When it comes to hiring decisions, managers often use standard assessment tests to add clarity to an applicant's profile and suitability for the job. In fact, according to a study of 400 organizations conducted by researchers at Aberdeen Group, nine out of ten employers that use assessment tests rely on them for the candidate selection process.
However, Aberdeen's researchers found that top-performing organizations make a wider use of assessment testing and extend the practice to their post-hiring programs, especially for learning, development, competency management, and succession planning. The study points out that employee performance, retention, and productivity can be significantly improved with the effective implementation of a post-hiring assessment strategy.
The biggest obstacle to success in such an undertaking is the need to clearly identify the competencies, behaviors, and performance attributes an organization seeks to measure. Because every organization has a slightly different way of looking at human resource management, many of the vendor-supplied assessment templates need substantial revision to be most effective.
That tailoring effort requires managers to re-examine the organization's roles, performance standards, and career paths. Managers can do that more quickly and achieve better results when an experienced outside consultant helps facilitate the process.
The study found that organizations can achieve an 18 percent improvement in employee performance and a 10 percent boost in retention with the use of assessment tests. Given that potential value, this is a discussion worth having with clients.
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