New Delhi, September 26, 2019: Despite the growing influence of modern tools for talent assessment, a majority (72%) of HR professionals prefer assessing candidates on their acquired knowledge, skills and experience. This was revealed in a TimesJobs survey titled ‘Changing practices in talent assessment’, conducted recently to understand the preferences of managers.
Around (41%) of HR professionals also revealed that talent assessment tools are profoundly used to hire candidates in the software development domain. As many as 11% of recruiters stated that for hiring a candidate in software quality assurance these tools are used mostly.
Around 48% of HR managers revealed that engaging and retaining skilled candidates is the topmost challenge.
Modern tools of talent assessment powered by advanced technology are causing dramatic shifts in recruitment activities. The growing focus on skilled manpower is acting as a catalyst for organisations to invest exponentially in talent assessment strategies to drive significant results for businesses.
TimesJobs survey solicited responses from 1,236 HR professionals across diverse industry verticals, to understand how the talent assessment market has changed over the years for both, the employees and employers. The key findings:
Talent assessment tools used mostly to hire mid-level professionals
A majority (53%) of respondents say talent assessment tools are used majorly to hire mid-level professionals. While 28% of individuals say that the usage of these assessment tools is for hiring leaders at the top level of management. Moreover, the usability of talent assessment tools is negligible at the lower level of management, as per 19% of respondents.
Digital interviews top the chart; work samples ranked last among talent assessment tools
A majority (44%) of HR managers ranked digital interviews as their first choice for assessing talent. While cognitive ability was ranked second based on its popularity among the recruiters with 33% of votes. Whereas, work samples and simulation were ranked as an unpopular choice for talent assessment.
Further, it was also revealed that around 50% of professionals ranked test on real tasks as a quintessential feature for a good assessment tool. While providing accurate evidence-based information of candidates was ranked second by the individuals. Surprisingly, cost-effectiveness for a talent assessment tool was ranked last in the list.
Performance management and employee engagement policies to drive talent assessment in future
TimesJobs asked the recruiters about future trends in the talent assessment process. According to 40% of professionals, performance management will impact the talent assessment process in the future. As many as 24% of respondents believe that employee engagement policies will play a vital role in acquiring the best available talent. Around 18% of individuals think social media analytics followed by big data will influence the future of talent assessment market.
“Technology will continue to spark revolutionary changes in assessment methods and practices. As hiring activities span global markets, HR professionals will have to pay more attention to various other key segments of talent assessments. Tomorrow, assessment platforms will take the centre stage to attract, assess, and retain quality talent for companies, beyond serving the only purpose of evaluation and assessment,” said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig.
