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The quality of a company largely depends on the quality of the employees. Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, once said that “You’re only as good as the people you hire.”  This is especially true for caregiving, where employees take the customer-client relationship to a very personal level and the quality of the caregiver greatly effects the satisfaction of the client. With caregivers playing such a large part in customer retention and satisfaction, it’s concerning that caregiver turnover rose to 61.6% in 2014, which is 8.4% higher than in 2013.

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To address this rising turnover, many companies have begun to use pre-employment testing to identify more qualified candidates and reduce the time and cost of lengthy hiring processes. However, though many employers laud the virtues of testing, there are some potential drawbacks to consider before implementing them. To help you decide if pre-employment assessments are right for your company, here’s a breakdown of some pros and cons:

Pros

1. Identify the best candidates

Recruiters report that over 50% of job applicants do not meet the basic qualifications. Each job requires a unique skill set and personality type. To help ensure that your job applicants have the skills the job requires, without interviewing every single one, you can use a pre-employment assessment to measure aptitude, skills, and personality types.

2. Time-saving and cost effective

For most small business owners, time is not an expendable commodity. Pre-employment tests root out many unqualified applicants from the onset so that only the most qualified candidates reach the interview process.

3. Standardize candidate selection

Pre-employment tests avoid the pitfalls of hiring based on a first impression. Tests are able to maintain equality in the hiring process which hiring managers sometimes lack.

Cons

1. Validity

Though many assessments are well-endorsed and reputable, not all tests are accurate indicators of the traits they claim to measure or of future job performance. Employers need to be able to demonstrate that the test’s results accurately correspond to job performance before making it a determining factor in hiring.

2. Consistency

Pre-employment tests are not always reliable and consistent measures of a given skill. If a test is reliable, a candidate who takes the test today will receive roughly the same score if they take it a week from now. When tests are inconsistent, they cease to be valid measures of future job performance. Each test should be proven for reliability before it is implemented.

3. May violate federal and state laws

All pre-employment testing is subject to federal and state law, and it’s important that your chosen test meets Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) requirements before being implemented. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also prohibits pre-hiring evaluations that may be interpreted as “medical exams” or a test of mental health.

Pre-employment tests aren’t for every company; however, when properly implemented, they can reduce employee turnover and save you time and resources in the hiring process.

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8 Comments

  1. Stephen Tweed June 11, 2015 at 5:31 pm - Reply

    Aaron, great article. You have clearly defined the pros and cons of pre-employment assessments. As a previous user of the Caregiver Quality Assurance program from Leading Home Care, you know that our unique pre-employment assessment is valid, it is applied consistently to all applicants, and it meets the requirements of all state and local laws except the state of Massachusetts.

    Hundreds of home care companies across the country are using Caregiver Quality Assurance to improve their recruiting, selection, training, and retention of caregivers.

    Best Regards,

    Stephen

    • Home Care Pulse June 25, 2015 at 11:39 am - Reply

      Thanks Steve! That’s a great idea for a test option. If you’re a home care provider, it’s definitely worth considering testing to find employees who fit your specific company needs.

  2. Moten Tate January 5, 2017 at 8:12 am - Reply

    Thanks for sharing the pros and cons of employee testing as these help organizations to hire the right candidate that fits in their job requirement with appropriate skills. These tests and tools helps in reducing company’s efforts in hiring the right candidate for their company.

  3. Home Care Pulse January 5, 2017 at 10:39 am - Reply

    Thank you for your comment, Moten! We’re glad you see the benefits of pre-employment testing.

  4. Taylor Hicken April 17, 2017 at 5:56 pm - Reply

    Wow, I think that I’d be pretty nervous to take a pre-employment test for any type of job. I’d just hope that if I did, I would be able to pass it. If over 50% of job applicants don’t meet the basic qualifications, it just makes me nervous to see what I’d qualify for.

  5. Harper Campbell August 14, 2017 at 2:59 pm - Reply

    It’s interesting to know that when a company requires a pre employment medical exam, that there are a lot of benefits to them in doing so. One thing you pointed out that I like is that it helps identify the best candidates to do the job, especially if it requires a certain type of skill level. To me, this is good for both the employer and the potential employees so that they will both know if the job is right for that person.

  6. Ame September 13, 2017 at 11:26 am - Reply

    Aaron, nice post! In fact, many employees believe such testing is an unfair and inefficient way of pre employment screening. It`s believed that the test objectively assesses the personal qualities of the employee. But I think that a personal conversation and the CV is a more objective approach, but it also must be checked. I`ve found one of the services: https://www.trustedemployees.com/employment-screening/ – which offers full pre-employment screening, starting with a credit history and ending with a criminal record.

  7. On Bench Resources February 11, 2019 at 7:05 am - Reply

    Your all points are great.
    By using all points we can choose the best candidate and it saves time, cost.
    It also standardized the selection process.

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