Implementing Testing

Once you've decided to incorporate assessments into your hiring process, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Design your process to gather information from multiple sources.
2. Choose a reputable provider.
3. Be sure the assessments you select are clearly related to the job you are hiring for.
4. Be sure the assessments evaluate all three key aspects of predicting future performance: Can do, Will do, and Won't Derail

Use multiple sources: Assessments are not perfect, and neither is any other method of vetting applicants. Don't rely on any one tool or source of information by employing other methods of evaluating candidates (such as interviews and reference checks) alongside your assessments.

Choose the right provider: A reputable provider is professionally responsible and observes accepted standards for test development and administration. The best way to determine this is to ask them about how they develop and maintain their assessments. Ask about how they ensure the tests are reliable, for instance, or how they evaluate test fairness.

Use the right tests: As you've learned in the sections on Testing Science and Test Fairness, using tests that are clearly related to job performance is absolutely critical. Be sure the test you use is backed by a credible Job Analysis that ties what the test measures to the actual job.

Like a good marriage, a successful employee-company relationship requires a match in multiple areas. First, the employee must be able to do the work. Next, he or she also needs to enjoy the work enough to want to do it. Finally, they cannot fall victim to derailing behaviors - such as habitual tardiness or a lack of interest in self-improvement.

Can do The candidate must be able to perform the tasks associated with the job. If they cannot do the work, it doesn't matter how well they fit with an organization, or how loyal they are. This means that applicants need to either have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work, or they have to be capable of learning them in a reasonable amount of time. Both of these - skills and knowledge, and learning ability can usually be measured through assessments.

Will do Next, even if they can either do the job immediately or learn to do it quickly, they also have to want to do it. This often means they have to be predisposed toward the different tasks of the job. For instance, a person who doesn't like sitting at a desk and reading may not like a job analyzing documents, even if he or she is capable of doing it. In essence, their attitudes, interests, and motivations must 'fit' with the job.

Additionally, wanting to do a job also means the employee must get along with others in the organization and work well as a member of a team. Generally, this means their assessed attitudes and other personality features should reasonably match the culture of the organization. For most organizations, this means that they are generally in the middle in most personality scales, rather than at the extremes.

Won't derail Finally, to be successful, a candidate who can do the work, wants to do the work, and fits in with the organization can still fail if they have work habits which can derail them. The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. Assessments can evaluate past behavioral habits to evaluate their likelihood of derailing.

Implementing an assessment program requires only a few simple steps:

• Register for an online account.
• Purchase test credits or an annual subscription online.
• Choose the assessment(s) you wish to use from our online catalog.
• Create Test Keys to authorize assessments and send them to your applicants.

For more information, please refer to the following references:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) - Uniform Guidelines
• American Psychological Association - Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
• Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) - Employment Testing Resources