Could hiring practices be changing? Well, more than half of employers—56%—use pre-employment assessments to gauge job applicants’ knowledge, skills and abilities, according to new research from SHRM ( the Society for Human Resource Manager.)
An interesting finding of the recent survey of 1,688 HR professionals is the use of skills assessments in hiring, including a willingness on the part of employers to consider candidates who do not have a college degree or the minimum years of experience.
The survey found that 79% of HR professionals say that scores on skills assessments are just as or more important than traditional criteria in hiring decisions, and 36% say a job candidate who scores high on an assessment but doesn't meet the minimum years of experience is very likely to make it onto the list of final candidates.
“With employers still struggling to fill vacant positions, HR professionals are leading the way in using skills-based hiring and skilled credentials to acquire top talent,” said SHRM Head of Government Affairs Emily M. Dickens, in a statement. “
Here are other key findings from SHRM’s survey:
- 28% of HR professionals said a job candidate who scores high on the assessment but doesn't meet the minimum education requirement would be very likely to make it onto the list of final candidates for consideration. Forty percent said that would be somewhat likely in the same scenario.
- 82% of organizations that require work samples or work simulation tests do so for applicants identified for further consideration.
- 78% of HR professionals say the quality of their organization’s hires has improved due to their use of assessments.
- 23% of HR professionals said the diversity of their hires has improved using these assessments.
- Of organizations that utilize pre-employment assessments, 1 in 4 plan to expand their use of these assessments in the next five years.
- Of organizations that don’t utilize pre-employment assessments, 1 in 10 plan to start using them in the next five years.