Listening is a part of communication skills and is an important skill to have. It is defined as the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages during the process of communication. Listening is not the same as hearing which is defined as the mere perceiving of sound.
Listening is the key to effective communication and without listening, messages can be easily misunderstood leading to a whole lot of unnecessary problems. A good listener is most often, a good communicator.
Listening is so important that it is regarded as one of the desirable skills to look for in potential employees by recruiters even for roles that may not have communication as a major need and requirement. Hence listening tests are becoming an integral part of recruitment assessments. Managements are even conducting listening skills training for their employees.
English being the dominant medium of communication in business circles, it naturally gains precedence while recruiting. English communication assessments and English listening tests are becoming a part of the recruitment assessment processes.
Listening Skills Improve Workplace Communication
Listening skills can actually improve the quality of workplace communication and consequently lead to a better environment and work culture. Listening skills, in fact, may be considered the building blocks of success for individuals as well as businesses. Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their successes to effective listening skills.
- Active listening promotes respect and trust between the parties involved which is good for a peaceful work environment.
- Problem resolution takes place quicker and in a much amicable way, which improves productivity to a great extent.
- Active listening helps deal with a crisis or sensitive issues effectively.
- Good listeners tend to have better self-esteem and positive self-image, which helps them establish a great relationship with co-workers and leadership.
- Listening skills lead to accurate transmission of information which brings down mistakes.
Better customer satisfaction, increased sharing of information and enhanced productivity with fewer mistakes are some of the tangible benefits of good listening skills in a workplace. With such benefits, English listening tests are gaining a lot of popularity in the recruitment process.
Applications of Listening Tests
Looking at the benefits of having good listeners in the organisation, managements and recruiters have started appreciating listening as one of the desired skills in a potential employee and even their existing workforce. But traditional methods of interviewing may not be able to help gauge this skill in a candidate. Also, recruiters and interviewers may lack the necessary training and experience to judge the listening skills of candidates. A well-designed English listening test can do the trick.
Organisations need to figure out the minimum proficiency requirement of English listening skill amongst their workforce. Plus, they need to set the specific requirement that will be unique to each and every functional role in the company. It will help the management come up with a suitable English listening test for candidates applying for various job roles. Be it campus recruitment or lateral hiring, these English listening tests can help choose the right candidates.
Workforce development is the norm to prepare your team for success. English listening tests for workforce development can help identify the gaps. So, the training department can come up with a tailored program to bridge the skill gap. It will help employees deliver their best and contribute towards the growth and success of the organisation and also help them apply these skills in their personal life.
MeritTrac Platforms for Listening Tests
MeritTrac aims to offer complete support to recruiters and management in making the right hiring decisions. By making the entire assessment process seamless, quick and error-free, we help make an informed hiring decision and ensure an improvement in the quality of hires. Our English listening test modules have been set by experts to assess the listening skills of the candidates in a scientific manner to suit the role and job profile of the position they are applying for.
In addition to the general sweeping benefits of listening skills, there are certain job roles that actually require a higher proficiency in the skill such as customer support executives. Depending on the kinds of the customers they will be dealing, candidates can be tested for accent and idiom usage for British, American or Indian English. MeritTrac’s English listening tests can take care of every recruitment need.
Our job doesn’t stop at designing test modules, we also provide the platform for administering the tests. Following platforms are available for the English listening test:
Pariksha
A hybrid scientific assessment platform, Pariksha makes assessment delivery simple, secure and quick. Recruiting teams can create, design and schedule the assessments, test the candidates, and deliver the results. It is:
- Highly adaptive
- Cloud ready
- Suitable for multi-platform OS
- Mobile ready
- Comes with plug and play option
SmartTest
SmartTest gives the recruitment team the edge and speed to instantly screen and shortlist candidates through automated assessments that can prove to be a competitive advantage. The platform has:
- Anytime- Anywhere Assessments
- User-friendly interface
- Built-in analytics
- Versatile test catalogues
- Plug and play feature
FAQ
FAQ
1. What is the use of an English listening test?
A. An English listening test allows the evaluation of a person’s interpretation of spoken English which is a precursor of good English communication skills in general. The tests can be used to evaluate the listening skills of candidates for specific job roles like customer support or counsellors.
2. Why are these tests used for recruitment and training?
A. English is a widely used language across business circles. So, it is quite important for employees to have strong listening skills in English. An English listening test helps gauge the current skill level and helps design a training course to bridge the gap if any.
3. Who are the suitable candidates to take up an English listening test?
A. Candidates who are being recruited for roles that require a lot of listening comprehension in English such as customer support executives are suitable to take up the test.
4. What are the different elements evaluated as a part of an English listening test?
A. In addition to the ability of a general interpretation of spoken English, candidates may be tested for accent and idiom usage for British, American and Indian English depending on the job profile requirement.
5. What is the USP of MeritTrac’s English listening test?
A. MeritTrac’s assessment tests are designed by subject-matter experts. They deliver reliable results and analytics helping