Virtual Assessment Centres

1. Virtual Assessment Centers Assessment centers have long formed an invaluable part of the recruitment process. An assessment center is an opportunity for candidates to complete a series of activities and tests to demonstrate their suitability for a particular role. Typically, the activities will be based on the organization's behavioral competency framework to standardize assessment, performance management, and people development. While assessment centers were traditionally held in the workplace with several assessors and candidates being seen simultaneously, organizations are starting to move their assessment centers and onboarding process online for both individual and group sessions. Assessment centers consist of elements such as personality and cognitive ability tests, situational judgement tests, day-in-the-life scenarios, role plays, case study simulations, in-basket exercises, presentations, competency-based interviews, and other similar activities. All these elements can be moved online, and virtual assessment centers have the following benefits: Lower Costs Traditional assessment centers can be expensive, booking rooms and arranging logistics such as travel, food, and accommodation require time and resources. Virtual assessment centers can provide a similar level of engagement but at a much lower cost. Reduced Time It is not unusual for a traditional assessment center to take weeks to plan and execute from start to finish. Online assessment centers can automate many administrative tasks, such as scheduling, test management, recording results, and feedback, making planning and running an assessment far more time efficient. Candidates also save travelling time and benefit from getting results earlier in the recruitment process. If the candidates are internal, the organization also saves potential downtime from work. Ability to Scale Virtual assessment centers provide a level of scalability not possible with traditional on- site centers, particularly for any organizations with bulk-hiring needs. Virtual assessment centers enable organizations to conduct assessments simultaneously at different locations, without being detrimental to the quality or the results. Reduction of Bias and Human Error

2. Traditional on-premises assessment centers can be subject to bias and human error. A virtual assessment center relies more on automated activities and testing, with little or no objective involvement of an assessor. The standardization of testing and marking reduces the risk of candidates experiencing an unfair process and enables those running the center to have more confidence in the results. Candidates completing the assessments online may also experience less stress when not travelling and being able to complete activities in familiar surroundings. Virtual assessment centers can be customized to individual needs avoiding the more typical “one size fits all” approach in a traditional center. Assistive technology can also help provide a fairer environment for those with disabilities. Data Recording Traditional assessment centers create mounds of paperwork that needs to be reviewed and stored, from test and activity texts to feedback and results. Much of the content is considered confidential to ensure a fair approach for all candidates, meaning that paperwork must be accounted for at the end of a session. In addition to the immediate benefits of having everything recorded online, an added advantage is that the data is available for analysis, audit, and benchmarking to improve the process’s transparency and quality. Contact us at HRBluSky today to learn how we can support your recruitment process.