Eric Friedman is the Founder and CEO of eSkill, a global leader in skills testing and behavioral assessment solutions for employers.
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As employers seek ways to hire more effectively, testing for the necessary skills of a given role has become a staple of modern candidate screening practices. Pre-employment testing can provide detailed insights into job seekers' skills, abilities and knowledge. By assessing prospective candidates, employers can identify top candidates, expedite the hiring process and reduce the risk of bad hires.
HR leaders can incorporate various question formats, including multiple-choice, true/false and select all that apply. You can administer these assessments remotely during the interview process, making them an especially convenient screening practice considering the large-scale transition to remote work environments.
While such skills assessments efficiently measure applicants' abilities, it is vital to validate and verify your screening processes. Otherwise, any inaccuracy could negatively impact the accuracy of the tests. However, that is not the primary concern. Failing to perform pre-employment test validation can also expose employers to potential civil liability.
Employment Tests And The EEOC
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has provided employers with substantial guidance concerning employment tests for applicant screening purposes. As the EEOC has clarified on numerous occasions, pre-employment hiring tools need to abide by federal anti-discrimination laws. A violation occurs if the employment test discriminates against job seekers based on age, disability, religion, national origin, gender, color or race.
Additionally, employers may be guilty of violating federal anti-discrimination laws if their skills assessments "disproportionately exclude" a specific group identified by one of the criteria listed above. These violations do not require the plaintiff to demonstrate that the act was intentional, only that the screening tools excluded applicants of a protected class.
The EEOC has a history of taking swift action against employers that use unfair pre-employment testing tactics. For instance, Walmart settled an EEOC lawsuit for $20 million in 2020. While this suit addressed the retail giant's use of a physical abilities test, which plaintiffs claim discriminated against women, applicants can take similar action against other employment tests if they are discriminatory. Therefore, employers must validate their hiring assessments and screening processes.
Why Skills Assessment Validation Is Essential
The primary reason for validating employment testing is to insulate a company from civil liability. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the EEOC hold employers responsible for their hiring practices. Even if employers outsource hiring and screening to a third-party entity, the employer may still be liable if their hiring practices are discriminatory. While liability protection is the primary motivator for verification, this essential practice also helps employers enhance test efficacy and accuracy.
Improving hires has always been a priority for human resources departments. Nevertheless, an ongoing worker shortage in the U.S. has made their job much more difficult. This shortage makes it more challenging to find top talent, hire these individuals and retain them.
Knowing their assessments are verified and validated helps employers more effectively staff their companies by expediting the screening process. Hiring teams can vet candidates faster and make employment offers before they acquire a position elsewhere. In addition, it could also lead to reduced turnover. Employers can accurately measure applicants' abilities and focus their recruiting efforts on the most well-rounded individuals.
How Employers Can Approach Validating Skills Tests
While several processes are involved in verifying and validating any pre-employment skills assessments, the first step is to ensure that a subject matter expert (SME) writes the questions. Another SME should also review the questions included. This review process will confirm that the questions asked effectively measure abilities relevant to the job. For instance, a Microsoft Office expert should create and review an assessment test that measures proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
After an SME validates a pre-employment assessment, business owners should task other SMEs and employees with reviewing the screening tool. These individuals can confirm if the employment test accurately represents the responsibilities of their position within the company (e.g., engineering professionals should review engineering employment tests, while computer programmers should validate programming-related screening tests).
Confirm that the test effectively measures the desired abilities. Employers should administer the skills test to staff members who currently do the job they want to screen for. If high-performing employees score well, the screening tool will probably help hiring personnel identify quality candidates.
While testing for the skills necessary can give employers an edge in the ultra-competitive market, it's vital to ensure these assessments follow all laws. This protects companies from civil liability and optimizes their ability to screen candidates. Ultimately, HR can improve many different touchpoints on the hiring and retention journey. However, proper validation of the skills tests is the only way to ensure that they provide the hiring and training benefits discussed here.
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