Dear Workforce:

I’m concerned about the validity of assessment tests during the pre-employment stage. The answers could be interpreted quite subjectively, depending on the different experience or education level of the person reviewing them. How do we avoid this?

—Getting a Grip on Assessments, district trainer, retail trade, Mukwonago, Wisconsin

Dear Getting a Grip:

You are wise to think carefully about the pre-employment tests you use. There’s a risk, if they are badly designed, of discriminating--or being perceived as discriminating--against a culture or gender. There’s an equally great risk of wasting valuable time and resources if the test does not help predict who would be able to perform the job.

All too often, tests are used because "we’ve always done that," or because a hiring manager took an assessment at a workshop and now wants to know the same information about everyone in the department. While assessments can be useful for understanding others’ style, hiring in the style of such a nosy manager may not be the best choice, and could in fact lead to biased decisions.

To avoid running into problems with your pre-hire testing process, do the following:
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Tags: Dear Workforce — Assessments — Recruiting