Those who recruit or hire employees for organizations, big or small, function with the same objective: finding the brightest workforce. Although this process of recognizing the right talent among the vast pool of candidates and prospects is daunting and challenging, companies invest a considerable amount of money, effort, and time in their hiring processes to attract the best employees.

When recruiters have smartly drafted plans and strategically formulated hiring processes coupled with scientifically verified assessment tools that offer data-based insights, they can ensure easy yet efficient recruitment. With sufficient investments, financial or otherwise, they can guarantee smooth and rewarding hiring.

Every hiring manager is very well aware that predicting how candidates will perform forms a major part of the recruitment process. However, what proves to be the tricky task is to determine how to make this prediction right without being biased based on CVs or first impressions. Therefore, their hiring decisions are usually preceded by numerous questions like:

  • Are the resume and the education qualifications enough to guarantee that the candidate is skilled enough to perform the tasks?
  • How should I tell if an applicant can make decisions efficiently under extreme pressure? 
  • How can I determine if a candidate has the required problem-solving abilities?

The answer to these and many other similar questions are conducting a cognitive ability test. Read on to understand what is a cognitive ability test and why it is important for recruiters across the globe to implement these assessment tests in their recruitment process.

What is Recruiter’s Most Powerful Weapon For Effective Hiring?

A cognitive ability test evaluates a candidate’s mental abilities, highlighting qualities not listed on a resume or cover letter. In addition, they can assist in determining the answers to queries such as “Can a candidate think abstractly?”, “How easy can they grasp complicated concepts?”, “How quickly can they learn?” or “How adaptable are they to change?”. Because organizations that use a cognitive ability test for hiring find improved employee performance and productivity, lower attrition, and significant cost savings, these tests are a recruiter’s hidden weapon for employee selection. 

Why Should Recruiters Consider Using Cognitive Ability Tests?

Among the numerous reasons to employ a cognitive ability test, the top 6 reasons include:

They are extremely predictive of job success.

A high predictor of work success is one of the most persuasive reasons to employ a cognitive ability test. It has a significant impact on job performance due to acquiring and applying information about conducting one’s job. Individuals with better cognitive abilities absorb new material more easily and rapidly, applying it more effectively. In other words, a cognitive ability test aids in the selection of qualified candidates for specific vocations and positions.

They measure learning and problem-solving abilities.

It’s no secret that job performance is dependent on how quickly a candidate learns on the job, and their cognitive ability determines how fast they learn, adapt to change, and find answers to new issues. A cognitive ability test helps recruiters assess these attributes in a candidate.

They help recognize hidden potential among the numerous applicants.

Resumes can be the source to understand what a candidate has done in the past, but not what they can do in the future. By evaluating cognitive ability, you as a recruiter may identify individuals with thinner resumes but possess all the skills necessary to perform efficiently and succeed in the organization.

They prevent biased decision-making.

Making a choice based on someone’s accent, which may signify their social and educational background, is an example of bias. Based on a candidate’s accent, an interviewer may make uninformed and unconscious assumptions about their IQ. A cognitive ability test gives recruiters a more objective perspective on hiring, avoiding bias. You may evaluate a candidate for their real intellect rather than their laundry list of previous jobs by using a cognitive ability test, and you can standardize the recruitment process by removing your unconscious notions about what intelligence looks like.

They save time and money.

Cognitive assessments are one of the most cost-effective ways to find exceptional talent. This is because pre-screening candidates based on cognitive capacity allows you to avoid interviewing too many people, saving you time and money. Furthermore, using platforms like Discover Assessments, a cognitive ability test can be conveniently and economically conducted online. As a result, you can reclaim hours of organizational time by spending a few bucks per test.

They enhance the retention rate.

Because losing an employee can result in a significant financial loss, enhancing organizational retention is a vital obligation for any HR professional, and a cognitive ability exam can help you do so. Re-hiring is avoided by recruiting the correct personnel after thoroughly examining and determining their true potential using cognitive evaluations. As a result, the costs of screening, interviewing, recruiting, onboarding, training, lost productivity, and cultural impact is reduced significantly.

Conclusion

You can employ cognitive tests to ensure that talent can learn quickly, adapt to change, and thrive at problem-solving in today’s rapidly changing world. They can also be utilized to build bench strength for future workforce planning—and, in the end, to help you construct an organization where continuous learning is at the core of your competitive advantage for years to come if used strategically.

Discover Assessments, the world’ only evaluation platform that offers game based, game themed and  gamified assessment platform, offers a variety of competency-specific assessment solutions based on statistical data. Our well-developed tests guarantee a complete assessment with useful findings. Furthermore, our practical cognitive ability tests assess essential brain functions such as attention, memory, and speed, meeting the requirements of the hiring process and empowering recruiters in every manner imaginable.