Testing your candidates? The fundamental ingredient you’ve been missing
Most employers recognise the value of digging a little deeper into the psyche of a potential employee with some form of screening test. But which type of testing yields the best results in revealing your next great hire?
For years, behavioural testing has dominated the screening test market, with employers focused on finding the right personality fit for not only the role, but the organisation. But there’s a new method that’s changing the way we think about candidate screening – cognitive testing.
Cognitive tests assess a candidate’s competence and role suitability and predict future job performance. In a psychometric assessment context, this usually means numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, abstract reasoning and mechanical reasoning tests.
Paired with a behavioural or personality test, employers are able to determine the best role fit for a candidate before even meeting with them face to face.
While a personality test won’t demonstrate whether or not a person can think quickly or critically – a cognitive test will.
Employment Office Managing Director Tudor Marsden-Huggins says he suggests clients use cognitive tests for all senior positions and any role which involves managing people.
“While you can issue cognitive tests for any position, it’s not something that’s essential for all roles. But for any senior or complex roles, or any positions requiring high-level decision-making, it is absolutely essential to screen candidates with a robust cognitive test.
“These tests are all about mental aptitude rather than just behavioural attitude. It is essential to determine a candidate’s proficiency to perform according to their logical, numerical, verbal and mechanical abilities, depending on which skills are needed for the position. This method gives you the strongest indication available as to whether a candidate can actually do the work. Combined with a behavioural test, a hiring manager is able to get the most complete picture of how well each candidate will stand up to the challenges of the role,” he says.
This type of testing is increasingly popular for employers due to it’s ease of availability, it’s affordability and it’s accuracy, Marsden-Huggins says.
“These tests aren’t just for multinational corporations with sophisticated recruitment processes, small and medium business owners often can’t afford to pay the cost of recruitment, only to realise the new hire doesn’t have the skills for the job just a few weeks or months later. A cognitive test will help select the right person for the job based on performance-driven data. The tests are not only accurate, they are also affordable, so it’s good news for everyone,” he says.
If you’re interested in using cognitive testing as part of your next recruitment process, Employment Office can help. We offer a large range of logical, numerical, verbal and mechanical cognitive testing options priced at $75 per test per candidate. Call 1300 366 573 or email amber.dique-bellette@employmentoffice.com.au today.
