment testing to deliver more tailored client results and provide an enhanced hiring experience for both clients and candidates.
How Pre-Employment Tests Impact The Hiring Experience
Pre-employment tests can help improve the hiring experience for candidates, clients and staffing firms if approached correctly.
With employment tests, clients can avoid wasting valuable time interviewing unqualified applicants. They know the candidates the staffing agency sends have the qualifications and experience they need because employment test results confirm it.
Staffing firms can instantly screen candidates and identify those who are best qualified for a job. This helps them avoid hours they would spend reviewing résumés and scheduling interviews. They simply send applicants a test invitation and sort and rank the results.
When candidates are asked to complete an assessment, they know they will be evaluated on their qualifications. This means they will not be automatically rejected because they did not go to a certain university or do not have the same background as one or more hiring team members.
Five Pre-Employment Tests You Can Use
If you are new to employment testing, choosing which assessments to use can seem overwhelming.
Ideally, you should customize an employment test to efficiently assess multiple skills—at the appropriate difficulty levels—associated with the job requirement. Also, set a length that’s appropriate for the stage of screening. This maximizes validity and keeps the candidate engaged in the process.
Based on my experience, I recommend starting with pre-employment tests that cover the following areas to see the fastest return on investment (ROI):
1. Basic Computer Skills
Computer skills are becoming more critical each year. The number of jobs requiring at least basic computer proficiency increases yearly.
Research shows that in 2002, 56% of jobs required low-level digital skills, nearly 40% required medium-level digital skills, and only 5% required high-level digital skills. By 2016, 23% of jobs required high digital-skill proficiency; those requiring medium-level digital skills had increased to 48%, and the percentage of jobs that required low digital skills fell to 30%.
Basic computer skills tests measure general computer proficiency and digital skills such as knowledge of operating systems, how to use the internet and email etiquette. Many staffing agencies include general typing skills tests in this category because many clients want to measure applicants’ typing speed and accuracy.
2. MS Office Skills
MS Office skills tests measure applicants’ MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint abilities. Many clients may not even consider applicants who do not have at least basic knowledge of these applications—especially Word and Excel.
Staffing agencies also use job-specific employment tests, such as data entry operator and data control clerk tests, when they need to evaluate applicants’ knowledge of data organization, data checking skills and specific Excel functions.
3. Technical Skills
If a machine breaks down or is not working properly, production comes to a screeching halt; orders are not shipped, and customers are unhappy.
So staffing agencies that work with clients in manufacturing and other industries use industrial- and engineering-related assessments such as mechanical aptitude and basic electronics tests to identify top candidates for industrial and engineering technician roles. Job-related employment tests they frequently use include tests for assembly technicians, electronics technicians, maintenance technicians and welders.
4. Organizational Skills
Since organizations are short-staffed, employees are assuming more and more responsibilities. Businesses are also hiring more remote and hybrid employees.
As a result, staffing agencies say clients list organizational skills as a requirement for many jobs. Some of the employment tests that staffing agencies use to evaluate these skills include time management, remote working, remote leadership, logical thinking and change management tests.
5. Simulations
Staffing agencies rely heavily on simulations when they screen applicants because they can see firsthand how well applicants will likely perform in job-related situations.
For example, suppose a staffing professional is recruiting customer service representatives, and the client wants candidates with strong computer skills, who can simultaneously manage multiple customer interactions. In this case, the recruiter can create a job-related scenario using MS Office, chat and multitasking simulations. Simulations that allow for shortcuts are especially popular since there are often multiple ways to solve a problem.
Getting Started With Pre-Employment Testing
As a professional staffing agency, you want to present the best candidates to your clients. Pre-employment tests enable you to identify top candidates for open positions so you can expedite time-to-hire and improve your bottom line.
Pre-employment tests can help you and your team improve the quality of candidates you recommend to clients, build your client base and generate more revenue.
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