Hiring the right people is tough, and resumes or interviews alone often don’t tell us who will actually do well on the job. That’s why skills tests have become so important. Research shows that when employers use assessments that measure real abilities—like problem-solving, reading, or math skills—they get a much clearer picture of how someone will perform once they’re hired. Skills tests are among the strongest predictors of job success (source), often beating out traditional methods like unstructured interviews or relying on past experience.
TalentClick offers a suite of skills tests designed as flexible modules that easily ‘click’ together. This allows you to create a customized assessment process tailored to the unique demands of any position. By combining the right modules, you can efficiently screen applicants, gather precise data, and make hiring decisions with greater confidence. Let’s explore three core skills assessments—Cognitive Quotient, Business Reasoning, and Language Proficiency—and how they can be combined to test for your ideal candidate profile.
Cognitive Quotient (CQ): Predicting Frontline Success
For high-volume, frontline positions in industries like manufacturing, construction, transportation, and retail, you need employees who are reliable, quick to learn, and able to solve practical problems. The Cognitive Quotient (CQ) is a skills assessment designed specifically to identify these capabilities in entry-level workers.
In a concise 25-30 minute assessment, the CQ measures three essential areas of cognitive ability:
- Language Comprehension: Evaluates a candidate’s ability to understand and apply English language skills through word meanings and relationships.
- Numerical Skills: Assesses the ability to perform basic calculations, a key skill for roles involving inventory, transactions, or measurements.
- Spatial/Mechanical Skills: Measures practical problem-solving, pattern recognition, and the ability to visualize objects in 2D and 3D space.
The CQ provides a powerful, data-driven way to predict on-the-job success. In a manufacturing analysis, high scores on Spatial/Mechanical Skills were directly correlated with higher ratings on productivity and quality. Conversely, low scores were more likely to result in corrective actions and terminations. By using the CQ, you can quickly and fairly identify candidates with the foundational cognitive skills to excel from day one.
Business Reasoning (BR): Identifying Future Leaders
When hiring for leadership or other complex roles, it’s important to assess a higher level of cognitive horsepower for problem solving and critical thinking. The Business Reasoning (BR) assessment measures a candidate’s ability to work with complex business information and solve sophisticated problems. This test is ideal for identifying individuals with the potential to become effective managers and strategic thinkers.
The BR assessment focuses on two critical areas:
- Verbal Reasoning: Measures the ability to understand and solve problems presented in a written or verbal format, using logic and sound judgment.
- Numerical Reasoning: Evaluates the ability to analyze and solve challenges presented in a numerical format by making appropriate calculations and judgments.
Using the BR assessment helps you look beyond a resume to find true leadership and problem solving potential. It’s an invaluable tool for hiring, promotions, and succession planning. By investing in candidates who demonstrate strong business reasoning, you ensure your organization is led by individuals capable of navigating complex challenges and driving growth.
Language Proficiency: Ensuring Clear Competencies
TalentClick’s language assessments provide a quick and reliable way to verify professional proficiency, ensuring your new hires can communicate with confidence. By understanding an individual’s Language Proficiency, an employer can offer effective training support to reduce errors and boost performance.
The English Proficiency (EP) assessment, for example, measures key language skills in about 25 minutes. It evaluates:
- Writing and Grammar: Assesses error identification and sentence completion.
- Vocabulary: Measures the candidate’s understanding of word meanings.
- Typing Speed and Accuracy: Provides critical data for administrative, data entry, or customer service roles.
Whether you need to confirm skills in English, French, or Spanish, these modules ensure your team has the language abilities required to perform effectively.
The Power of a Modular, Integrated Approach
The true strength of TalentClick’s platform is its modular design. You are not limited to a single assessment. Instead, you can build a comprehensive evaluation by combining skills tests with behavioral assessments to get a complete picture of your candidate.
Imagine you are hiring for three different roles:
- For a Warehouse Associate: You could combine the Cognitive Quotient (CQ) to assess practical problem-solving with a Safety Quotient (SQ) behavioral assessment to measure safety-conscious attitudes.
- For a Call Center Representative: You might click together the English Proficiency (EP) test with Attitude-Values-Personality (AVP) behavioral assessment benchmarked for customer service excellence.
- For an Emergency Services 911 Operator: You could use the Attitude-Values-Personality (AVP) behavioral assessment to predict fit and resilience, plus Business Reasoning (BR) assessment to assess advanced problem-solving, and English Proficiency (EP) to assess typing speed and language comprehension.
This ability to mix and match modules ensures you are always testing for the competencies, skills and behaviors that matter most for each job. It creates a fair, efficient, and highly predictive hiring process that saves time, reduces bias, and improves the quality of your hires. Stop using a one-size-fits-all approach and start building the custom assessments you need to hire a better workforce.
Contact us to start using TalentClick skills testing today!
