28th August 2020
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.
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.
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.
There are a wide range
of pre-employment tests available, so let’s explore some of the options
below:
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.
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.