Although Covid-19 continues its global hold, some industries are showing signs of recovery, growth and recruitment, and already the HR world is scrambling to guess how recruitment and selection processes will adapt to meet a new employment market.

Staffing Industry Analysts has reported that in the month of August, UK hiring activity continued to ramp up as “improved confidence prompted businesses to bolster their recruitment plans” – but candidate shortages are an ongoing issue. And with month-on-month recruitment demand continuing to increase, employers are setting their sights on better ways to recruit, select and retain candidates from a too-small pool.

Certain big corporations are reportedly offering signing incentives to attract the top candidates, while others are simply looking for faster, more effective ways to process applications. With the number of vacant positions and applicants on the rise, employers are under pressure to fill spaces before job seekers move on to the next best thing – meaning there is more demand on HR teams to find the top candidates, more quickly and more efficiently than ever before.

Recruiting by numbers
While the candidate pool is currently reportedly quite diminished, some recruitment processes see dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants for certain roles, and finding a way through a dense pile of applications can be overwhelming. HR Director reports that one of the ways organisations are bypassing this issue is by using technical skills assessments. As an added benefit, this way of filtering can help to reduce the chance of unconscious bias in selection – a real issue in many industries.

Aptitude and ability assessments like the Power and Performance Measures (PPM-R) can quickly assess a person’s ability in various areas, such as verbal reasoning, mechanical understanding, numerical computation and perceptual reasoning. Depending on the industry and job role, these kinds of quick but reliable assessments can easily bring top candidates to the fore – and creating a purpose-built battery can give the assessment even more weight. Done transparently and with adequate thought given to the potential implication of adverse impacts, and consideration for applicants with disabilities who may need extra support with assessments, these types of assessments can help immeasurably in finding top candidates.

Selecting the right fit
When it comes to selection, deciding between candidates who seem equally fit for the role can be a real challenge – and one that employers need to get right, both for the organisation itself and for the candidates. When used by qualified professionals, personality assessments can be a valuable tool in assisting in recruitment, used together with interviews and other selection methods.

The NEO Personality Inventory – 3rd Edition (NEO-PI-3) and the Business-focused Inventory of Personality – 6 Factors (BIP-6F) are two popular, valid and reliable personality tests that work well in the selection process. The NEO-PI-3 is an in-depth look at the Big Five domains of personality and how they relate to workplace behaviour. The BIP-6F is a shorter, more concise measure that focuses strictly on personality in a business context. Sometimes personality tests are used alone to get a better impression of fit for the role, and sometimes they’re used as part of a bigger test battery, together with aptitude and leadership tests.

Retaining top talent
Even once selected, estimates are that organisations need to adopt creative ideas to retain top talent – from flexible working arrangements (in some sectors this is now expected), to adaptable working environments and more developmental opportunities – as the post-Covid workplace is one that industry leaders expect will remain focused on promoting a healthy, positive workplace.

The new Emotional Processing Scale – Wellbeing (EPS-W) will be released this autumn and is ideal for a workplace still processing all that’s happened over the last 18 months. Other assessments, like the Leadership Judgement Indicator (LJI-2) and the Creative Response Evaluation – Work (CRE-W) can assist with development in specific areas – such as guiding new managers or encouraging creative thinking.

For more on assessments that can be used in recruitment, selection and development please visit the Hogrefe website at www.hogrefe.com or contact us at customersupport@hogrefe.co.uk.