Best Practices for Selecting Assessments for
Selecting Employees

By Shawn Bakker

Evaluating employees can be a tricky business, and assessments can help. However, evaluating the assessments can also appear to be tricky business. By taking the following steps you can best identify which selection tools will best meet your needs.

Step One – Make sure you know what you are looking for.
Determine the knowledge, skills, and traits that are related to job success through a job analysis. Then search for tests which measure these constructs. If you need to hire an effective warehouse associate look for someone with a high level of attention to detail and who is comfortable working in a structured environment – not someone who is innovative and likes to a lot of change.

Step Two – Get assessment information.
Obtain information about several tests that are designed to measure what you need to measure. Carefully read though the materials provided by the developers and reject any with unclear information. You must be able to determine if the test is valid and reliable. If you cannot find any information that supports the validity or reliability of the test you should eliminate it. You will also want to determine if the test format and reading level are appropriate for the people you will be testing.

Step Three – List the purchase requirements.
Determine the skill level needed to purchase, administer, and interpret the test scores correctly. Some assessments are more complicated than others and may require special training.

Conclusion – It’s easier than it sounds.

Only use the tests which are reliable and valid, measure the traits that are related to job success, and for which you have the necessary skills to interpret.