Reinventing Assessments for the Modern Digital World: 6 New Assessment Opportunities Technology Offers

In a fast-changing digital environment, traditional modes of assessments are increasingly viewed as archaic and inadequate to measure talent adequately. According to a report, 92% of employers surveyed said that skills-based recruiting outperforms traditional resumes in identifying talented applicants. Organisations, therefore, shift focus toward how to attract and retain the best talent—thereby revolutionising assessments to bridge this gap through the power of modern technologies. These assessments provide personalised learning to candidates. In this blog you can explore six transformative opportunities that technology offers to assess candidates with more accurate, inclusive, and engaging assessments.

Enhancing Accuracy and Reducing Bias

E-assessments have long been part of hiring to ensure that the right person is appointed for a certain position. If well-designed, digital assessments can add a fair amount of accuracy to the hiring decisions and reduce bias. They can also provide a much better experience for both candidates and administrators. Using this technology, an organisation can scale up the recruitment process and make it inclusive.

1. Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP is changing the face of communication skill evaluation systems and behavioural traits assessments. It does this by transcribing video and audio interviews to capture speech subtleties such as tone, sentiment, and word choice. It can be used as data-driven assessments. Performance analysis derived from the same is most useful in knowing a candidate's language skills and their communication abilities. It enables recruiters to make more informed decisions.

Example: A multinational company applied NLP to the interview recordings for a customer service job. The company evaluated the fluency of the language and degree of empathy through their speaking patterns in candidates. It helped them to pick people who were not only fluent but also were very capable of handling customer grievances with compassion.

2. Video Interview Analysis

Video interviews have become the norm, and the technology has enabled us to obtain more information from them than ever. Advanced algorithms catch minute body language, facial expressions, and verbal cues to give greater insight into a candidate's behaviour and suitability for a role.

An example would be an anecdote where a tech startup was looking to recruit a manager and used video interview analysis: non-verbal cues reflected confidence and decisiveness, which the software explained were indicative in this kind of role. This extra layer of analysis gave the startup the ability to select a candidate who excelled both in technical and leadership capabilities.

3. Game based Assessments

Game-based assessments are an agile tool, keeping candidates engaged in the process of assessing. These assessments would make the process less stressful and more enjoyable for the candidate by turning it into an interactive experience.

Example: One of the educational technology companies used game-based assessments as an innovation in hiring software developers. This gamified assessment emulated real-world coding challenges in this dynamic environment to assess problem-solving skills. This provided a realistic measure of abilities while attracting more candidates.

4. Simulation Assessments 

Simulation assessments put forward situations that are as close to real life as possible, imitating tasks at work. Thereby giving the candidates the opportunity to demonstrate how they would react to actual problems and opportunities. This is another way of adaptive testing. This goes on to offer a better way of measuring a candidate's skills and behaviour in a real setting.

Anecdote: One healthcare organisation employed simulation assessments to measure would-be nurses. Applicants were put into a so-called virtual hospital where they had to act in crisis situations. The simulation literally showed what every candidate was able to do in terms of acute thinking and rapidness of actions in a pressurised environment.

5. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Assessments

Using VR and AR evaluations, candidates are able to express their skills and behaviours in an environment very close to their future workplace. According to reports, in the next three years, immersive technology will be a part of 82% of business executives' plans, with 42% of them intending to offer onboarding and training with the metaverse. These technologies provide much more engagement and a real assessment experience.

For instance, a construction company makes use of VR assessments tools in screening project managers. Candidates walked through a digital construction site and had to make decisions related to safety and resource allocation. This very immersive experience would let the company assess candidate decision-making abilities and attention to detail in an environment that is very close to reality.

6. Social Media and Digital Footprint Analysis

Information regarding preferences and behaviours of candidates can be found on social media. Online activity analysis gives insights into a candidate's cultural fit and personality traits for any organisation.

Anecdote: The task for one marketing firm was to look for people who would be able to work on the latest trends in digital marketing. With this purpose in mind, they turned to social media analysis of the candidates' behaviour and content that they publish online. This approach helped the company find people who were not only competent but who would also fit the corporate culture.

Reinventing Assessments for the Future

While embracing these modern technologies, never forget that the basic principles of the assessments haven't changed. Assessments still fundamentally come down to their reliability and validity. Good assessments are those that are scientifically developed and delivered on a tech platform that brings in all the benefits of modern technology.

Now is the time for a new generation of assessments that meet today's modern, all-digital world. With these technological opportunities, we are better placed to improve the accuracy, inclusivity, and excitement of the next generation of assessments. These are raising the talent acquisition bar and building better, more able organisations.

See how MeritTrac's innovative solutions in assessments can enable you to change how you hire your talent. Bring into play our cutting-edge technology to create more accurate, more inclusive, and more engaging assessments. Contact us today to learn more and schedule a demo!