Why assessment is at an important crossroads

The HR tech market is crowded and as Bersin’s 2020 report says – needs some untangling. Research shows that over 50% of companies are investing in more than ten talent acquisition solutions and our own study found that 57% of large businesses rely on multiple assessment solutions to meet their needs. Psychometric assessment is at a crossroads and in many cases, HR isn’t sure which direction to take.

On one hand, legacy technology and clunky assessments are holding HR back from getting ROI on its investment in tech. While on the other hand, the lure of new, simplified AI powered solutions triggers concerns from HR about the readiness and fairness of new assessment technology.

Sova’s research shows that only one in 20 HR professionals don’t see any risks in using AI in talent assessment. Concerns about the use of AI include candidate perception of lack of human interaction (42.6%) and the efficiencies generated from using AI (40%). Meanwhile, 60% of organisations are still using paper-based assessment centres, demonstrating the disconnect between the technology available and the tools being used.

Knowing where to start from

As with all transformation projects it’s important to know where you are starting from before you set the end goal. Assessment is no different. Organisations are on a journey from measuring the characteristics of individuals using traditional assessments, to connecting hiring with career journeys, performance, internal mobility and long-term business outcomes.

We developed the Sova Assessment Maturity Model to help organisations understand the status quo and to share ideas for developing approaches assessment. The Assessment Maturity Model provides benchmarks and advice for those at each stage of development and classifies assessment in terms of:

1. The assessment products used;
2. the technology available to deliver it;
3. and the skills of the HR team.

Three levels of maturity span the model:

• Traditional: Which manifests itself in a fragmented assessment experience, data and technology in which HR finds it a challenge to supply the business with data and insights. Traditional, robust yet clunky assessments risk being less engaging for the candidate and offer little insight into roles and piecemeal technology means assessment can only measure a narrow range of factors.
• Developing: Organisations offer a more joined up assessment focused round business needs. At this stage, HR is building its data and tech capability and has determined the direction of travel. Assessments are designed for organisation and provide a branded candidate experience and a combination of technology offers the optimum experience given the limitations of legacy systems.
• Unified: This approach uses fully joined-up technology. HR leads on people strategy, empowered by insight from analytics. Assessment is integrated into the flow of work and assessments are immersive and interactive, using ethically applied AI to make assessment effective, efficient and fair. Technology is configurable and customisable even at scale with analytics providing real-time insight.

In our new white paper, The Power of One, we introduce the model alongside ideas for measuring the effectiveness of your assessment by quantifying the savings that could be made by taking a more unified approach.