A skills assessment is a quantifiable means of measuring a person’s knowledge and abilities within a certain subject. Often, a skills assessment is used to verify a student’s or employee’s skills; once skills are verified, a business can determine the role in which a particular hire will thrive and identify any areas in which they might need additional support.
A comprehensive assessment evaluates the skills required for a certain role, such as technical skills, industry knowledge, hands-on experience, and safety.
While an interview is still a critical aspect of the hiring process, using NBS assessments can help hiring professionals identify potential employees that are able to demonstrate the skills and experience listed on their resume. Skills assessments are also helpful for organizations who want to assess the skills of experienced candidates or employees looking to advance their careers.
A Skills Assessment is Not an Aptitude Test
While both a skills assessment and an aptitude test might be used to evaluate potential employees, they have very different goals.
An aptitude test measures a person’s inherent traits to help determine the type of environment in which they may thrive. Aptitude tests can help determine whether a certain type of job or role is a good fit and if the individual would make a good training candidate.
A skills assessment is a tool that measures a person’s ability to perform a variety of tasks associated with a specific role. This can help to validate if a person has the skills needed for a job and identify areas they need extra training to fulfill the needs of the job description.
There are Many Benefits to Using Skills Assessments During the Hiring Process
Comprehensive skills testing, like an NBS skills assessment, can help to build a better workforce. Recruiters and HR professionals use NBS skills assessments to narrow down the pool of candidates, using high-quality data about a potential new hire to evaluate their real-world skills.
The top benefits of adding a skills assessment to your hiring process include:
- Assess a range of skills: Get an in-depth look at a candidate’s skills and abilities.
- Tailor your assessment to a specific job: A custom assessment can demonstrate a candidate’s familiarity with particular job duties associated with a role specific to your organization.
- Quantify candidate data: A quality assessment can provide a fair and objective measure of a candidate’s skills.
- Be legally defensible: Every HR professional understands that protecting the company from possible discrimination lawsuits is a standard part of the hiring process. A skills assessment demonstrates a candidate’s abilities and provides irrefutable data.
- Speed up the hiring process: Streamline recruitment by using a skills assessment to easily narrow down the list of potential candidates.
- Identify where new hires need support: Since the skills evaluation shows areas of limited knowledge and skill, a training blueprint can be determined based on the score report provided.
- Lower employee turnover rates: A person who has the skills they need to thrive in their new role experiences greater satisfaction in their career. Quality skills assessments identify the person that best fits the position and helps to reduce employee turnover.
- Avoid potential liability incidents: Skills assessments can evaluate a candidate’s commitment to safety which can protect your company from potential hazards.
Hiring the best employees really comes down to having higher-quality, in-depth information about job candidates. Do they possess the skills represented on their resume? Can they perform the skills needed for the job role? The right skills assessment answers these questions and more, helping you not only hire the right person, but build a skilled workforce.
Partner with NBS to Validate Skills and Build a Better Workforce
At NBS, you can choose from nearly 200 existing skills assessments, or we can work with you to build a custom solution for an unbiased skills assessment tailored to your company’s specific needs.
NBS offers testing through our robust online testing system with immediate results or paper/pencil administration, both complemented by services tailored to the accessibility needs of your test takers. Employers receive intuitive, transparent reporting with the score data, so core competencies and skills gaps are immediately recognizable.
For more information on how NBS skills assessments can help you improve your hiring process, or to learn more about our assessments, contact us today. We can show you how our high-quality data can help you build a better workforce.
Recent Comments