Skills testing candidates – why it's a win-win for everyone

This is a guest contribution by REC business partner Voyager Software.

Finding top tier candidates is always the priority for recruiters. Skills testing yields a solution where everyone benefits: 

• Recruitment firms incorporating skills assessment as part of their recruitment process will know their candidates are suitable for the role. 
• Hiring companies can be confident that the applicants are qualified.
• And the job seekers will realise what the new role entails while also experiencing an improved recruitment process. 

Everyone benefits.

Over the past years, there has been a positive increase in the use of recruitment software to streamline and expedite the hiring process. A good recruitment CRM enables recruiters to vastly improve the way they work and the services they deliver. Assessing skills introduces an additional value to the recruiting process as it facilitates an objective look at a candidate’s abilities while providing verifiable proof of the same to hiring companies.

Rebecca Bannerman of Amber Employment Services, a permanent, temporary and fixed term contracts recruitment agency for office roles across North West Surrey and a REC member firm, confirms this by saying, "Skills testing provides accurate, evidence-based information on a candidate's skills and knowledge. Hiring companies can be assured that we are fully compliant in our responsibility to make sure we are matching the right person with the right skills for the job. The only way we can guarantee suitability is by skills testing our candidates. Our clients are confident that we are only presenting them with thoroughly assessed and highly relevant applications, which helps to build trust and positively steward our relationship." 

Jilly Spiers, Managing Director of JS Recruitment, a professional consultancy providing permanent and temporary recruitment services to businesses across Yorkshire and beyond, and also a REC member firm, states, “Skills testing provides an insight into how the candidate may perform in the workplace and allows our consultants and clients to make a well informed, data-backed decision regarding strengths, gaps and suitability for a role.”

According to Kim Simpson, a permanent recruiter with Work Wales, a leading independently run Welsh recruitment agency based in Swansea, and another REC member, testing candidates is another way to offer additional services to clients. “It can be used as a marketing tool to obtain exclusivity, to overcome client objections for specific candidates, and is perfect for assessing applicants who have had a good education/training but little work experience,” she says.  

Both Jilly and Kim vouch for the importance of skills testing as a regular recruiting method. They also share how important it is to have software that integrates smoothly with the in-house recruitment CRM. Jilly says ISV’s integration with Voyager Infinity makes it easy to track and manage candidate records, while Kim appreciates that the assessment records are filed automatically and sending links to clients is very easy. 

Skills testing software provides detailed reports which recruiters can use to corroborate the reasoning behind selected candidates and help inform better and smarter hiring decisions.  

Voyager Infinity clients can all benefit from ISV's online skills testing integration. Contact us to see how we can help.

This article was originally published by Voyager Software.

This is a guest blog contribution for the REC website. The views expressed by guest writers reflect the individual's personal opinions.

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