Applicant résumés and the interview process only allow you to learn so much about your new hires. Below are five additional assessments you’ll want to give your new hires so you know exactly what type of onboarding they need and so you know how to continue to develop them while they’re with your organization. (If you find these assessments helpful, consider some of them for pre-hire testing.)
Personality Tests
While these tests aren’t utilized by most employers, they should be, as they will disclose a lot of useful information. These tests will evaluate the degree to which a person has certain traits or dispositions. So, they’ll predict the likelihood that an employee will engage in certain conduct. They will tell you things like: Sue isn’t shy or rude, she just tends to be a little more introverted. Personality tests also determine if a candidate will be a good fit for the job they were hired for and if they’ll fit in at your company and with your company’s culture. They’ll also tell you more about how each employee learns and how they communicate with others, among other things.
Emotional Intelligence Tests
An emotional intelligence test will gauge an employee’s ability to understand and navigate through their own emotions. And it will test his or her aptitude to understand and respond appropriately to the emotions of others. Emotionally intelligent employees will be able to respond to setbacks and everyday work frustrations professionally, while being able to get along well with their colleagues, bosses, and customers.
Skills-Based Tests
As an example, if employees mentioned they were capable of updating a certain database system, test their knowledge of the system so you know how well they know how to use the database. This way you’ll know for certain if they know how to use it from an advanced, intermediate, or very basic level.
Solo Sample Project Tests
Before you permit new hires to jump right in to their day-to-day activities, provide them with a sample project that is related to their job. For instance, if an employee is being hired to revamp your organization’s marketing strategy, have him or her develop an e-mail campaign. Or, if he or she is hired to build a program, have him or her complete a section of the program first.
Team Sample Project Tests
Personality tests and emotional intelligence tests are a great way to gauge how your new hires will interact with their colleagues, but they’ll only get you so far. To really see how your new hires will interact with others inside your organization, assign them a sample project they’ll need to complete with a team. You’ll be able to learn more about their communication styles, learning styles, and how they like to get work done as a part of a team. Knowing this information will make it easier to onboard them and to personalize their development paths with your organization.
If you want to continue to develop your new hires successfully, give them the five assessments mentioned above.