Should you test your applicants in a tight labor market?
March 23, 2020 at 11:14:32 AM EDT By Mike Russiello |
Let's say the employment market is tight and almost anyone can find a job. That’s great for the economy, but it certainly makes hiring more challenging. Good candidates are few and every one is precious. You can't afford to lose them. So, should you test your applicants in a tight labor market? While there are valid pros and cons, my view is that the positives far outweigh the negatives -- even more than during periods of high unemployment. However, there are two critical requirements:
If you follow these two guidelines, you will reap the benefits of assessment in terms of avoiding bad hires, even in tight labor markets. However, using assessments that are too long or are clearly not job-related can have severe consequences. Let’s look at the pros and cons. Pros of testing in a tight labor market Bad hires are more costly because starting salaries are higher. A bad hire is NOT better than no hire at all. The statistical chances of a bad hire are higher. Cons of testing when the labor market is tight We will lose candidates. There is not enough time. Are the Cons valid? Absolutely. Recruiters need to be aggressive in order to secure strong candidates for their company prior to the competition. Also, it’s true that nothing annoys a candidate more than an assessment that doesn’t seem relevant to the job they are applying for, or that seems to drone on forever. But let’s consider these arguments a little closer. First, consider how companies attract great candidates. They create the impression it is a great place to work by offering a fun environment, challenging work, advancement opportunity, performance-based rewards, solid benefits, and more. They further support this image by being selective through such mechanisms as multiple interviews and well-targeted assessments. These features work together to make the candidate want to work for the company. Next, do assessments annoy applicants and push them away from your company? Our feeling is that they certainly can in two circumstances:
Employers should certainly avoid the first circumstance by selecting the right assessment for the right job and the right stage in the hiring process. However, the second circumstance is a plus. It’s essentially a self-screening process. What should you do?
So, the real moral of the story is to use assessments that are clearly related to the job and have a duration appropriate to the stage in the process in which they are used. How do you ensure your assessments are clearly related to the job? There are many ways of proving whether or not a test is related to a job. However, for our purposes, we care only about what the candidate thinks. We call this ‘Face Validity.’ That is, does the assessment ‘seem’ like it’s related to the job or not - in the eyes of the candidate? For a quick evaluation, we recommend that you:
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