White paper: The future of online assessment

A warm welcome to a new digital world

After a wave of consolidation in the assessment industry, the online assessment space is ripe for innovation. With technology and the digital world constantly evolving, it is patently clear that the industry needs to adapt or risk alienating the very people that use its services – organisations and candidates.

In this paper we explore the key trends that are shaping the face of assessment today. Many of these changes are already influencing where assessment will take us in the near future. We’d like to focus on the top five:

• Enhanced candidate experience: the longstanding stand-off is ending between the traditional and staid on the one hand and the more engaging and lively candidate experience on the other. New forms of attractive but accurate assessment are now disrupting the party.
• Mobile must have: while the mobile web isn’t exactly anything new, assessment is now starting to catch up and overcome the practical challenges to meet the expectations of end users. Offering mobile solutions is non-negotiable.
• Going global: the majority of online assessment models are derived from earlier US or UK-based research. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that a more culturally sensitive approach is needed.
• Social mobility and diversity: the assessment industry has only met the minimum standards of legal diversity compliance. As organisations drive much harder to achieve genuine balance and support social mobility, the onus is on providers to follow suit.
• Personal touch: the demand for an enhanced candidate experience has seen a rise in configured or bespoke assessments over recent years, for example situational judgement tests (SJTs). This is expanding into personality and ability content, as testing becomes tailored to an organisation’s values and brand.

We also look over the horizon to consider the effects of changes in skills across the global economy. The increased proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will shape how people add unique value in the workplace and therefore the capabilities that will need to be assessed in the future.

Our experience has taught us that after a long period of hiatus in the world of assessment, new entrants joining the market are driving change and are riding the wave of emerging technological advances.