Going Beyond Resumes: Interactive functional assessment as the new standard in hiring
“. . . companies like Apple, Tesla, IBM, Delta Airlines, and Hilton . . . no longer require a college degree for an interview. They realize that the mindsets, abilities, and skills gained from life experience can be as valuable as university diplomas in today’s fast-changing world.”
(Harvard Business Review February 2023)
Experiential intelligence. Soft skills. Cultural fit. Critical thinking. In the world of business today, these are the buzzwords that do the rounds of HR and recruitment conversations. Worldwide, there is a strong trend towards employers giving the go-by to blind dependence on various pedigrees – degrees from the “right” institute, resumes with shiny qualifications, or past work experience. The pandemic has fast-forwarded this trend. During that topsy-turvy phase, companies anxious to fill the gaps in their workforce scaled back their standard academic prerequisites for employment and began looking at candidates who were less “qualified” in the traditional sense but possessed more diverse characteristics in terms of lived experiences, socioeconomic background and a can-do attitude. Today, the learnings from these out-of-the-box hiring strategies have translated into employers emphasising interpersonal skills, motivation, abilities and life experiences over well-garnished resumes. Tech companies, for instance, now increasingly seek to test the soft skills of IT professionals instead of relying primarily on certification-based hard skills.
A recent HirePro-SHRM report validates how recruiters have shifted their focus areas in pre-hiring priorities during the last five years:
| Focus Area | Five years ago | Current |
| Education & Certificates | 36% | 28% |
| Relevant experience | 63% | 48% |
| Skills | 36% | 58% |
| Achievements | 32% | 43% |
The question arises – in this new hiring environment, how do recruiters assess candidates to find the right fit?
Functional job analysis – overview
Not surprisingly the answer is, through leveraging the power of technology. Most enterprises, and increasingly, smaller companies, have come to appreciate the accuracy of data-driven, AI-based screening processes. A Talent Board report from back in 2016 reveals several interesting facts:
- 82% of US companies were using some version of pre-hiring assessment tests
- 54% of companies surveyed used job simulations; another 51% used screening tests for culture fit
- While such tests were once reserved for senior and mid-level managerial positions, they are now widely used for entry-level openings.
| As organizations attempt to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace, transforming into a dynamic, employee-centric SBO [skills-based organisation] will unlock trapped value, unleashing greater agility, engagement, productivity, growth, and innovation.
(The Skills-based Organization – Fueling the 21st-century enterprise with skills) – Michael Griffiths in a Deloitte blog (2021) |
For employers wanting to transition from conventional recruitment methods, the way forward is functional job analysis (a.k.a competency assessment) accompanied by appropriate screening. Here is a brief look at what recruiters should look out for when transitioning to tech-based assessments.
Versatility
The disruptive nature of technology today means that companies must be nimble and adaptive to change. In sync with this environment, job roles too keep morphing or vanishing altogether. Companies that need to change strategic gears or embrace new technologies need a workforce characterised by diverse skills and knowledge. Assessments should accordingly be flexible and versatile in terms of being able to assess the type of roles that candidates will best fit.
Reliability
Increasingly, young and high-skilled tech candidates tend to look askance at lengthy assessments, leading to the development of shortened tests with attractive features like gamification. However, recruiters need to analyse whether the predictive assessments they pick deliver genuine results, especially in areas such as personality testing, for example, where there should be sufficient data to confidently state that specific personal traits are pointers to desired levels of job performance.
Candidate-friendly
While it is important to ensure that the science behind digital assessments is sound, there is no denying the importance of adopting applicant-friendly tests to attract high-quality talent. High dropout rates during the hiring process are a headache for recruiters. This is particularly true of top applicants who, having a wide choice of employers, can reject companies requiring assessments that are overly lengthy or inflexible in terms of time scheduling.
References:
www2.deloitte.com ,action.deloitte.com,shrm.org,hbr.org
hirepro.in/resources/reports/no-resumes-please-paving-the-way-for-talent-centric-recruitment.
