Adopting the right assessment method is critical since hiring decisions are directly dependent on it. Pen and paper tests is the traditional way that recruiters adopt.
But that is changing today. Recruitment trends around the world suggest that inclusion of technology can and will drive the next generation of recruitment - Campus Hiring 2.0. Delay in adoption of the right technology has often been the Achilles' heel of Organizations. As recruiters, we find ourselves at the cusp of a phenomenal change in the way recruitment is done. Making the right change is crucial.
What assessment methods do you use, are evaluating, or know about, and how do you feel about those?
I hope this discussion with your valuable inputs can serve as a resource for new as well as seasoned recruiters to discover and learn new methods of assessments. From Mettl I'll also be sharing some valuable free resources in the form of e-books, videos and case studies.
From India, Gurgaon
13But that is changing today. Recruitment trends around the world suggest that inclusion of technology can and will drive the next generation of recruitment - Campus Hiring 2.0. Delay in adoption of the right technology has often been the Achilles' heel of Organizations. As recruiters, we find ourselves at the cusp of a phenomenal change in the way recruitment is done. Making the right change is crucial.
What assessment methods do you use, are evaluating, or know about, and how do you feel about those?
I hope this discussion with your valuable inputs can serve as a resource for new as well as seasoned recruiters to discover and learn new methods of assessments. From Mettl I'll also be sharing some valuable free resources in the form of e-books, videos and case studies.
From India, Gurgaon
I frequently use online-skill assessments and personality assessments basis the competencies defined for a role. The recruitment done by me range from top to bottom and these customized easily available assessments with higher rate of accuracy have reduced my time spent on skill assessments by almost 80-85%. The biggest advantage is that candidates can take these assessment from any place and they need not take time off from their work and visit the company. Result reports are provided instantly with 100% accuracy which helps me even make better choice (filter) between multiple candidates. Infact, not to miss, not even these assessments help in first cut for a right candidate but also helps in taking last decision in case it is difficult to make a choice between 2-3 shortlisted candidates.
By investing a small pool of money in online web-based proctored assessments, I am able to spend more hours in recruitment of multiple profiles and making good choices. These days resumes are so misleading about someone's skills and knowledge so I prefer giving skill assessment test before first round of interview itself so that I call only good candidate who have met the benchmark. This saves hours spent in first round of screening with 100s of candidates. I highly recommend it.
From India, Gurgaon
By investing a small pool of money in online web-based proctored assessments, I am able to spend more hours in recruitment of multiple profiles and making good choices. These days resumes are so misleading about someone's skills and knowledge so I prefer giving skill assessment test before first round of interview itself so that I call only good candidate who have met the benchmark. This saves hours spent in first round of screening with 100s of candidates. I highly recommend it.
From India, Gurgaon
As an HR handling campus placements, we have identified several vendors for assessments.
The best by far is Mettl I believe. They offer assessments at a very competitive price which is mentioned on their website. It is easy to administer to small as well as large population and the report is generated within minutes. The quality and variety of assessments are really good.
Pen and paper are not feasible today with time and process drivers being a constraint.
From India, Mumbai
The best by far is Mettl I believe. They offer assessments at a very competitive price which is mentioned on their website. It is easy to administer to small as well as large population and the report is generated within minutes. The quality and variety of assessments are really good.
Pen and paper are not feasible today with time and process drivers being a constraint.
From India, Mumbai
Hello Amina Shukla, What are the Tests you have used to handle Personality Assessments of candidates — basically Psychometric Tests or something else? Rgds, TS
From India, Hyderabad
From India, Hyderabad
Dear Sharan Suresh, I do prefer the competency based recruitment process, and for each job profile a comprehensive written test in place.
From Singapore, Singapore
From Singapore, Singapore
Dear Ahmad Shah,
That makes sense. What kind of written tests do you generally use? Are these online based?
I think what Amina is trying to say is how Online Assessments help recruiters save time and money, WITHOUT compromising on the efficacy or efficiency of the test. If suppose you are using a written test to assess the coding skills of a candidate, the same can be done online in much the same way. I don't mean objective MCQs, but proper detailed questions that require candidates to code on the spot and be evaluated automatically.
This saves considerable time, from Sourcing the questions to Evaluation of papers and also frees up the human resources that are spent on evaluating the answer sheets.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the same.
Thank you.
From India, Gurgaon
That makes sense. What kind of written tests do you generally use? Are these online based?
I think what Amina is trying to say is how Online Assessments help recruiters save time and money, WITHOUT compromising on the efficacy or efficiency of the test. If suppose you are using a written test to assess the coding skills of a candidate, the same can be done online in much the same way. I don't mean objective MCQs, but proper detailed questions that require candidates to code on the spot and be evaluated automatically.
This saves considerable time, from Sourcing the questions to Evaluation of papers and also frees up the human resources that are spent on evaluating the answer sheets.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the same.
Thank you.
From India, Gurgaon
Hi TAJSATEESH, For Personality Assessments - I use customised test for different roles e.g. for hiring in Sales there is test named B2B Sales Potential Assessment which evaluates a person on Workstyles (Go getter/ lethargic/ efforful), Stress management, written communication basis simulations etc. on the other hand for a person in After sales support there is a test to measure B2B/ B2C Customer Focus Assessment, for someone in leadership/ startegic/ management role - there are specific tests like Managerial/ Leadership Potential Test. There is another option of taking a Personality Inventory Assessment which gives an overall type of a person at work.
From India, Gurgaon
From India, Gurgaon
How do you manage assessment in large scale recruitment drive?
Fixed set of questions: The questions asked in the screening rounds are easy to track down as the knowledge base follows a pattern. While answering the question, any candidate can figure out, the definite range of questions and share with his friends, which then dilutes the quality of candidates clearing the tests
For eg: Infosys uses Shakuntala Devi's puzzle for its entrance. Since its a known fact, it makes it lot easier for anyone to practices and crack it.
Managing data: Unless its a virtual test, managing scores and assessment sheets of the candidates who clear it, is a Pre-Mammoth task, during any large to mid-scale recruitment drives.
Generic pattern: The combination of areas including quantitative and comprehensive questions, are both challenging. Often the assessment test are generic , hence doesn’t offer a close fit to the role, for which the candidate has applied. Such as the quantitative capabilities required by an HR Executive is not what is required by a Finance Executive, even though they are both a part of the support functions.
Case study method: Case based assessment has to offer a wide range of problems to find the right job fit. They are best in assessing Employability. Here, the biggest challenge lies with the quality of the assessor. The assessor has to be very clear of the problem statement. The case is often left to comprehension where different analysis drawn remains equally correct , however may not be the accurate answer.
An open book assessment is usually considered for a senior level hiring, were the candidate's capability to gather information and present them as a solution is tested under a pressure situation. The challenge to this kind of an assessment lies in scaling it up. It consumes times and resources , hence apt for a niche hiring.
Behavioural assessments require environment.The response to the question depends directly on how it has been asked. Hence, unless it has been conducted in a lab, where the candidates have been put under observation in an environment that can evoke a clear response for the assessment to stand valid.
Finally the challenge with any online test is supervision. If a candidate understands how many ways is he been watched , he can easily hack it. Hence few declared ways of supervision and few undeclared, can yield the best results
Please share if you had faced any problem while using assessment in both online and offline pattern . Looking forward to brainstorm them with you
From India, Mumbai
Fixed set of questions: The questions asked in the screening rounds are easy to track down as the knowledge base follows a pattern. While answering the question, any candidate can figure out, the definite range of questions and share with his friends, which then dilutes the quality of candidates clearing the tests
For eg: Infosys uses Shakuntala Devi's puzzle for its entrance. Since its a known fact, it makes it lot easier for anyone to practices and crack it.
Managing data: Unless its a virtual test, managing scores and assessment sheets of the candidates who clear it, is a Pre-Mammoth task, during any large to mid-scale recruitment drives.
Generic pattern: The combination of areas including quantitative and comprehensive questions, are both challenging. Often the assessment test are generic , hence doesn’t offer a close fit to the role, for which the candidate has applied. Such as the quantitative capabilities required by an HR Executive is not what is required by a Finance Executive, even though they are both a part of the support functions.
Case study method: Case based assessment has to offer a wide range of problems to find the right job fit. They are best in assessing Employability. Here, the biggest challenge lies with the quality of the assessor. The assessor has to be very clear of the problem statement. The case is often left to comprehension where different analysis drawn remains equally correct , however may not be the accurate answer.
An open book assessment is usually considered for a senior level hiring, were the candidate's capability to gather information and present them as a solution is tested under a pressure situation. The challenge to this kind of an assessment lies in scaling it up. It consumes times and resources , hence apt for a niche hiring.
Behavioural assessments require environment.The response to the question depends directly on how it has been asked. Hence, unless it has been conducted in a lab, where the candidates have been put under observation in an environment that can evoke a clear response for the assessment to stand valid.
Finally the challenge with any online test is supervision. If a candidate understands how many ways is he been watched , he can easily hack it. Hence few declared ways of supervision and few undeclared, can yield the best results
Please share if you had faced any problem while using assessment in both online and offline pattern . Looking forward to brainstorm them with you
From India, Mumbai
About 42% votes are on "Pen and paper tests" - I guess we'll have a clearer view once more people vote.
What according to members holds back companies from jumping to an online assessment platform from other traditional method?
- Is it cost? Does it really cost more than the time spent conducting these tests?
- Seems one of the prohibitions (for smaller companies) would be the infrastructure required to conduct online tests. Is infrastructure to conduct the online test a primary problem?
- Would it make sense to have some sort of a mobile app to do quick assessment of candidates or even employees?
- Is it lack of clarity on how a test can be created and conducted with an online platform?
I guess there would be many questions the assessment platforms need to answer as well:
- Are there ready made tests or do I create questions? If ready made, can I customise them?
- If we have remote candidates and if multiple candidates are taking the test - can we schedule a time and have live view of the candidates taking the test?
- Do I check the answers manually? Objective type answers may be easy to score programmatically but how do I score essay type answers?
- Is there any way to track candidates via a data bank of previous test takers?
Mettl is a sponsor of CiteHR and we are eager to help them get more feedback from the HR community.
So please come forward and share your experience, opinions or anything you might want to add regarding online assessments.
Regards,
CHR
From India, Gurgaon
What according to members holds back companies from jumping to an online assessment platform from other traditional method?
- Is it cost? Does it really cost more than the time spent conducting these tests?
- Seems one of the prohibitions (for smaller companies) would be the infrastructure required to conduct online tests. Is infrastructure to conduct the online test a primary problem?
- Would it make sense to have some sort of a mobile app to do quick assessment of candidates or even employees?
- Is it lack of clarity on how a test can be created and conducted with an online platform?
I guess there would be many questions the assessment platforms need to answer as well:
- Are there ready made tests or do I create questions? If ready made, can I customise them?
- If we have remote candidates and if multiple candidates are taking the test - can we schedule a time and have live view of the candidates taking the test?
- Do I check the answers manually? Objective type answers may be easy to score programmatically but how do I score essay type answers?
- Is there any way to track candidates via a data bank of previous test takers?
Mettl is a sponsor of CiteHR and we are eager to help them get more feedback from the HR community.
So please come forward and share your experience, opinions or anything you might want to add regarding online assessments.
Regards,
CHR
From India, Gurgaon
Hi CHR, let me try and answer the queries inline
- Are there ready made tests or do I create questions? If ready made, can I customise them?
Of course there are ready made tests. 'Made' wouldn't be the right term because these are specifically crafted for diverse job profiles (sales, marketing, operations, finance etc) by experts in these fields. With over 700 question banks like this, Mettl makes the process of test selection a matter of a simple mouse click.
Moreover, these tests can be customized according to the needs of the customer. Questions can be created/uploaded and customized tests can be published.
Below is a screenshot of tests published by a recruiter.
[img]http://cite.co/sponsor/TestBank.JPG[/img]
- If we have remote candidates and if multiple candidates are taking the test - can we schedule a time and have live view of the candidates taking the test?
Wider geographical reach is one the many advantages of a cloud based assessment solution. Thousands of students can be reached at the same time (or in batches). The tests can be scheduled as well. Below is a screen capture of the scheduling interface - highlighted in yellow.
[img]http://cite.co/sponsor/AccessTime.JPG[/img]
And yes, mettl provides online invigilation (proctoring) on two levels - browser proctoring prevents candidates from browsing away from the test window and webcam proctoring that gives you live feed (or screenshots) of the candidate taking the test. Please check the video at the bottom to get a better idea.
- Do I check the answers manually? Objective type answers may be easy to score programmatically but how do I score essay type answers?
Broadly speaking Mettl has two types of questions - Knowledge based (aptitude, MCQs, essay type questions etc) and Performance Based (Coding questions, Code projects etc). Of these, all the question types except essay type are evaluated automatically through our platform. Essay type questions are largely subjective in nature and hence requires human evaluation. Even Code projects (of significant use for hiring to tech positions) are evaluated by the platform itself.
This lowers the use of precious technical human resources in evaluation and also decreases the time taken to conduct and evaluate a test for a few hundred students.
- Is there any way to track candidates via a data bank of previous test takers?
Yes. Each recruiter will have an account on Mettl. From this account the recruiter can create and publish tests and schedule them for his candidates. Once the candidate takes a test, his results appear in the candidate bank that can be accessed by the recruiter. Below is the interface of candidate bank, where candidates can be filtered according to email id, total score, sectional score etc. The recruiter can also download individual reports of candidates or a consolidated report of candidates as an excel file.
Below is a screenshot of the candidate bank available to the recruiter.
[img]http://cite.co/sponsor/CandidateBankBlur.jpg[/img]
It would be interesting to know what the recruiters feel about such technology. Looking forward to an enlightening discussion.
Right below is a simple 2 minute video on how Mettl uses cloud technology to create an easy and efficient assessment solution for recruiters hiring for any profile.
From India, Gurgaon
- Are there ready made tests or do I create questions? If ready made, can I customise them?
Of course there are ready made tests. 'Made' wouldn't be the right term because these are specifically crafted for diverse job profiles (sales, marketing, operations, finance etc) by experts in these fields. With over 700 question banks like this, Mettl makes the process of test selection a matter of a simple mouse click.
Moreover, these tests can be customized according to the needs of the customer. Questions can be created/uploaded and customized tests can be published.
Below is a screenshot of tests published by a recruiter.
[img]http://cite.co/sponsor/TestBank.JPG[/img]
- If we have remote candidates and if multiple candidates are taking the test - can we schedule a time and have live view of the candidates taking the test?
Wider geographical reach is one the many advantages of a cloud based assessment solution. Thousands of students can be reached at the same time (or in batches). The tests can be scheduled as well. Below is a screen capture of the scheduling interface - highlighted in yellow.
[img]http://cite.co/sponsor/AccessTime.JPG[/img]
And yes, mettl provides online invigilation (proctoring) on two levels - browser proctoring prevents candidates from browsing away from the test window and webcam proctoring that gives you live feed (or screenshots) of the candidate taking the test. Please check the video at the bottom to get a better idea.
- Do I check the answers manually? Objective type answers may be easy to score programmatically but how do I score essay type answers?
Broadly speaking Mettl has two types of questions - Knowledge based (aptitude, MCQs, essay type questions etc) and Performance Based (Coding questions, Code projects etc). Of these, all the question types except essay type are evaluated automatically through our platform. Essay type questions are largely subjective in nature and hence requires human evaluation. Even Code projects (of significant use for hiring to tech positions) are evaluated by the platform itself.
This lowers the use of precious technical human resources in evaluation and also decreases the time taken to conduct and evaluate a test for a few hundred students.
- Is there any way to track candidates via a data bank of previous test takers?
Yes. Each recruiter will have an account on Mettl. From this account the recruiter can create and publish tests and schedule them for his candidates. Once the candidate takes a test, his results appear in the candidate bank that can be accessed by the recruiter. Below is the interface of candidate bank, where candidates can be filtered according to email id, total score, sectional score etc. The recruiter can also download individual reports of candidates or a consolidated report of candidates as an excel file.
Below is a screenshot of the candidate bank available to the recruiter.
[img]http://cite.co/sponsor/CandidateBankBlur.jpg[/img]
It would be interesting to know what the recruiters feel about such technology. Looking forward to an enlightening discussion.
Right below is a simple 2 minute video on how Mettl uses cloud technology to create an easy and efficient assessment solution for recruiters hiring for any profile.
From India, Gurgaon
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