As published in the Winnipeg Sun. Conducting recruitment for a new staff person entails a lot more than simply placing an advertisement, collecting resumes and interviewing those who appear to offer the skills you are seeking. To be effective, the process must be systematic, transparent, non-discriminatory and accurate in the assessment of skills. In fact, assessing the accuracy of skills is often the hardest part of the entire process. This has led to the use of both work related simulations and intensive personal assessments.

Work related simulations have been used for decades to train flight and military personnel as well as medical specialists. So why not use simulations in an ordinary workplace? In actual fact, the use of simulations is indeed increasing. For instance, candidates at many manufacturing firms are first seated in front of a computer where they complete an interactive job simulation that mirrors what they would do in the real workplace. These simulations not only assess candidate ability in the technical areas but also assess problem solving, communication, or team orientation. If a candidate is successful with this initial assessment, they are invited back for additional evaluation. The value of these simulations is that it provides a more accurate concept of the job they are applying for and also helps the employer make the best choice.

Other “simulation” type assessments include role plays where participants are assigned certain roles in an intensive exercise and then evaluated on that experience. In addition, there are assessments that involve physical ability testing, or skills and ability tests that assess an individual’s thinking, reasoning, and verbal or mathematical skills. Another popular assessment method is referred to as “in-basket” exercises which require participants to respond to real-life scenarios they would encounter in the new job. The assignments could include such things as making decisions, writing correspondences or preparing a presentation.

At the same time, there are many challenges to utilizing simulations or assessments. Some of these include the following:

Poor planning – it is very important to have the right people involved in determining the appropriateness of the simulation or assessment tools.

Poor job analysis – if the dimensions of a job are not well defined, then the simulation or assessment might well be assessing the wrong features of a job which in turn will lead to an inappropriate decision.

Inadequate exercises – poorly designed exercises both from a content and a timing perspective, will certainly put people through their paces but will not result in effective assessment. Exercises must closely resemble the job tasks and simulate realistic work conditions.

Poor candidate preparation – candidates need to be informed of what to expect in their simulation or assessment exercises. The purpose is not to surprise candidates or cause stress but rather to effectively assess their work related skills.

Poorly qualified assessors – if assessors are not properly trained and qualified, it might well result in poor documentation, scoring and a lack of objectivity. In addition, if the assessor is unfamiliar with the job tasks being assessed, it will result in inaccurate assessments.

Should simulations not be feasible in your organization due to time and costs, then the next best tool is the use of standardized, online personality, leadership and communication style assessments. These assessments help employers to examine basic characteristics such as attitude, emotional adjustment, interpersonal relationships, motivation, initiative, and follow-through. The assessments help to predict performance, demonstrates how a candidate’s personality will impact their work and will highlight any “red flags” that suggest more followup is required.  Ethics and integrity assessments are also now available.

As indicated earlier, assessing the accuracy of a candidate’s skill and behaviours is often the hardest part of the entire recruitment process. This is especially difficult when selecting senior leaders. Therefore it makes good business sense to utilize multiple strategies and tools to ensure that you gain the most reliable picture of your potential new employee.

Source: Employee Testing Series 3, Assessment Tools and Centres, SHRM, 2005, HR Technology: Job Tryouts Go Virtual, HR Magazine, January 2006.