What are online assessments, and why are they important?

  For most companies, online assessments have become an indispensable part of the hiring process or a tool to support employee or team development. They can provide many valuable insights with a high degree of predictive accuracy. A careful approach yields the best results. What are the key considerations and success factors in this regard?

Why conduct an assessment?

An (online) assessment allows you to evaluate current employees or job candidates for traits that determine their success within the organization or their professional development. This may involve, for example, assessing motivations, competencies, intelligence, behavior, or personality traits. An assessment provides an objective picture of these factors and is valuable, for example, for follow-up discussions about the strengths and areas for development of employees or teams. This fosters employee growth and offers opportunities to engage and retain them or to work on, for example, job satisfaction or sustainable employability. In addition to supporting employee development or team-building efforts, the insights gained from assessments are, of course, valuable for hiring new staff. After all, recruiting, selecting, and onboarding a new employee is costly. That’s why you want to know as much as possible in advance about the likelihood of success.

Prevent “Bad Hires”

According to estimates, a “bad hire” costs at least 30 percent of the annual salary. And these failed matches occur regularly. At least three-quarters of organizations acknowledge this. According to reports, there are various underlying causes for this. For example, during a job interview, the focus was primarily on whether the candidate was a “nice person” rather than on their competencies, motivation, or driving factors (32% cite this as the cause). Or the person did not yet possess all the necessary skills, but it was assumed that he or she could learn them quickly (35%). And that is not always the case. Or perhaps the person’s skills were considered, but not their attitude (29%). Or worse yet: there were already warning signs, but they were simply ignored (25%). This is also a pitfall in an increasingly tight labor market. An assessment can prevent this and, moreover, offer many more benefits.

Benefits of Online Assessments

Assessments can be conducted in person, but these days they’re mostly held online. These online assessments (or e-assessments) save companies (and candidates!) a tremendous amount of time and money. It aligns well with the current culture of increased remote work and can significantly contribute to a positive “candidate experience,” serving as an introduction to your organization and helping to manage expectations. The use of objective assessment tools with a validated, high predictive value makes it possible to pre-screen (large groups of) applicants and increase their chances of success in the role. This also enables remote (pre)selection. You then interview only the most suitable candidates, saving a significant amount of time and money.

Convenience and time savings

Many types of tests and questionnaires are now readily available online and can therefore be completed at home or in another setting. This can also be a controlled environment when necessary. An online assessment can usually be administered more quickly, which can significantly shorten the turnaround time of a recruitment process. Furthermore, online assessments no longer require specialized experts, as was often the case in the past with offline, on-site assessments. As a result, assessments were used rather sparingly. Fortunately, these days the process is much more accessible and therefore more widely used. The results are also immediately available, making it easier to compare candidates’ performance. This can also help objectify the assessment of candidates. It prevents incorrect decisions caused by unconscious “biases” during the recruitment process. Consequently, it can also contribute to competency-based matching and to greater diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Of course, an online portal can be available 24/7. This makes testing much easier anytime and anywhere. Online assessments are also ideal for generating conversation topics for candidates coming in for interviews. As a result, interviews can often delve deeper more quickly and in a targeted manner. This, too, yields more valuable insights about the candidates.

Success Factors for Online Assessments

An online assessment can include various components. Exactly which ones are used depends, of course, on an organization’s approach and its priorities. If an organization uses assessments frequently, a fixed base platform with multiple types of tests on a single online portal is recommended. We offer this with hrmforce for a broad suite of online assessments. This is useful if, for example, you want to use a Big Fifty personality test or a Motivator Test one time, while another time you need more insight into how quickly a person understands problems, forms an opinion, or is able to learn new things (Ability Scan). In addition to such assessments, an online intake can also be used to immediately clarify topics for an interview round. A prerequisite for using online assessments is, of course, that employees or candidates have access to a device that allows them to work online, but that’s rarely a problem these days. It is also quite possible these days to remotely verify that the person taking a test is indeed the person expected to be taking it. With certain tests, there is also a risk that participants will deliberately give incorrect answers to “do better” on the test-or to create an impression that makes them seem like a better fit for the organization. This can be effectively addressed by including smart verification questions in the test or by incorporating specific discussion topics into follow-up interviews.

Reliability of Online Assessments

Are online assessments just as reliable as traditional on-site assessments? A great deal of research has been conducted on this topic over the past 25 years. Conclusion: the value of an assessment does not depend on whether or not it is conducted online. The quality of the tests themselves is, of course, a determining factor. In addition, the context in which a test is taken can have an impact. If a candidate comes to take an assessment on-site but arrives completely stressed out due to traffic and has little time to adjust, this can negatively affect the test. And if someone takes a test remotely but experiences an unstable connection or noise from children at home, that will also have a negative impact. A test with a clear structure in a quiet testing environment always yields the best and most reliable results. A clear structure gives candidates confidence in an accurate result, which benefits the assessment results-including their reliability and the overall picture. Of course, hrmforce’s online assessments already take this into account.

Frequently Asked Questions About Online Assessments:

• How can you ensure that online assessments are fair and unbiased in a diverse workplace?
  • It is helpful to regularly validate assessments and check them for cultural and language-related biases. Involving diverse panels during development and evaluation can also contribute to fairness.

 

• What measures can be taken to ensure candidates’ confidentiality and data privacy during online assessments?
  • The use of encrypted platforms, access restrictions, and regular audits of security protocols are important steps to protect candidates’ privacy.

 

• How can the results of online assessments be effectively used to promote employee development?
  • Results can be linked to personalized development plans, supplemented with targeted feedback sessions and training tailored to employees’ specific needs, as identified in the assessments.

Want to get started with an online assessment? Explore all our assessments here or request a free demo.