How do I know my prehire assessment is accurate?

Humans are remarkably complex beings. Though we know people tend to put their best foot forward during interviews,  it does not always translate to the experience you may have with them once they are employed.

If you are considering adding a pre-employment assessment to your selection process, it’s important to know how well test results translate into real-world experience. Here’s some insight into how we know if an assessment can measure someone’s ability to perform on the job.

The concept of predictive validity

First, it’s important to understand a concept called predictive validity. Predictive validity refers to the ability of a test to predict an intended outcome—in this case, linking scores on an assessment to actual performance in a given role. If scores are high, job performance should be high (and the opposite is true, as well).

InVista’s prehire assessment has a high degree of predictive validity, you can feel confident that an individual’s scores are projections of their job performance.

Understanding job performance

Job performance may be measured in a variety of ways depending on the expectations of the role. For example, it may be measured by how much you produce, how few errors you make, or how much you sell.

Although a personality test will not tell you how well someone can perform at the more technical or qualitative aspects of a job, it can assess whether a candidate has the personality traits to go the extra mile to finish tasks, follow rules and procedures, fit your company culture, and generally be a dependable coworker. 

InVista is able to look at predictors of job performance related to personality and assess the traits most closely associated with effective performance. A candidate’s scores can offer insight into how they may perform on the job beyond the most technical aspects of the position. Using an assessment with high predictive validity can help you be confident that a job candidate can do more than the job’s basic tasks—and it can even tell you if they will be an engaged employee!

In understanding how predictive validity impacts job performance, you will see why it’s necessary to be sure your prehire personality assessment is measuring the traits needed to predict on-the-job performance.

Take the guesswork out of your talent strategy. Learn more about InVista. 

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