Ensuring Job Applicants Aren't Gaming Selection Assessments: 3 Tips

Human resource managers often express concern that job candidates will know the right answer on hiring assessments, thereby "gaming" the assessment by providing insincere responses. In a blog post from Pittsburgh-based Select International, a healthcare employee assessment firm, consultant Kate Van Bremen shares some recommendations to avoid this problem.

1. Use a selection process that involves numerous steps. Candidates may distort their answers on selection assessments to manipulate the system, but Ms. Van Bremen says there is "no perfect measure to identify 100 percent of these individuals who should be screened out." As a result, it's important that the selection process includes multiple stages, such as pre-screen questions, assessments and interviews to identify potentially undesirable candidates.  

2. The assessment should also involve multiple modes of measurement. "Using assessments that incorporate different types of items and sections to get the most robust measurement of the important competencies will help combat the potential for faking," writes Ms. Van Bremen.

3. Look for a range of responses to more transparent questions or assessment items. While some responses may seem obvious, an effective assessment will result in a considerable variance in responses. "As a hiring manager or HR professional, you may look at certain items and think that all candidates would respond a certain way, as the 'correct' answer appears obvious to you," writes Ms. Van Bremen. "You are viewing these items from a different perspective than your candidate pool, and there may in fact be variance in the way that actual candidates respond to those items, and that may be important criteria to factor in." Items that show little to no variance should be modified or removed from the assessment.

Read the entire blog post here.

More Articles on Hospitals and Human Resources:

3 Tips for Hiring Hospital Managers
Talent Wins – It’s That Simple: 6 Ways to Ensure You Have the Team to Succeed
Strategic Physician Onboarding: 7 Tactics for Minimizing Losses on Employed Medical Practices


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