Complicated Employment Testing - Essay Example

Employment Testing Employment Testing Every organization that is looking to hire any employees need to be sure about the suitability and credibility of the applicants. The practice of administering oral or written tests to the applicants is called employment testing. Employers that have considered the use of employment tests, mainly knowledge and aptitude-based tests, should execute due diligence to guarantee that interrogations are realistically linked to the job. This is often done with guidance from counsel1. The procedure of pre-employment testing has developed intensely in current years because businesses have developed increased awareness of the point that their hiring accomplishment rates straight affect their bottom line. The inclination headed for much greater candidate groups has also added to a rising confidence on data-driven ability administration practices that reorganize the hiring procedure. According to studies done by the American Management Association (AMA), pre-employment testing has been increasing progressively in the previous fifteen year2. There are different types of tests used by employers. They include intelligence tests, personality tests, integrity test, and job knowledge tests and also work illustrations. Job knowledge tests normally use numerous choice questions to appraise practical or professional capability and knowledge essential for exact jobs. These tests are done by hiring managers. These tests are usually peer-to-peer and replicate actual business responsibilities that applicants have to complete, in case they are picked for the task. The questions are business and job related which candidates require to submit their replies for so as to demonstrate their capabilities3. There are also personality tests used by employers. Personality tests usually quantify qualities related to behavior at the work environment, social relations, and fulfillment with diverse characteristics of work.  Personality tests are mostly used to evaluate whether persons have the potential to be prosperous in jobs where performance needs a boundless deal of social contact or ability to work in a team .Intellectual ability tests are questions that evaluate one’s pace of learning, reading, comprehending and the general mental capability. Intellectual ability tests measure an individual’s ability to unravel job-related difficulties by giving information about their intellectual capacities such as mathematical reasoning and perceptual abilities4. Situational verdict tests are frequently used as employee-selection and employee-screening devices and have been established to forecast employment accomplishment. These tests present genuine theoretical situations in a multiple-choice setup. Candidates are requested to indicate how they would handle tough job-related condition. Replies are recorded according to the level of efficiency. Interviews diverge significantly in their content, though they are mostly used to evaluate things like social skills, communication skills, and collaboration skills 5. Well-made interviews normally use a standard set of questions to assess acquaintance, talents, abilities, and other merits essential for the job. Employers usually conduct interviews either personal face to face with the applicant or via phone. Honesty tests evaluate attitudes and familiarities connected to an individual’s morality, trustworthiness, credibility and dependability.   These tests usually ask straight questions about earlier know-hows linked to integrities. These tests sometimes could be misused to cause discrimination in recruitment. Some biased employers may give questions that are out of context or those with higher qualification than the job offered. This is mostly done when a job is targeting a specific individual and the organization only advertises the job for formality purposes so as not to raise any suspicion. The law has several measures to control bias by use of tests. The validity of a test is a key issue in employment testing. A test must measure the specific criterion it should measure. The test must also be reliable. The score of a test must always remain the same when it is repeated by an individual. Equality is also another issue. The law has clarified the place of these tests in accordance with the discrimination law. Precisely, these cases have looked into the biased usage of tests when endorsing employees by needing tests outside the qualifications required by the job. For example making a receptionist take up a mathematics test is unreasonable6. Any organization that values its applicants should always have the pre-employment Bill of Rights. This bill contains the rights of the candidates. The candidate has a right to a proper and just assessment. An employer should explain to the applicants why they are taking the test. An applicant also has a right to a reasonable experience that is time bound. A candidate has the right to know how the assessment is relevant to the job applied for. Technical support and feedback is also an important right of any applicant7. Job tests are conducted everywhere even in Government jobs. Cities, states and counties use criteria’s employment tests to assist in making their procedure more competent and transparent. Most government agencies use hire select most regularly to test candidates for managerial and clerical jobs. Almost eighty percent of government jobs are completed through a competitive investigation of a candidate’s background and education. There are no civil service written tests. Big corporate must always conduct employment tests especially the private sector. This is because the standards of employees must always be maintained. This is also important because they frequently hire a large volume of employees. Pre employment tests are also beneficial for any large corporate. Saving costs and time is one such kind of benefit. This is because when people who are incompetent are hired, then they will need to be replaced in the future. Pre employment tests help to eliminate this. They also help to decrease turnover and also improve morale. Most firms will not hire applicants who fail pre employment tests. Technology has a great impact in employment testing both positive and negative. The hiring department is now having a very easy time in administering employment tests. It is now possible to have these tests taken online. This can be effective when outsourcing or when a candidate is far. This is also done in situations where the applicant poll is too high. There are also machines that are used to administer integrity tests called polygraphs. Software to conduct employment tests have been developed. These reduce the great task of a person conducting these tests to a large pool of applicants. This is especially used in online job applications which have become very common in big corporates. All this has made it easy for the human resource departments when it comes to hiring8. There are however some negative impacts of technology. People can fake personalities when they are not face to face with the interviewer. It is also possible to have someone with higher intellectual capability take up a cognitive ability test on your behalf so as to lie to the employer. This shows loop holes in relying on technology for employment testing9. Employment tests are very important because of job applicant does not only need to have the education qualification but also other characteristics that compliment the education qualification. An employer needs to mix and match all these characteristics in order to select the most suitable candidate. It is always advisable to conduct these tests so as to save the business from future problems like incompetency of employees. They are also advantageous for employees because even when they have not qualified for the job, the feedback given after the tests will enable them to improve their skills and reapply for the jobs elsewhere. One can prepare for the test by relaxing and avoiding being nervous, avoid lying because even when one gets their way through faking, they will always be found out after some time. Taking sample tests is also a good way of getting ready for the questions that might be asked. Any candidate should also be familiar with the legal aspects of employment tests. This way, they can know when the employer is defying the law. Many candidates wonder if these tests are legal. The answer is that indeed they are allowed by the law as long as they are non-discriminatory and are properly administered10. Most public corporates do not administer drug tests to applicants but almost all private businesses do. The main reason they are taken is to reduce employee turnover. The companies and businesses do not want to waste their time hiring and even training someone who will fail in the duty or someone who will leave the company. An applicant should therefore take these tests with all positivity as long as their rights are not violated11. References Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The big five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1-26. Schmidt, F.L., & Hunter, J. (2004). General Mental Ability in the World of Work: Occupational Attainment and Job Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162–173 Lievens, F., Peeters, H., &Schollaert, E. (2008). Situational judgment tests: A review of recent research. Personnel Review, 37, 426-441. Ployhart, R. E. (2006). Staffing in the 21st century: New challenges and strategic opportunities.Journal of Management, 32, 868-897. Heneman III, H.G. & Schwab, D.P. (1985), “Pay Satisfaction: Its Multidimensional Nature and Measurement”, International Journal of Psychology, 20(2), 129-141. Read More