In 1999, I took a pen and paper based psychometric assessment and my world changed. I was told that I am not an engineer. “What do you mean?” I asked. The outcome sent me to business school, where I would eventually graduate with an MBA.
Things have changed for me since the early 21st-century. I now run a business, with my business partners, where we integrate pen & paper based assessment tools into our leadership programs. We have also moved ahead to support talent recruitment and hiring community by leveraging some of the assessment tools that we administer.
With the introduction of game-based technology, AI, big data and machine learning, a new realm of psychometric assessment methods have emerged since the early part of this decade. As organizations rush to explore, experiment and engage with them, new set of data help talent recruiters, head hunters and corporate talent acquisition teams make more effective hiring decisions.
Here are some benefits of game-based technology in assessment;
1) Talent Retention
46% of new hires leave within the first 18 months. There is a huge cost associated to hiring and then later on discovering a mismatch in the hired position. Game-based technology present a cost effective and efficient method of evaluating a talent by capturing a minimum of 3,000 data points within 35-40 minutes of play.
2) Engagement
80% of candidates perceive the selection process as frustrating. Game-based technology in assessment allows candidates to download apps and participate in a series of games. Once complete, results are published and careful consideration can be given if the candidate will hired. Online reports also help the candidates understand a little more about themselves so that they can be more prepared for the next application.
3) Accurate Measures
There is high reliability in capturing behavior as it happens during engagement. These behaviors include, how decisions made, rate of pursuing the next step, pace of movement and options considered. This data is then used for translation to cognitive and personality based measurements.
Game based assessments (GBA) use game mechanics as basis for discovering an individual’s psychological profile, by looking at subtle differences in decision making and reaction time throughout game activity. The tasks in the GBA are replicates of experimental tasks that define specific behaviors. GBA is vastly different from gamification and gamified assessment.
Talent recruitment and talent acquisition specialist all agree that test for culture fit, cognitive abilities and personality are effective and MMS (mobile matching systems) and GBA are rated effective by 60% of hiring managers.
I have now evaluated numerous pen & paper assessments. GBA provides me with a neutral ground where I am evaluated free from cultural, knowledge and experience biases. I feel I am now able to resonate with my peers and those around me, irregardless of my background.
Things may have been different for me, if I had used GBA back in 1999. Just maybe, I would have remained as an engineer!
How do you plan to make your next decision in talent acquisition? Inquire more at inquiry@enible.com
