As job applications rise, pre-employment testing becomes vital

The UK job market has changed significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the situation is likely to accelerate as the furlough scheme winds down in October.

With more candidates on the market and increased competition for vacancies, it’s becoming a headache for employers to efficiently and effectively manage the recruitment process with so many applications to wade through.

The sheer volume of applications can cause delays in the recruitment process, which means applicants experience a negative candidate journey, and with some individuals turning to social media to communicate their experiences this can cause lasting damage to the employer brand.

In this article, we explore the concept of pre-employment testing, how it helps to quickly highlight the superstars from the crowd and avoid those costly mistake hires, and why it’s more important than ever that pre-employment testing becomes a staple ingredient for a speedy recruitment process.

How pre-employment testing saves time and supports hiring decisions

Did you know that 28% of job seekers lie on their CV?

It’s only sensible that throughout any hiring process, employers aim to gather as much relevant information about candidates as possible, and more often than not, a CV or application form alone can throw up more questions than answers.

Recruitment is not an exact science, but you can reduce the risk of making a poor hire by adopting a variety of selection methods, and that’s where pre-employment skills and knowledge testing can help.

Testing an applicants’ numeracy, literacy and IT skills during the selection process complements the traditional face to face (or video) interview and can help put your mind at ease when making hiring decisions.

Pre-employment skills and knowledge tests can help measure skills and intellect, and psychometric testing can provide insights into personality and character traits, better equipping you with the right information to determine whether a candidate has the necessary level of skill to perform well within the role, and whether the candidate is likely to fit in well with the team and the culture of the business.

Why pre-employment testing is more important than ever

Competition for vacancies is increasing by the day as we now experience an employer-driven job market in the UK, and the National Institute for Economic and Social Research warns UK unemployment could rise to 10% by the end of the year.

A recent employer-branded online job advertising campaign that JVP Group delivered for a client led to 600 applications, making it an unwanted challenge to manage without the necessary tools in place. Thankfully with access to our time saving Applicant Tracking System and through utilising our fully managed pre-employment skills and knowledge testing service, countless valuable hours were saved selecting the best applicant for the role and extra confidence gained with the hiring decision, whilst ensuring every candidate received a response on the outcome of their application.

The volume of response for your vacancies will inevitably vary dependent on the type of role, your essential requirements, the job location and package on offer, but how you identify the best candidates amongst the crowd is vital and can also help reduce the amount of candidates you invite to first interview, saving you time in the long run.

If you’d like to learn more about how technology can help you to efficiently manage shortlisting and responding to applicants given the rise in job applications, read our time saving recruitment technology blog.

Types of pre-employment tests

There are a wide range of pre-employment tests available, so let’s explore some of the options below:

• Microsoft Office Knowledge Testing: Microsoft Office simulated assessments can provide you with a detailed overview of a candidate’s knowledge and ability of using packages including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You’ll usually find there are varying levels available, starting from basic through to advanced, or even a mixed level assessment to gain an overall feel for where a candidate’s overall ability lies.

• Typing and Data Entry Skills Testing: These assessments test an individual’s ability to input data with speed and accuracy, and can include copy typing and audio typing assessments to determine a candidate’s ability to read and type a passage of text, or transcribe a given recording.

• Numeracy and Literacy Testing: These can include aptitude, grammar, spelling and verbal and numerical reasoning assessments, which can be utilised for any type and level of role.

• Psychometric Testing: These assessments will help you to understand how aspects of an individual’s behavioural style will affect their performance at work and how they are likely to react in certain situations and collaborate with your existing workforce.

• Role Specific Assessments: You can also get tests for specific role types such as accountancy, where testing a candidate’s bookkeeping or payroll knowledge for example might be useful – or contact centre testing to assess an applicant’s situational judgement when it comes to customer service.

Find out more about JVP Group’s wide range of pre-employment skills and knowledge testing here and the psychometric personality profiling assessments we have available here.

Summary

With pre-employment tests playing a part in your selection process, you’ll save countless hours by not having to interview candidates who aren’t up to the required skill level, and you’re more likely to find the right person which is so important, because a business that makes good hiring decisions tends to have a higher productivity rate and lower turnover.

To discover how our online job advertising and recruitment support services, from employer branded job advert writing, pre-employment assessments, to CV shortlisting and telephone pre-screening of candidates, will help you to quickly attract the best people whilst removing the hassle and high costs from the recruitment process, call the JVP Group team on 01745 774 955, or you can click here to schedule a 20-minute free consultation call.