Role of Employee Testing in the Selection Process - Essay Example

Every organization is concerned with the quality of work from its employees while at the same time they maximize their output to match the organizational goals and objectives.  Employee selection is the process in which organizations choose and put the right people in the right job. Mainly, the purpose of the selection process is to match the organizational requirements with the skills and qualifications of potential workers. Selecting the right people and placing them on jobs that meet their qualifications, there is no possibility of compromising the quality of performance by employees. This paper looks at the various roles played by employee testing which relate to the selection process.

The testing and selection processes in an organization are tedious and demanding. Moreover, they are associated with increased levels of managerial involvement and commitment. Despite the challenges involved with the processes, organizations have nothing to lose. Instead, employee testing and selection help organizations maximize the output and quality of their operations. This is because organizations place the right people to do the right job. Among the essential characteristics of the right person for a job description, including the best academic qualifications, high integrity, the best skills, knowledge, and creativity.

According to McTague (2001), the testing process establishes the skills, expertise, knowledge creativity, and capabilities of a potential employee of an organization. The testing process comes after the employees have undergone a preliminary interviewing process. After the preliminary interviews and actual employee selection take place, qualifying candidates undertake tests that take different forms. Testing takes place before the actual hiring of employees to ensure that the right qualities meet the requirements of the organization. The increased dynamics in the business environment caused by increased levels of globalization has increasingly changed the manner in which businesses carry out their business. The service industry is the most affected as the demand for integrity and high morale among the employees has taken centre stage. Even the manufacturing industry has taken suit in employee testing. Competition for market shares and high sales levels necessitates the need for quality products, which is only achievable with highly qualified employees placed on the right jobs.

Various activities take place during the testing process. Integrity tests involve running drug tests on employees to ensure that employees hired are drug-free especially for the service delivery organizations such as insurance companies and banks. People working in the manufacturing industry need to be sober, as working with machines requires increased levels of concentration. Arthur (2012) advises that a mistake at any stage in the production process affects the product. Employees who are constant drug users or addicts are prone to accidents, which occur as they work with different machines. A person who is under the influence of stimulant drugs is subconscious and thus, the likelihood of injury is higher than that of sober people. While this affects the total output by employees as injured employees go through medication, low-quality products are less competitive in the market. Thus, drug testing has numerous benefits to an organization.

The testing process also saves organizations the problems associated with absenteeism and high employee turnover. Psychological testing of employees helps determine if the career paths chosen were in line with their interests or whether it was an option presented to them (Collings & Wood, 2009). People who follow their desired career paths are more enthusiastic in carrying out their duties despite the levels of challenge that they are likely to face. Insurance and marketing are job descriptions requiring high levels of commitment and dedication from the employees. Hiring employees who fell into these careers only by chance has the likelihood of negatively affecting their overall output. Intrinsic motivation in an employee is more essential in their duties than extrinsic motivation. The feeling of achievement by such employees motivates them to work more. However, the absence of this type of motivation in any particular employee leads to low employee output. In extreme cases, employees opt to quit their jobs. This negatively affects the organization’s general output and quality of products.

Computing job descriptions require highly skilled persons in mathematical calculations. Some jobs require people with high mathematical capabilities and accounting abilities. Accountancy, forecasting, architecture and engineering are among professions that require high mathematical and accounting skills from employees. Testing helps organizations to hire the most suitable persons for these jobs. Tasks that are computer-intensive require people with good computer skills who are highly talented in computer techniques and technology. Although training could be an option for these organizations, talent and interests cannot match any form of training as it calls for dedication. Thus, testing is essential before the selection of people for any computer-related job positions.
While placing the right persons to perform the right jobs, mathematicians handle jobs with high mathematical computations, accountants handle accounting jobs and computer engineers and specialists handle computer-intensive jobs. Although some organizations opt to train their employees on different skills required for different jobs, the reality is that no training could match talent and interests. Highly talented employees produce high-quality work, which subsequently leads to more revenue for an organization.