The pros and cons of virtual assessments centres.
Not long ago I attended a session organised by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), which had some great contributions from recognised experts in the field, as well as internal graduate recruiters. The event asked the question 'Are assessment centres dead?'
Over the last 12 months, for those who have still been carrying out recruitment and selection activities, it has had to be done online. With the need to socially distance and work from home; hiring and assessment became virtual.
So, as the UK tentatively begins to consider what the world of work will look like post-pandemic, how will this affect an employer's approach to recruitment and selection?
In reality, some aspects of a typical recruitment process are already firmly in the 'virtual space'. For example, assessment via ability tests, SJTs and personality questionnaires has been online since the early 2000s. Interviewing carried out via Zoom, Skype, Teams, etc., for at least some stages of a hiring process, has also become increasingly popular over the last few years. However, for many businesses, assessment centres in their most familiar format - multiple assessors, multiple exercises and multiple candidates, have stayed steadfastly analogue.
If you weren't working crazy long days in an hotel meeting room with terrible patterned carpets, surviving on sandwiches with dubious fillings, a tray of deep-fried I'm-not-sure-what-this-is, and a handful of ready salted crisps, were you even there?
In March 2020 all of that changed.
When the first lockdown hit, in person assessment centres were cancelled overnight. In fact, on a wider scale, nearly all recruitment and hiring activity went on hold - as industry tried to figure out what this global pandemic, along with the UK's exit from the EU, and a potential recession would mean for business.
However, what subsequently played out was a typical British resolve to carry on and make the best of a bad situation. As with nearly every other facet of day-to-day business, hiring simply went online. Figures from analyst firm Gartner show 86% of businesses have been conducting virtual interviews during the pandemic, with 85% using new technology to onboard employees.
It is worth noting that the move towards online was already happening, long before COVID-19 came along. A 2018 LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends survey found that talent leaders and hiring managers ranked new interviewing tools, data and AI as three of the top four trends that would shape the future of hiring and recruitment; the other was diversity. We were already going virtual. The pandemic just turbo boosted that trend.
What about assessment centres?
As with other aspects of the hiring process, the move towards virtual assessment centres was already happening when COVID-19 hit. What changed is that rather than it being optional, it became essential. But, as the UK government continues to talk about coming out of lockdown and encouraging people back into the workplace, what is the future for selection and assessment practices?
With both in-person and virtual assessment tools soon to be back on the table, what are the relative pros and cons of each approach? Here are our thoughts on what we've learnt over the last 12 months about the relative pros and cons of virtual assessment centres:
The pros and cons of virtual assessment centres
1. Vastly accelerated time to hire
2. Improved audit trail of data that can be used to gain better insights into the candidate journey
3. Reduced environmental impact – candidates no longer need to travel as part of the recruitment process
4. Reduced costs - don’t need to hire training rooms, etc.
5. Can be completed from the comfort of people's homes – with a familiar environment potentially putting candidates at ease
6. Increased face validity for those roles which are typically remote/ based on home working
7. Able to assess a larger number of candidates at one time
8. Potential of reduced assessor bias, due to little or no candidate interactions outside of the assessment process, i.e., during coffee breaks, lunch, etc.
9. Candidates not distracted or intimidated by meeting fellow applicants
10. Accessibility - creates access to roles outside of someone's immediate geographic area
1. Potentially discriminates against those without access to a PC/laptop or internet connection
2. Poor video quality/internet connection – the screen freezing halfway through an interview or simulation exercise could be disruptive and create anxiety
3. Requires a certain level of 'tech savviness' which could discriminate against older workers or other marginalised groups
4. A lack of face validity for roles that would normally be face-to face
5. Risk of 'Zoom fatigue' by doing too many online activities in a short period of time
6. Process might be seen as impersonal
7. Less able to observe 'whole body' nonverbal communication cues – if camera is only capturing someone's face
8. Anxiety caused by interruptions during the process if they can't arrange access to a quiet space, i.e., doorbell ringing, someone walking in, etc.
9. Potential for unconscious biases via judgements made about someone's home environment
10. It will be a couple of years before we truly know whether virtual assessment centres have the same or better predictive validity of in-person events
Are virtual assessment centres here to stay?
The short answer is, yes, virtual assessment centres are here to stay.
The difference going forward is that the choice between in-person and virtual assessment centres won't be so stark. Those hiring won't have to choose between one or the other, they'll be taking a hybrid approach.
Being forced to hire exclusively online over the last 12 months has shown employers what is possible, accelerating a trend that was already happening. Going forward we foresee that recruiters will use the opportunities virtual assessment centres present to increase accessibility to roles that are more geographically dispersed, or potentially more difficult to fill. In addition, for roles that require remote working, assessing virtually would suggest a greater level of face validity.
For most businesses, as they come out of lockdown and resume 'business as usual' hiring, we see them seamlessly integrating both virtual and in-person activities into their recruitment activities to achieve the best of both worlds.
Finally, we see the technology that supports virtual assessment centres becoming increasingly sophisticated, which over time will make it more attractive and affordable to mid to large scale employers.
Find out more
If you would like to know more about assessment centres and the services Psychology Works offer in this area, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
In the meantime, if you’ve enjoyed Maria’s ramblings why not check out some of our other blogs and thought pieces. For real time updates and insights you can also find us on LinkedIn, our social media platform of choice: @PsychologyWorks and @mariagardner