Below is a very useful FAQ taken from the Association of Test Publishers, of which Prevue HR is a founding member. We’ve indexed them here for easy reference. These are questions we’re frequently asked at Prevue HR.
Questions:
- How Do Tests Help Businesses?
- What Kinds of Things Do Tests Measure In Business?
- Is it Legal To Use Tests in Hiring?
- Why Do Companies Rely on Tests?
- Do Tests Invade People’s Privacy?
- Do Tests Prevent Qualified People From Getting Hired or Promoted?
- Should A Person Be Hired or Promoted on the Basis of the Results of Tests Alone?
Business organizations use a variety of tests as aids in hiring, placing, or promoting employees. Tests can help human resource professionals find the right person for the right job as well as advance an employee along a career path that makes the best use of his or her talents and strengths. Tests can be also be used in putting together effective teams or work groups and in helping them to operate well together. Testing, when properly used, results in more motivated, productive, and satisfied workers and less friction and dissatisfaction in the work force.
WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO TESTS MEASURE IN BUSINESS?
Employers sometimes use certain tests to help judge an applicants suitability for a particular kind of job or level of responsibility in other words, to match persons to the jobs for which they are best suited. Tests may also measure specific aptitudes such as mechanical skills or sales abilities, or characteristics such as trustworthiness.
Tests are also used to determine the training needs of organizations, their departments or sections, and employees. Test results can indicate whether individuals know how to do their jobs and which specific task need additional improvement. Human resource departments can use this information to target training needs and implement interventions that support increased productivity. Tests can also measure the effectiveness of training that has been conducted in the organization.
IS IT LEGAL TO USE TESTS IN HIRING?
Yes. Tests are just one of a number of procedures that have a legitimate place in making employment decisions. Certainly some kinds of questions for example, about age, religion, or other private and protected information may not be asked and tests used in hiring decisions must be designed with this in mind. But these concerns are not limited to tests. The same federal and state guidelines that apply to tests also apply to interviews, background checks, and so on.
WHY DO COMPANIES RELY ON TESTS?
Tests have several advantages over traditional interviews and other commonly used employee hiring and placement procedures. Tests are even-handed; they ask the same questions of everyone. Tests typically require less time than interviews, so they are more efficient in obtaining job-related information. Appropriate tests have been carefully screened to be fair and unbiased and not to ask for improper information. Tests allow the persons answers to be compared with hundreds or even thousands of other peoples answers to the same question under the same standard conditions. Finally, the decisions made from test results are based on research studies that prove their accuracy and effectiveness. No other procedure can make these claims.
DO TESTS INVADE PEOPLES PRIVACY?
It is possible that a misuse of a test could result in an invasion of privacy. For example, a clinical test intended for use in medical settings should not be used as a part of routine employment screening. But well-designed tests that are used for their intended purposes do not ask questions that invade a persons privacy.
Also it is true that people are sometimes unaware of what they are revealing about themselves by taking the test. However, taking a test is in many ways like answering questions during an interview. A person is equally unsure about inferences or interpretations made by an interviewer. The difference is that the questions on tests have been screened for fairness, are applied consistently to everyone, and that the resulting interpretations are based on research that has proved them to be reliable, fair, and valid. On the other hand, the opinions of an interviewer are just one persons views, however experienced that person may be, and interviewers can be distracted and influenced by prejudices of which they may not even be aware.
DO TESTS PREVENT QUALIFIED PEOPLE FROM GETTING HIRED OR PROMOTED?
Employment screening involves the selection of some people over others. Sometimes there will be more qualified people applying for a position than can be hired. A properly chosen test has an important place in selecting the candidate with the best fit to the position. Using other procedures without considering the results of a good test will tend to rule out more qualified people than will a procedure that includes an appropriate test.
SHOULD A PERSON BE HIRED OR PROMOTED ON THE BASIS OF THE RESULTS OF TESTS ALONE?
Even a battery of tests should not be the sole deciding factor in hiring or promotion. Properly used, tests are only one part of a process that includes other steps such as application forms, personal interviews, supervisor ratings, and background checks. Considered together, the results of these techniques can provide a more comprehensive picture of an individual to help an employer make the right decision for both the employee and the company.
Two comments:
1. Really surprised to see how much you use the word “test(s)” rather than “assessment(s)” which would be far more appropriate (for one, getting away from the whole testing-related concept of “pass/fail” versus “degree of fit or match”.
2. From a client: Why do a couple of our top performers’ assessment results come in so far off the benchmark which other top performers seem to match well?
Great comments, Ray.
1. The main section of the article was from the Association of Test Publishers, who’ve chosen to use the word ‘test’. For those unfamiliar with Testing/Assessments, ‘test’ is a more straight-forward term to quickly explain what’s being done. From there, you could expand that it’s not only a test (like Numbers or Abilities), but also an assessment inventory (like Personality), so there’s a well-rounded view being provided.
2. When building a benchmark, it’s important to qualify the top performing candidates you choose to benchmark. As an example, let’s look at a company that had to choose a few top performing sales reps to include in a benchmark study. What criteria did they use when choosing these sales reps? Were they chosen just based on total sales, or did you consider how long that person has been with the company and maybe how they started out? For example, a top sales performer might have been with the company for over 25 years and worked their way up from the mail room to get where they are. They have benefitted from time and could have very easily struggled in the first 3 years. They are also close to retirement and not indicative of the current workforce demographics. Another top performing sales rep was hired out of university less than 2 years ago and was very quick at learning the business and is performing at a very high level. The company is looking to do a university recruiting campaign so the benchmark should be developed using individuals like the second rep.
In short, look at the demographics of how your formed the benchmark as well as what quality you’re hoping to measure