Talent assessment tools: Making HR the front-runner of transformation

“The human workforce is valued at $ 1.2 quadrillion, compared to $ 521 trillion value of physical Assets,”

says Korn Ferry, an executive search, and recruiting firm. With such value being placed on people, resources that typically appreciate over time, there really is little need to underline the need for top quality talent if organizations hope to walk confidently into the future.

We couldn’t agree more.

Changing perceptions and technological advances have redefined the role of Human Resources. In the realm of talent management, HR is no longer confined to tasks such as screening, interviewing, and hiring candidates. HR Managers are transforming into Talent Acquisition Managers, Happiness Officers, People’s Operation Managers, and a lot more. They have now become the harbingers of change in dynamic business models.

What challenges do they need to overcome?

“Human resources are like natural resources; they’re often buried deep. You have to go looking for them, they’re not just lying around on the surface. You have to create the circumstances where they show themselves.” (Ken Robinson)

When it comes to talent acquisition, be it a Fortune 500 company or a startup, their hiring concerns are quite similar. Apart from struggling to find skilled, committed workers, they have to deal with so much more. One in four candidates complaints about bad recruiting experiences and that hampers the brand image considerably. With companies like PepsiCo adopting location-free work arrangements to retain talent and companies like Panasonic touting ‘Learn, Live, Achieve’ as their core philosophy, job seekers now demand a better recruitment experience. The HR personnel is expected to make this happen and deal with any fallout. (Read: 7 ways recruiters can increase the offer to  joining ratio & avoid drop off)

Instead of leaving you to wonder how you can get the most suitable talent for the job roles you advertise, we’ve got a near-perfect solution for you. Switch to a talent assessment tool that can resolve the fundamental concerns of managing volumes of applicants while ensuring you shortlist the right technical candidates.  

Why do you need a talent assessment tool?

Newspaper advertisements and paper-based job applications are a thing of past. Brick-and-mortar offices are changing into work-from-anytime-anywhere business models. You no longer have tons of skilled candidates, and struggles of ‘talent hunts’ are real. Millennials are the “new adventure” for HR managers as they don’t often stick to a place for long anymore. Employees now demand real-time feedback and innovative recruitment campaigns.

These changes need new kinds of approaches, out-of-the-box thinking, and more. This shift in the role of HR has compelled the industry to think of technology solutions that not only help HR managers understand the right skill set easily but also help them retain and encourage the right resources while ensuring candidates enjoy personalized experiences and regular constructive feedback.

For example, to deal with a deluge of applicants and find the brightest software developer, Microsoft included a small test at the time of application. Those who had the requisite know-how and a mathematical bent of mind easily cracked a cryptic phone number in the test and were shortlisted for further rounds. A gamification of this sort increased the volume of quality candidates and helped the company reject candidates with a concrete reason, hinting at a scope for improvement.

Talent assessment tools track the applicants through their performance on a coding platform like HackerEarth and other sources and help the HR to build a personalized experience for the candidates based on their performance in each challenge they have participated. This includes mapping their journey from the time they apply for a job to their joining and service with the company.

When do you need a talent assessment tool?

More than 60% millennials believe in proper background research on organizations and the job roles they’re applying for.

HR has to make the company look good. Negative reviews can do serious damage.

This has made the job of HR managers tougher. The one-shoe-fits-all approach needs to change and they’re now responsible for painting a better picture of the organization and ensure complete transparency.

To showcase the best of company culture, Twitter did a “Join the Flock”recruitment campaign. It was a hack week for employees as they were challenged to make the best/worst recruiting video. The campaign culminated in a video that featured the company CEO, Dick Costolo, who shared the hiring information and at the same time mocked the outdated workplace and their training material. A campaign of this sort leads to better employee engagement and also gets the message across interestingly.

Managers can no longer reject candidates without giving them concrete answers. Talent assessment tools, empowered with predictive and prescriptive analytics, empower HR with the right recommendations to aid decision-making while selecting candidates.

How do you find the best tool?

That’s a tricky question. HR personnel is constantly dealing with the dilemma of deciding to buy a tool or develop it in-house. Most of the time, the latter case gets ruled out due to limited technical knowledge in HR departments. The right approach is to rely on experts with proven experience in the HR-tech domain. It’s important to hire vendors who understand your business models and the needs of the job profiles.

Tools using Machine Learning and BigData Analytics are considered better and more reliable as compared to tools which lack data analysis and in depth candidate report. Organisations can use Social Media Analytics and other forms of data analysis to get an in-depth knowledge of candidate behavior. These tools give you solutions like work samples and simulations, cognitive ability tests, personality, or conscientiousness tests, structured interviews, unstructured interviews and a lot more effective forms of candidate examination. (Read: How to pick right assessment tool?)

How do HR analytics technologies help?

According to PwC’s Global HR Tech survey 2017, only 14% employers are very satisfied with the HR analytics technologies they have on board. This throws open massive opportunities for  HR managers and domain experts to come up with viable solutions for talent management. Here are a few recommendations to improve your HR technology support and planned implementations.

• Draft a report which gives insights beyond basic operational and compliance statistics
• Do not be afraid to integrate data from external resources
• Select the right metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and place them in easy to understand dashboards
• Invest in applying Big Data concepts
• Leverage Cloud Technology to safeguard data for predictive and prescriptive analytics
• Increase the use of analytics and data-driven decisions

What are the benefits of talent assessment tools?

Like we said earlier, talent assessment tools are the need of the hour. Technology is now the key enabler in businesses and helps in strategic decision making. The biggest benefit is that these tools help you counter the volume of applicants with a lot more ease. Machine Learning algorithms shortlist the best candidates on the parameters you want and leave you with results that are to the point. This also confers a global mindset to the organizations by ensuring the best applicant experience for their potential candidates.

Real-time feedback, which you get from talent assessment tools, plays a crucial role in ensuring an employee’s progress and loyalty. Gamification is another advantage as it helps employers up their game in terms of employee engagement. The best example of gamification for recruitment and employee engagement possibly comes from Marriott Hotels. The global hotel chain designed virtual tours and video games on their website to attract potential employees through their websites. The players completing some of the “tasks” were shortlisted and later called for interview.

What is the next step?

The future belongs to those who will lead the change and that can happen only if you acquire and retain the right talent. Join the bandwagon of change and get your talent assessment tool today to see your organization scale up in your quest for transformation.

Signing off with a thought from industry leader Jay Samit, Independent Vice Chairman of Deloitte Digital:

“To thrive, all businesses must focus on the art of self-disruption. Rather than wait for the competition to steal your business, every founder and employee need to be willing to cannibalize their existing revenue streams in order to create new ones. All disruption starts with introspection.” 

HackerEarth Recruit – A talent Assessment Platform

PS: For more such insights on tech recruitment, we invite you to join our LinkedIn group – “Yours Truly HR”

Arpit Mishra Author 50 Blogs