The world’s first ability assessments that are designed to meet the conflicting needs of recruiters and candidates have been launched by assessment specialist cut-e.
smartPredict is a suite of validated psychometric assessments that have been enhanced with ‘game-style’ challenges, to make them engaging for candidates. Covering job-related abilities, including logical, spatial and numerical reasoning, they can be used as part of the recruitment process for any position. However, the suite is particularly targeted at early career roles involving millennial applicants.
“Recruiters and candidates have vastly different needs when it comes to assessment,” said Dr Achim Preuss, Chief Technology Officer at cut-e. “Recruiters want rigorous, objective and evidence-based assessments that will measure job-relevant capabilities. They want to identify individuals in their applicant pool who match the requirements of the role. On the other hand, candidates want an engaging assessment experience that will hold their attention. Unlike game-based assessments, which primarily appeal to candidates, our new suite is the first to meet the needs of both audiences.”
cut-e’s new smartPredict suite currently comprises four assessments: switchChallenge measures logical reasoning; digitChallenge measures numeracy; motionChallenge measures planning capability and gridChallenge measures executive attention. Each lasts 6-15 minutes and involves time-constrained tasks that must be solved to unlock the next level. Introductory example sequences are provided for each challenge. cut-e plans to add additional assessments into the suite in the near future.
“When choosing an assessment, you should first look for scientific evidence that it will actually predict performance in the role and measure what it claims to assess,” said Dr Preuss. “Then you should consider whether it will appeal to candidates. We developed our new smartPredict suite after conducting extensive research into what is – and isn’t – engaging when it comes to gamification.”
cut-e recently surveyed 540 international, millennial job applicants to identify what aspects of gamification can and should be included to enhance the assessment experience. “We found that candidates like completing interactive challenges that unlock different levels,” said Dr Preuss. “They like receiving immediate feedback and they want to ‘feel’ that they’re being taken seriously by the organisation. However, anything that identifies too strongly as a game is seen as inappropriate and unprofessional. In other words, certain aspects of gamification are beneficial. But if you use the wrong kind of gamification in your assessments, good candidates may drop out of your selection process.”
cut-e’s new smartPredict suite is available in 25 languages. The assessments are purpose-designed for use on all types of mobile devices and computers. To prevent cheating, individual tests are generated for every participant. The suite can be seamlessly integrated into existing recruitment workflow systems. A range of reporting options are available.
A video showing the four challenges in the smartPredict suite is available at www.cut-e.com/smartpredict
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
