I’ve been following the assessment market for the past 10 years and I am happy to say that it seems like people are finally starting to realize the value that assessment tools can add to their hiring processes. After five years of standing on my soapbox, I am finally starting to feel like I am not wasting my breath. While we still have a long way to go, I am feeling very encouraged lately and want to use this space to take a brief look at what I feel are some of the main reasons for the increasing interest in these tools. This article provides my opinion on the five main reasons for the increasing interest in these tools as well as a discussion of some of the major obstacles to their use. So why is online assessment gaining in popularity?
While the above reasons chronicle some really great progress, when it comes to the adoption of assessment tools, we still have a long way to go. While many organizations use these tools, they are still being treated experimentally in most cases. This means that organizations may use them for only a few jobs in isolated locations. This usage pattern is often the result of firefighting tactics employed in a distributed manner. For instance, a VP of sales for a business unit of a large company with the ability to make her own decisions may read an article about assessments and decide to try them as a way to increase sagging sales in her area. We have a long way to go before assessments are used in a more widespread manner. Below are some of the major obstacles that I feel must be faced moving forward: