Skills assessment refers to a group of tests that evaluate and screen for specific skills in order to determine if candidates have the right qualifications for a position.
What Is the Purpose of Skills Assessment?
Skills assessment helps distinguish qualified candidates from unqualified ones, hire more skilled employees, and improve retention.
Skills assessment can objectively evaluate the soft and technical skills of candidates before an interview.
It can also be used to appraise the skills of employees in order to find training and development opportunities, identify job promotion opportunities, or verify whether employees have the right skillset versus the industry standard.
What Are Examples of Skills Assessment Tests?
Common skill assessment tests include:
- Psychometric tests;
- Personality tests;
- General mental ability assessments;
- Job knowledge tests;
- Situational judgment tests;
- Soft skills assessment tests.
How to Assess the Skills of Employees?
To assess the skills of employees, objectives should first be established by managers. Once the objectives have been determined, the appropriate way to assess the skills of each employee may then be selected. Common way to assess the skills of employees include:
- Comparing year-over-year performance metrics to measure the quality of work against previous work;
- Evaluating the completion of measurable goals (such as KPIs) set previously;
- Asking employees to periodically complete self-assessment questionnaires to identify their own strengths and weaknesses;
- Organizing mentoring sessions;
- Conducting one-on-one meetings regularly.
