Bad hires are one of the most pressing challenges tech organizations face. You’ll inevitably have to replace unfit employees, resulting in expensive turnover costs, and the nightmare doesn’t end there.
Bad hires can also negatively affect your working environment, jeopardize operations and projects, and make costly mistakes. So to avoid these problems, successful tech organizations expend considerable resources to optimize their talent acquisition process. They leverage tools like technical skills assessments to hire right the first time and upskill their existing workforce.
And here’s more on how skills assessments, in particular, help you secure the best tech talent.
1. Skills assessments prioritize merit-based hiring
Resumes and CVs are not ideal for assessing tech talent, primarily because they don’t vet applicants’ problem-solving skills. You might have two equally qualified candidates on paper, but one may excel significantly at problem-solving. But how can you ascertain which candidate is superior?
By vetting their practical skills.
With a skills assessment, you can create a custom, role-specific test to evaluate each applicants’ skill set. Additionally, skills assessments use objective scoring criteria so that you can compare candidates across reliable performance metrics.
2. Skills tests reduce hiring bias
Whether unknowingly or intentional, hiring bias often creeps into recruitment processes. And a simple prejudice like confirmation or affinity bias can taint your hiring process, resulting in unreliable evaluations.
Skills tests reduce unconscious hiring bias by limiting human involvement in the recruiting process and emphasizing objectivity. Since applicants are assessed on quantifiable metrics, they can be objectively evaluated and compared.
For example, you can compare applicants on their automated scores. Since the calculated scores are based on several performance metrics, you can trust the output is reliable.
3. They facilitate seamless bulk-hiring
Bulk-hiring is resource-intensive, costing a great deal of time and capital. And while you can’t interview every candidate simultaneously, you can assess their skills in bulk.
Tech employers can use skills assessments to evaluate multiple candidates simultaneously, provided you create an appropriate testing environment. You’ll need a dedicated space without disruptions, with invigilating staff present to ensure fair play.
However, inviting candidates to physically take assessment tests can be costly, time-consuming, and a scheduling nightmare. So, you might want to consider using an online technical assessment platform. The recruitment technology facilitates automated scheduling, cheat-proof bulk-testing, and automated scoring.
4. Maintain productivity by upskilling and reskilling
What’s the most effective way to add value to your workforce? Improve their skill set!
An in-depth survey revealed that 91% of organizations found upskilling and reskilling boosted workforce productivity. But training your team doesn’t just benefit your organization – it also improves employee satisfaction. And the numbers testify to it:
(source: Talent LMS)
This makes sense because employees value growth opportunities and mentorship, which upskilling and reskilling programs fuel. And in tech, skills assessments are the most effective means for training your team.
You can design custom skills tests to help employees practice and develop more advanced skills, preparing them to assume senior positions.
Are skills assessments enough to secure the best hires?
Skills assessment testing is a vital part of successful tech hiring, but it does not replace your entire recruitment process. You’ll benefit best from including skills assessments with other best practices, like interviews or initial resume screening.
Tech giants like Facebook use skills assessment tests in their recruiting process to evaluate applicants’ practical skills, but they pair the assessments with an initial recruiter and technical screenings. They also conclude their hiring process with a dedicated interview.
So if you’re looking to secure the best tech talent, skills testing should be a priority, but not a standalone solution.
How platforms like WeCP (We Create Problems) streamline skills assessments
Like most powerful tools, skills assessments are not free of caveats. They’re highly effective for evaluating applicants, but designing custom tests and bulk testing can present a challenge. Additionally, guaranteeing accurate scoring and facilitating a cheat-proof testing environment can be tedious.
So, many leading organizations leverage skills assessment platforms, like WeCP, to seamlessly conduct their evaluations. Recruitment platforms like WeCP (We Create Problems) come with comprehensive question banks to help you design custom, role-specific skill tests in minutes.
Skills assessment platforms also streamline bulk testing, so you can reliably evaluate large talent pools. The tools automate tedious tasks like interview scheduling and scoring and allow thousands of candidates to take the test simultaneously.
So if you’re looking to secure better tech hires, schedule a demo with WeCP today. We’ll help you hire smarter and faster.
