5 Major trends that are shaping the future of online assessment

The following trends related to the collection, use, and management of data are shaping the future of online assessment and the online job searching process.

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1. The Internet’s ability to collect lots of data fast will provide the push needed to develop future models of online assessment

Major changes in online assessment will be made possible due to the fact that the Internet itself exists as the manifestation of the collection, storage, and usage of data provided by its users. The Internet allows rapid collection of large amounts of data associated with an application or initiative. This data can be used to quickly measure the success of new assessments, providing empirical evidence of their effectiveness. This empirical evidence will provide the support needed for the acceptance of new assessment paradigms.

The ability to use the power of data is a common element that underlies all major trends and applications. In the future, data will support the use of entirely new ways to assess applicants in a manner that is both efficient and entertaining.

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2. Successful online recruiting will rely on building ongoing relationships with candidates

The Internet provides excellent tools for building relationships with users. Employers often look for ways to contact members of a target group with an employment related message in hopes of building a relationship with them. Once contact has been established, it is critical to maintain communication with members of this group so that they will have the chance to apply for jobs when they are ready. This requires making a value proposition to members so that they will be willing to give up information and continue to uphold their end of the relationship.

Online assessment provides one way for firms to make this value proposition. Helping individuals understand themselves and understand how well they fit with a certain job or corporate culture can help them make the best choices when job hunting on the Internet. This type of prescreening will also benefit employers by creating more qualified applicant pools because applicants have used a self-service prescreening process.

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3. Data will allow the development of assessments that are precisely tailored for a given job

Large amounts of data establishing empirical linkages between predictors and job performance used in conjunction with data allowing the construction of taxonomies outlining critical elements required for success at a given job will enable the creation of custom tailored assessments.

These two trends will play a central role in the development of ASP models that will allow users to log on and use menus to quickly provide information about a job. A database will then use this information to define the critical elements of job performance to be measured, and a custom tailored assessment battery will be generated.

Assessments created using these systems will be short and powerful and contain a variety of types of items to predict job performance. Data collected from previous testing initiatives and past studies will provide the evidence allow the empirical linkages needed to support the use of the assessments generated by these systems.

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4. Online recruiting and assessment initiatives will be "Sticky" (i.e. entertain users)

The Internet is ultimately a user-centered tool that exists for the empowerment and entertainment of its users. The current online job search model is one sided in that the employer asks for a lot of information from the job seeker while giving little back. Currently applicants taking Internet based employment tests are asked to take extremely long assessments that are presented in an unimaginative way.

Future assessments will give back to users by providing them access to feedback and by creating assessment tools that are entertaining and engaging. The evolution of this process will result in the use of data to make the assessment process transparent to the job applicant and with the development of game like assessments that will entertain job applicants.

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5. Data from the recruitment and assessment processes will become integrated

For online assessment to gain acceptance, it has to be something that is easy for operational HR personnel (those asked to use the system on a daily basis) to use and understand. Without the support of the end users of the system, online assessment will not be able to gain the acceptance needed to provide maximum ROI.

All aspects of assessment will be integrated into the use of ATS or candidate management systems in a manner that is simple for operational HR personnel to understand. Future systems will provide the ability to create an online assessment for a given job rec using a simple menu driven system linked to databases of stored information and to integrate reporting of assessment results into an ATS.

Data from online recruiting and assessment will be critical for providing baseline data for all Human Capital Management initiatives. Assessment data will be able to be easily integrated with databases used for all types HR initiatives.