What types of assessments are available?

We offer more than 50 behavioral, cognitive, and skill-based testing. Select a test from our extensive pre-built assessment assortment, or work with us to create a customized assessment, specific to your organization.

Are SelectiveHiring tests legal?

Yes. SelectiveHiring assessments abide by EEOC and DOL guidelines. Standardizing the applicant data collection process and eliminating human biases and stereotypes by means of assessments is a great way to protect your organization from claims of discrimination and adverse impact.

How long do the assessments take?

Assessment length varies by assessment. Most tests take between 12-30 minutes to complete.

Have these tests been validated?

The SelectiveHiring scales have undergone significant research across various job categories utilizing several validation strategies. The three validation methods used to establish the validity of the assessments are Criterion-Related Validation, Construct Validation and Self-Report. Over 10,000 validation studies have been conducted. The results of all the research conclude that the tests within SelectiveHiring's assessment assortment are valid predictors of critical aspects of job performance.

How can assessments help me reduce turnover?

Tests are an important component of achieving the proper fit between the job applicant and the job. Matching the right employee to the right job leads to increased employee satisfaction, increased productivity, and reduced turnover.

Will assessments improve the quality of our employee hiring?

Harvard Business School has identified the cost of a poor hire to be three to five times an employee's annualized compensation. A comprehensive employee assessment system improves the accuracy of hiring decisions at every level of an organization, potentially saving millions of dollars in hiring mistakes. To determine success, a system must accomplish one important goal: significantly reduce poor hires and increase quality hires. We firmly believe that a comprehensive assessment system yields more robust and accurate results than any other single approach.

How can companies afford to use assessments?

The question should be, "How can companies afford not to use pre-employment assessments?" The use of assessments in business has a great deal of advantages over using the traditional job interview alone or other commonly used selection procedures. When you use tests to evaluate applicants, you are comparing "apples to apples." Tests ask the same questions of everyone. So you can compare each applicant on exactly the same skill sets, dispositions, and behavioral characteristics. The use of tests affords the human resource professional the opportunity to ask a great deal of job-related questions in a relatively short amount of time; making tests much more efficient than any other hiring method.

Can I administer these tests off-site?

Yes. All of our tests are web-based. 97% of our clients allow off-site testing.

Can people cheat, exaggerate or attempt to trick the assessments?

Yes. Is it something worth losing sleep over? Not likely. Many test publishers have conducted studies looking at companies who administer tests remotely at the front of their hiring process, and then retest candidates later onsite. What they have found by looking at the data is that the likely percentage of people who didn't take the test honestly offsite (i.e., without outside help) is actually very small, likely much less than 2% of the applicant pool. Simply put, offsite cheating does not seem to be a big issue. Some companies cut down on this even further by retesting onsite, with those candidates who make it that far. That said, those individuals who "cheat", will be identified in the Candidness scale.

Can I administer these tests on-site?

Yes. A computer with internet will be required as all of our tests are web-based.

How quickly are results available?

Results are instantly available, the moment a candidate completes an assessment.

What evidence do you have that demonstrates the lack of bias or discrimination of your test?

Appropriately developed tests do not ask biased or illegal questions. SelectiveHiring scales have been designed to comply with EEOC and DOL guidelines. Professionally developed, work-related skills, behavioral, and personality tests measure job-related attributes and dispositions. They do not measure, nor are they intended to measure any form of disability. The ADA does not prohibit employers from using tools that assess an applicant's sales and service ability, their level of trustworthiness, management skills, job-related personality characteristics, for example, the SelectiveHiring Assessments have been carefully reviewed to ensure all items comply with the ADA. During the development of the SelectiveHiring scales, every effort was made to keep the reading level of the questions as low as possible without taking away from the face validity or having to modify the job- related context of the questions. As a result of this effort, the reading level of the scales range from the 5th to the 7th grade. This reading level ensures that the questions are applicable for entry level through managerial positions.

What research and process was used to develop these tests?

The SelectiveHiring assessment assortment developed by Dr. Llobet is based on the culmination of years of research as a scientist and test developer and as an end user of assessment products working within various organizations. SelectiveHiring capitalizes on and incorporates "best practices" in test development research while also addressing the practical needs of the human resource professional. The development of SelectiveHiring assessment assortment is therefore based on specific building blocks that serve as the testing line's foundation. These building blocks are; flexibility, efficiency, best practices in test development, statistical soundness, and useful and practical score reports.

What experience and/or education do you have that qualifies you to develop these tests?

Jesse Llobet, Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida (consistently ranked as one of the top I/O programs in the country), along with his team of Organizational Psychologists are the creators of these assessments. Dr. Llobet has been developing assessment tools for over 20 years, having vast in-house and external consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies.

At what point in the hiring process should you use an assessment?

This varies on a company's needs. The approach can vary from assessing every qualified applicant to only the top potentials. Different approaches can be used from basic skill testing to in depth profiling. We help our clients find the right mix of tests to administer at the right time to get them the specific results they need.

Will you help interpret the results?

If so, how much does it cost? We are available during normal business hours to help clients get the most from their results. We can often give insight on how certain results have predicted certain behaviors in past candidates or how to better interview for qualities that may be in question. We do not charge for this added service, in fact, we encourage it.

Can assessments help me with internal training?

Of course! Tests can be used to determine the training needs of individuals, work groups, departments or the organization as a whole. Assessment results can indicate employee strengths and weaknesses, therefore identifying areas where training may be beneficial. Identifying training needs and providing targeted training in these areas can lead to significant increases in productivity and job satisfaction.

Tests can also be used to measure training effectiveness. Testing trainees on relevant competencies or characteristics before training serves to establish a pre-training baseline of skills, knowledge and/or behavioral traits. Testing them again, post training, will show you the degree to which they internalized what was taught.

How can assessments help me put together the best team?

Understanding personality types and skill levels of team members is essential for helping the team or work group operate effectively and efficiently. Matching the right individual with the appropriate team function is critical to helping the team achieve its maximum potential.

What does a results report look like?

The 1st section of the results report, titled "Scoring Summary", provides the analytical data to help interpret the test scores, as well as a simple bar graph, showing whether the candidate falls within Dr. Llobet's High, Moderate, or Low range, for the respective module. The 2nd section, titled "Detail Report" puts the data from the 1st section into layman's terms, so it's simple for anyone on your team to understand. The 3rd section, titled "Responses & Interview Questions", not only provides suggested interview questions, but also provides transparency as to the context in which the suggested interview question was populated. We know of no other assessment that provides this level of transparency.

What Is A Test?

A test is a standardized device used to measure skills, abilities, knowledge, competencies, intellectual capacity, personality characteristics, and more. When compared to other selection methods such as the job interview, reference checks, experience and academic achievement, professionally developed and validated tests have been shown to be the best predictors of job performance.

When is the right time to start using assessments?

After you get burned the first time. We've all hired what appeared to be the "Golden Child", then after a couple weeks on the job, we really wish we could turn back the hands of time because they misrepresented who they truly are. Until you experience this pain first hand, you may not understand the critical need of pre-employment testing.

What is more important, assessments or interviewing?

Both play an important role in the recruiting process. Whenever a candidate answers a question in a potentially concerning manner, you will be shown the question, the candidates' response and some follow-up questions for you to use as needed.

How many companies use assessments?

Over the past two decades use of pre-employment assessment has been growing. Today it is estimated at least 60% of US companies are utilizing pre-employment assessments of some kind. The ability for assessments to objectively measure a large variety of candidate qualities helps employers set objective benchmarks to qualify candidates.

Why not keep hiring the old fashion way, without assessments?

Sadly, many are experts at fooling even the most experienced recruiter. The costs associated with a bad hire that leads to turnover are significant. When you factor in additional recruitment costs, training costs, management costs, low productivity and poor morale, etc. Harvard Business School has identified the cost of a poor hire to be three to five times an employee's annualized compensation.

According to statistics provided from the Saratoga Institute, Kepner Tregoe, Inc. and the Bureau of National Affairs, the average cost of turnover for a 2,000-employee company with an annual turnover rate of 12% (US yearly average) is FOUR MILLION DOLLARS per year! When you compare total testing costs with the very significant costs associated with making a bad hiring decision, it is obvious that the investment made in pre- employment assessments is relatively insignificant.

Selective Hiring offers a low cost solution for increasing the accuracy of your hiring decisions. Investing approximately the cost of a daily lunch in evaluating an applicant today can literally save you thousands tomorrow.