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BLOG SERIES: The Value of Pre-Employment Testing – 4-Part Series

Part 1: Importance of Finding the Perfect Hire

“One source of frustration in the workplace is the frequent mismatch between what people must do and what people can do. When what they must do exceeds their capabilities, the result is anxiety.  When what they must do falls short of their capabilities, the result is boredom.  But when the match is just right, the results can be glorious.”  – Daniel H. Pink

In today’s world, costs of on-boarding a new employee have skyrocketed. Each hiring decision can ultimately cost tens of thousands of dollars in salary, training and benefits.  The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average cost of a bad hiring decision can equal 30% of the first year’s potential earnings.  It is also estimated that the average settlement of a negligent hiring lawsuit is nearly $1 million and that employers have lost more than 79% of negligent hiring cases.

When an employee is placed in a position for which they are unqualified, it can create anxiety and stress in the employee as they struggle to perform at the expected level. When they fall short of the expectation, performance, productivity and quality will suffer resulting in lost revenue for the company.  It can also result in legal issues stemming from clients and employees.

As more organizations turn their attention to “Talent Management”, Human Resource (HR) Departments must focus on new strategic HR issues such as how to make recruiting processes more efficient and effective; how to quickly identify competency gaps in order to deliver training or development programs to fill the gaps; and how to manage people in a consistent and measurable way so that everyone is aligned, held accountable and paid fairly.

Getting the most qualified candidates placed in open positions is crucial.  Pre-employment testing is beneficial because it helps companies quickly identify candidates that will likely perform well on the job. These assessments can include work skills and competencies, knowledge, motor skills, and language skills among other traits to help find the candidates that will most likely succeed in the open position and screen out those who are under-qualified. Pre-employment testing can save time and money in the selection process and decrease turnover. With the added benefits of automated scoring and reporting, organizations can quickly identify unqualified applicants thereby alleviating the need to spend further resources on those individuals.

When utilizing competency based pre-employment testing it is essential that the assessments are valid, reliable and properly address the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) aspects of pre-employment. They must also be properly implemented and legally defensible.

UPCOMING: Part 2: Benefits of Pre-Employment Testing