The importance of testing skills can’t be under-estimated in terms of making sure you hire people who are capable of doing the job.  I a lot of cases, a former employee will be able to collect unemployment even if they were let go because they couldn’t do the job.  Making sure you have the right fit is absolutely essential and the first line of defense in controlling unemployment costs.

It’s important not only from the employer’s perspective, but if you think about it, it makes more sense from the job seekers perspective as well.  Most job seekers are looking for opportunities where they can contribute to an organization’s success and make a difference.  At the very least, they are looking for a place where they can be happily employed and I’m fairly certain they don’t want to work in an environment where they are failing and are just waiting to be fired.  It’s demoralizing for the employee and increased churn can also hurt the remaining employees’ moral and possibly hurt employee retention, further increasing unemployment costs and causing an additional litany of problems within the organization.  Right now I hear from employers that employee retention as the economy improves is their #1 concern.

So how do you deal with this?  Well, if specific skills are required in the job (such as typing, dictation, cash register use, etc.) develop a way to test these skills prior to hiring.  Be sure the tests you administer are valid and represent the actual content of the job. All tests should be uniformly given to all applicants for a position. It is your responsibility to find out as much as possible about an applicant's abilities and attitude before deciding whether to hire the individual. 

Having a consistent testing plan is perfectly acceptable.  Employers start getting into trouble when they inconsistently apply testing in the hiring process and if testing is the sole basis for evaluation.

To learn more view this free eSeminar “Recession Proofing your Selection System: Cost-effective Use of Assessments in a Weak Economy”

Tammy Mullin