We post a lot about how pre-employment testing is one of the most objective, predictive means of assessing potential success in a job. But what happens once you incorporate testing into your hiring process, and what does that mean for your business? Here are four key benefits we’ve found go hand in hand with pre-employment testing.
Having objective data to pull from when making your hiring decisions means you’re more likely to make “the right choice.” In other words, data helps you identify the candidates who are most likely to excel on the job, leading to tangible improvements in the productivity and effectiveness of your employees. Pre-employment testing accomplishes this by providing you with validated and predictive metrics that lead to success. In particular, cognitive aptitude tests can determine if a candidate is capable of performing a job, while personality tests are helpful for determining if they’ll be comfortable in the role.
Employers turn to testing to find the candidates that will be the best person for the position and contribute the most to the company’s goals. It stands to reason that more productive employees make a more productive business, and the data agrees. For instance, one retailer found that salespeople who passed an aptitude test were, on average, 20% more productive than those who did not pass the test.
2. Increased employee retention
Reducing turnover is a crucial issue for a lot of employers. High turnover requires a lot of time and resources to continually fill positions and train new hires. One study puts the cost of replacing an entry level employee at about 16% of their annual salary, and that percentage only increases as you move up the pay scale. Someone who has the aptitude and personality for a job is less likely to leave (voluntarily or involuntarily). By hiring the right people for a position the first time, you save money on hiring and training costs. Lower turnover can also positively affect morale and company reputation, making a business more attractive to applicants in a candidate driven market.
3. More efficient hiring process
Time is money. Every minute you spend sifting through resumes, phone screening, interviewing, and collecting feedback is a minute you can’t get back. On average, 250 resumes are submitted for each online job posting. The internet has made it easier for applicants to apply to more positions in less time, increasing the number of applicants you get for each job posting but not necessarily increasing the quality. This makes identifying qualified candidates a lot like finding a needle in a haystack. Using pre-employment tests can streamline your hiring process, particularly when testing is used early in the process. With this approach, you can know which candidates you want to spend your time on first, and identifying high quality candidates more efficiently is a benefit that speaks for itself.
4. Increased legal defensibility
We’re often asked about the legality of pre-employment testing, and we’re happy to report that, if used correctly, pre-employment testing can actually increase the legal defensibility of your hiring process. The same federal guidelines that govern the use of any other hiring selection method (including resumes, interviews, etc.) also govern pre-employment tests. According to these guidelines, pre-employment tests are perfectly legal to use as long as the tests are job-related. Tests can also provide an additional layer of legal defensibility because they provide employers with objective, scientifically validated predictors of success in a job, as opposed to other more subjective hiring criteria. That means pre-employment testing can allow employers to be better prepared to defend their hiring procedures in the unlikely event someone challenges their legality.
To learn more about the benefits of pre-employment testing, check out our Definitive Guide to Pre-Employment Testing.
