Posted by EmployTest - on Fri, Jun 19, 2009 @ 03:17 PM
Surely not. You only hire the best and the brightest, right?
According to an article in this month's Fast Company, "giving job tests (to applicants) might be the easiest competitive advantage that you ever have. While your competitors hire friendly people whose biggest weakness is 'working too hard', you'll be discovering the true stars."
The article makes the case that an applicant who interviews well will not necessarily perform well on the job. There is little correlation between the two (interviewing skills and job performance). Two excellent examples from different industries are given to support that assertion.
Another nugget from the article: "Interviews are less predictive of job performance than work samples, job-knowledge tests, and peer ratings of past job performance." So if your position requires Microsoft Excel knowledge as a Key Success Factor, then you should administer a Microsoft Excel skills test to determine the applicants knowledge. And the same is true for all of the Key Success Factors for each of your job descriptions. If it's important, you need to test it.
Sounds simple enough. But pre-employment skills testing is still woefully lacking in small to medium size businesses. But since you're reading this blog, you're probably ahead of your competition already.