Over the past few months during the pandemic (and for obvious reasons), people have received a large number of inquiries about how to transition away from traditional forms of assessing candidates and into a virtual assessment center format, or at the very least how to assess candidates in a virtual assessment center using a more digitally focused approach.
Most recruiters and HR teams (when things are normal) understand that delivering a digital or virtual assessment center means conducting activities and exercises that would normally be conducted in-person (face-to-face) with a group of candidates using a digital system, eliminating the need for large groups of candidates to gather in the same room.
The following are some of the top suggestions for operating a virtual assessment center for those who have decided to go the digital or virtual assessment route.
- Be clear
If people’s capacity to travel or contact one another is limited, you will (obviously) be less able to support candidates’ movement from one activity to another. Make certain that any information you offer to applicants before the day properly outlines what they must do and when they must do it.
It is proposed to deliver a comprehensive preparation guide before the event, describing what will take place on the day and how they can perform to their highest potential.
- Choose the technology
It is entirely up to you how you want to go digital. But, no matter whatever route you choose, make sure everyone involved has a chance to practice using the program beforehand to reduce the likelihood of suffering a technical issue (which, unfortunately, will occur at some time — they are unavoidable).
It is recommended to do a fast 5-minute check-in session with the applicant prior to the interview in order to minimize technological concerns on the day of the interview and to ensure that everything goes well.
- Check in with the candidates
Before you begin your virtual assessment, schedule a brief phone conversation with the applicant to go through the process and address any questions they may have. This provides you with an opportunity to ensure that your prospects are in a quiet and comfortable atmosphere where they will not be bothered throughout the interview.
- Keep it short(er) and sweet(er)
Because there will be no physical contacts or moving around between tasks, we recommend that you keep your digital assessment center event as short and interesting as possible in order to minimize square eyes and restless legs throughout the event.
Aim to include two or three tasks (including an interview) in your digital assessment center that will run no more than 3 hours total, with built-in pauses in between each activity.
You should always have at least one person devoted to supervising the event; applicants and assessors should be able to contact them at any time (through an online chat option or by phone) if there is an issue.
- Continue to use excellent practices
The use of digital assessment centers should have no negative influence on the quality of your assessments, according to assessor standards. When functioning as an assessor, it is suggested that you use the FORCE procedure (observe, record, categories, and evaluate) to ensure that you make a fair and impartial judgment about the applicants.
- Try to go outside the box to fill in the gaps
Think about what capabilities you may not be able to identify in applicants as a result of eliminating the physical component from exams, and brainstorm various methods you might use to analyze these attributes using a digital approach.
- Increase the amount of upfront sorting and reduce the number of attendees
Even though we all know that assessment centers are a fantastic method for you to get to know your prospects (as well as for them to get to know you),consider if there is a more effective method for you to make your selection choice.
According to research, a number of different methodologies, such as ability tests or situational judgment tests, are both extremely useful in determining an individual’s fitness for a certain role.al judgment tests.
- Making a shuffle
In order for a virtual assessment center to be robust and successful, it is necessary to rotate assessors among applicants so that no one assessor makes an overall judgment on a single candidate. Even though it will take some time to get everything set up, you should be able to use this similar idea when migrating your exams to an online environment.
- Consider the size of the group
When it comes to conducting virtual assessment centers, the fact is that certain exercises are more difficult to perform than others. One of the most difficult aspects of giving an exercise to a big group, such as in a face-to-face group discussion exercise, is that it adds another layer of complexity.
While we would not necessarily propose that group discussions be eliminated from your assessment center entirely, if they enable you to test abilities that are difficult to measure in other ways, we would recommend adopting a pragmatic approach.
For example, rather than providing group discussion activities to a group of six applicants, you may consider delivering them to a smaller group and shortening the time allotted for them.
- Using best practice standards
Using psychometric soft skills evaluations, you may get valuable insight into your prospects’ personalities, styles, and approaches without having to meet them in person.
A personality customized interview guide may be generated by some evaluations, which can be used to explore further into the applicant and learn more about them via a one-on-one conversation.
- Be prepared for technology mishaps
Even with the best of intentions and meticulous planning, the fact is that running assessment centers remotely will always result in the occurrence of the occasional technical problem. There may be technical difficulties for both candidates and assessors, as well as intermittent internet service.
When this occurs, the best course of action is to maintain your composure, communicate effectively with your applicant in order to comfort them, and come up with a practical solution to the situation.
Final words
We hope the above guidelines will help you guarantee that your digital or virtual assessment process is as strong and successful as it possibly can be.