Your business is booming and it’s time to grow your team. Finding an Administrative Assistant is at the top of your list. Easy enough, right? You’re probably looking for potential candidates with resumes that say, “great people skills” or “proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel.” After reviewing countless resumes, and conducting interviews you’ve finally found “the one.” Except day two on the job you realize your dream Administrative Assistant can barely type and doesn’t know a spreadsheet from a PDF. Per CareerBuilder, 41% of companies estimate that bad hires cost more than $25,000; 25% of companies said a bad hire costs more than $50,000. So how can a staffing company prevent this from happening? By testing the candidates on what they claim to be “proficient” in.
A standard practice for many staffing companies is to administer specific skills assessments, as well as general aptitude and occasionally, personality tests. Assessments that gauge an individual’s knowledge on basic clerical functions, MS Office, Accounting capabilities and even Legal jargon are given to candidates interested in positions where those skills are needed. Employers can request a specific assessment to be given based on their job requirements or industry. So, if John Smith applies for the Administrative Assistant position claiming he can type 70 wpm and can do spreadsheets in his sleep, a reputable and professional agency will have done their due diligence to verify these skills before presenting him.
These additional assessments are one extra step agencies can take to ensure your dream candidate doesn’t turn in to nightmare!