Historically, employers depend upon résumés, references and interviews as sources of information for making hiring decisions. In practice, these sources have proved inadequate for consistently selecting good employees. While pre-employment assessments are widely available, they have yet to be adopted by the majority of firms in Canada. One of the major reasons for this is that most companies lack an understanding of what pre-employment assessments are and why they are effective.A pre-employment assessment is a battery of tests used to collect information from job applicants for the purpose of aiding hiring decisions. Such assessments may include items on topics such as motives, ethics, traits, work experience, intelligence, skills, preferences, and preferred work hours. When effectively measured, all of these things may be used, in some capacity, to make accurate predictions about which applicant will perform well on the job and/or which ones will remain with the company.

Usefulness of Assessments

Pre-employment assessments may increase the effectiveness of an organization through four avenues:

• Selecting more effective employees
• Improving retention
• Minimizing employee theft and other socially undesirable behaviours
• Increasing the effectiveness of the hiring process

What Do Assessments Measure?

Through proper use, pre-hire assessments will greatly increase hiring effectiveness as they improve the firm's ability to make precise, objective and accurate hiring decisions about an applicant's compatibility with the competencies required for a specific position. As an example, some of the competencies that may be measured using testing include:

• Ability to learn
• Assertiveness
• Attitude toward technology
• Basic Literacy
• Customer Service Technical Skills
• Drug use
• Flexibility of thought
• Integrity
• Intelligence
• Job-related knowledge
• Leadership
• Math Ability
• Mechanical Aptitude
• Problem Solving
• Reliability
• Safety
• Sales potential
• Teamwork
• Theft
• Verbal Ability

Test Types

1. Cognitive Ability and IntelligenceThese are measures of learning capacity, scholastic aptitude, verbal reasoning ability, comprehension, memory, and reasoning style.
2. Achievement Tests These are measures of knowledge within academic subjects, scholastic skills (like reading and writing).
3. Special Aptitudes and Abilities These measure current performance or potential in special skill areas like mechanical aptitude, musical and artistic ability, and spatial abilities.
4. Vocational Interest Tests These are measures of interest in the activities, skill development and environments associated with various occupations.
5. Personality TestsThese measure character 'traits' or personality patterns using either 'diagnostic' tests for measuring non-typical behaviour to define treatment, or 'development' tests measuring typical behaviour for making development plans or decisions.
6. Job Simulations A job simulation is a representation of some aspect of work that an individual would be expected to perform. A keyboarding skills test is an example of a job simulation that might be used to assess an applicant for an administrative position.

Using Assessments

Benefits can only be gained through the appropriate and correct use of pre-employment assessments.Four steps towards the correct use of assessments in the workplace are:

1. Define requisite job competencies. For the most effective use of online testing, it is imperative that the job competencies are clearly defined. This includes the necessary skills, personality traits, integrity, and abilities (or intelligences) necessary for successful tenure. Typically, this is done through job analysis, which includes some form of the following steps:
   
   • Interviewing incumbents and their managers to create a first draft of potential competencies.
   • Confirming the information on the tentative list of competencies by way of customized questionnaires distributed to incumbents and managers.
   • Analyzing the results to determine which competencies are necessary for the final list.
2. Choose assessment based on job competencies.Once the competencies have been accurately laid out, the assessment should be chosen based on the degree of overlap between the competency list and the areas the assessment evaluates. This is one of the greatest reasons for using a battery of tests to evaluate applicants. Success in any position is not merely a matter of possessing intelligence OR personality OR skills. To be successful in any position, a person must possess a minimum level in a number of areas, such as verbal ability, ethics, and certain personality traits. The evaluation of any human being is inherently complex and requires a sufficiently elegant and elaborate solution - a battery of tests to look at the whole applicant.
3. Standardize the application process.The selection process must treat all applicants for a given position in the same manner. Ask the same questions. Ask them in the same manner and under similar conditions. Administer any assessments at the same point in the selection process. This is the only way to create as fair a selection process as possible for your firm and your applicants.
4. Use assessment results effectively and consistently. Finally, make sure you are provided adequate training so that you or your hiring managers can effectively and consistently interpret the assessment findings. This is essential so that hiring decisions are made on a consistent and equitable basis. All individuals making hiring decisions should have access to the same information on all candidates. If you have questions or concerns, put a call in to your test vendor for clarification. The high stakes involved in hiring decisions demand that it be done correctly. When pre-employment assessments are used properly, they offer a fair and unbiased selection system that benefits everyone. The company prospers as a result of more productive, reliable and honest employees. Applicants can benefit through increased job satisfaction due to an improved fit to their job.

Discrimination in Tests

How can you avoid discrimination in the use of Assessment Tests?

Start by Answering Questions About the Use of Test Results

• Exactly how will the test results be used?
• What kind of decisions are the results expected to influence?

Ensure Confidentiality and Privacy

• Who has access to the test results?
• Who will interpret the test results and are they qualified to do so?
• When and how will the feedback be provided to the applicant?
• What procedures are in place to protect the confidentiality of the results?

Obtain Informed Consent of Job Applicants

After you have clarified the situation as above, you might request a release of information form which states in writing what the purpose is and where the information will be going, which the individual may sign. Gather Feedback on Test Use and the Accuracy of Results in the Hiring Decision.You should request feedback from the test administrators and ask how that feedback will be conveyed. Test score numbers will be of little meaning in comparison to the overall interpretation, but how will the interpretation be communicated to the person?

Check for Test Bias

Before any tests are used they must be checked to ensure they are free of bias. There are a number of Employment Equity target groups which are often disadvantaged by the use of tests that are developed around norms for the standard population in Canada. Some of the target groups with whom caution must be exercised in using tests include those from a non English or French speaking background, those from different cultures, women, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal Peoples. Tests used must be investigated prior to use to ensure the test norms included representation from people in the various populations mentioned.

A Word of Caution

Assessments tests are powerful tools, but not all tests are created equally nor are all people equally qualified to use them. If you have been relying on tests and have concerns about the judgments made about people based upon the testing, ask questions, ask for clarification. Results must be understood within the context of the purpose of the testing and your background and history.If you are someone considering the purchase of a test or testing program for employee assessment, educate yourself about testing. Ask the test publisher to provide a technical manual so that you can read about how the test was developed and investigate the test's reliability and validity. Ask about whether the test is culturally fair and ask what norms are available for the test and whether these norms would be appropriate for use in your organization.

Be an informed test purchaser.

Using Professionals

Should you do the testing yourself or contract professionals?You have decided that you need to test job applicants in some way. Now, you must decide if you or someone in your company will do the testing, or if you will contract a professional organization for this purpose. A number of factors will likely affect your decision to go one way or the other.You may wish to use the following checklist of factors to help you make the decision.

If the point values you gave yourself total 21or more, consider undertaking the testing yourself. If less, perhaps you should explore the use of an employment assessment company.