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Hiring with Game-Based Assessments

What are Game-Based Assessments?  

Game-based assessments are simple. They turn traditional pre-employment tests into a game-like experience. 

 

 

Why Game-Based Assessments?  

Game-based assessments have emerged out of today's unique hiring landscape. 

Two big trends in hiring: 

  • Growing importance of the candidate experience 

  • Increasing mobile usage in job searches 

 

Candidate experience is more important than ever.  

With unemployment rates at historic lows, employers are feeling the pressure. 

  • 93% of hiring professionals agree that improving candidate experience is important 

  • Companies that invest in a strong candidate experience can improve their quality of hire by 70% 

 

Mobile usage is on the rise for job seekers. 

  • 58% of job seekers are searching for jobs on mobile. 

  • Mobile usage is highest for blue-collar workers, mid-career workers, and entry-level applicants. 

  • Applying to jobs on mobile is hard. It takes 80% longer to complete an application on a mobile device. 

 

Game-based assessments provide a way to balance two things: 

  1. The need to gather predictive, actionable information on your candidates 

  1. The need to provide a positive candidate experience 

 

 

The Importance of Predictive Validity 

While game-based assessments should be fun and engaging, the single most important element of any assessment is its ability to predict job performance.  

If an assessment, game-based or otherwise, does not help to predict job performance on some level, there is little benefit to using it in the hiring process.  

In fact, using an invalid assessment can introduce legal liability into your hiring process. In contrast, using well-validated assessments can actually enhance the objectivity, equitability, and legal defensibility of your hiring process. 

 

Cognitive Aptitude

Because predictive validity is so critical, cognitive aptitude has emerged as the most promising form of game-based assessments. 

Predictive Validity of Employee Selection Criteria 

 

 

What is Cognitive Aptitude? 

Cognitive aptitude is a measure of general intelligence associated with the ability to:  

  • Solve problems  

  • Digest and apply information L learn new skills  

  • Think critically  

It is significantly predictive of job performance because it provides an indication of how well an employee can pick up on training and adapt in a role over time. 

The GAME is Criteria's mobile-first game-based assessment of cognitive aptitude 

 

The Benefits of Criteria’s Game-Based Assessment 

  • Positive Candidate Experience The GAME is fun and engaging, creating a brand-positive experience for your candidates. 

  • Higher Completion Rates The GAME’s 3 short mini-games can be completed in just 5 to 6 minutes, making it easier for you to test candidates earlier in the hiring funnel without high drop-off. 

  • Play Anywhere, Anytime The GAME can be played on any device but is particularly optimized for mobile. This makes it easier for candidates to take the assessment at their own convenience. 

  • Predictive of Job Performance The GAME has been extensively validated, demonstrating that the test is highly predictive of job performance for a wide variety of jobs. 

 

How Game-Based Assessments Can Fit Into Your Hiring Process 

Who? Game-based assessments are particularly effective for evaluating entry-level roles that experience a high volume of candidates. Because early-career candidates may not have that much job experience, these assessments can help highlight the candidates with the most potential for future success. 

What? Cognitive aptitude is the most predictive quality to test because: 1) it’s easy to gamify and 2) it provides the best indicator for a candidate’s ability to learn quickly and pick up on training. It’s also useful for evaluating candidates for just about every job type at every level. 

When? Mobile, game-based assessments can be taken anywhere at anytime, providing the candidate with unlimited flexibility. This makes it easy to administer tests at any point throughout the hiring process. Because the games are so short, they can easily be placed at the start of the process to help you prioritize your incoming candidates. 

Where? Candidates have the freedom to take mobile, game-based assessments at their convenience, on a mobile device or even on a tablet or desktop computer. The risk of cheating is minimized through dynamic game-play that gives each candidate a different set of questions. 

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