FAQs - Assessments

Questions

Answers

What should I do if I don't see a type of assessment that I would like to use?

Although we offer a broad array of assessments for various jobs, we want to make other assessments available to administrators. We are planning on offering additional assessments over time. Please email us and let us know if you have any suggestions for other assessments that would help you achieve your objectives.

If I don't want to use an assessment in a recommended assessment battery, what should I do?

You have complete control over the assessments you want to use. You are never forced to use any assessment included in a recommended assessment battery designed for a particular job. You always have the option of customizing assessment batteries by adding or removing assessments in a recommended battery.

Why are you recommending assessment batteries for certain jobs?

We understand how difficult it is to select employment tests that will help you make more informed hiring decisions. By recommending assessments to include in a given battery, we are trying to take some of the guesswork out of this decision making process. Our recommendations are based on validation studies we have conducted and/or on our analysis of skills, abilities, and job-related traits that are required for job success.

What should I do if I have problems matching our jobs to your standard job profiles?

Different organizations often use different job titles for essentially the same job. Your organization may be using fairly unique job titles for jobs that are included in our standard list. It's also possible that your jobs are not included in our current job structure. Please contact your Company Administrator if you are having difficulties matching your jobs to our standard job classifications.

What are the benefits of customizing our own assessment batteries?

Sometimes a standard assessment battery doesn't quite meet an organization's needs. For example, you might employ people in jobs that are a hybrid of two standard jobs. You also may not be able to afford the time or money to use all assessments in a recommended battery. Therefore, in some cases it makes sense to customize an assessment battery that meets your unique needs.

Isn't it difficult to customize assessment batteries?

It's easy to customize an assessment battery, as long as you know what you need. You simply select the assessments you want for a battery and save your choices. You can use a customized assessment battery as often as you like.

Why is it necessary to determine assessment standards before we begin using assessments for making hiring or promotion decisions?

Assessment results will automatically be generated after you administer an online assessment or assessment battery. The results contain the raw score and percentile score for each assessment that was administered. To make an employment decision regarding an applicant, you will need to know if the individual met the minimum standard on each pre-employment test. If assessment standards have not been established, the scores in the report will have no practical value for making employment decisions.

What should the assessment standards (i.e., minimum raw scores required) be for assessments used to hire or promote people in our organization?

Assessment standards should be determined by management and should be based on organizational issues and needs. If standards are set too high, it is difficult to fill positions in a timely manner. If standards are set too low, however, there is a greater probability of hiring individuals who do not have the competencies needed to perform the job. As a general rule, the standard for any given assessment should be established so that approximately 70% to 85% of applicants are able to meet it.

Should we always use the recommended assessment standards?

Most organizations have difficulty determining what assessment standards to use when making employment decisions. If standards are set too high, you may eliminate too many people and may not be able to fill positions in a timely manner. If standards are set too low, however, individuals who are hired may not be able to meet job expectations in important areas, such as productivity and quality of work. In most cases, it's a good idea to use the recommended assessment standards.

What should I consider if I want to customize assessment standards for my organization?

If the recommended assessment standards do not meet organizational needs, you have the responsibility to establish "reasonable" assessment standards for jobs in your organization. These standards should be based on pertinent business needs, such as the timeliness of hiring decisions, job expectations, and proficiency requirements. As a rule of thumb, assessment standards with the greatest utility for most organizations tend to be between the 15th and 30th percentiles, inclusive. In general, standards within this range would be considered reasonable, depending on the job in question.

Who should be authorized to see the assessments besides administrators and human resource personnel?

Applicants should never be permitted to see the assessments outside of the administration process. Depending on policies in your organization, hiring supervisors and managers may be authorized to examine relevant assessments. All individuals having access to assessments should be told not to disclose any administration and scoring details that typically are not available to applicants. Administrators, hiring supervisors and managers, and other individuals having access to assessments are expected to maintain the confidentiality of information relating to these instruments.

What are the legal issues regarding using assessments for employment purposes?

From a legal standpoint, the bottom line for any selection procedure, including the use of employment tests, is that it does not result in "adverse impact." The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) indicates that adverse impact occurs "when a substantially different rate of selection in any employment decision works to the disadvantage of members of a race, sex, or ethnic group."

The Uniform Guidelines provide an employer with the following two basic options if adverse impact does occur as a result of using a particular selection procedure: 1) Either the adverse impact must be eliminated by modifying the selection procedure, or 2) the selection procedure itself must be justified by validity evidence.

Please consult legal counsel in your organization regarding any concerns you may have about adverse impact or other legal matters pertaining to the use of employment tests.