Aivy® Digital Assessment Monitor (“ADAM Study”) on digitization in recruiting

The typical human thing: clinging to the known past out of fear of an unknown future. (John Naisbitt)

Change is often frightening. Accepting changes or even seeing them as an opportunity for personal or professional development is therefore easier said than done — we have all experienced this personally, whether in private life or in everyday working life. But what if fear of the new and unknown paralyzes further developments and innovations? The recruiting landscape in Germany, which is still far behind the opportunities offered by digitization, seems to be a good example of this phenomenon. But what is the actual state of digitization in recruiting in Germany — in other words: How “digitally” do German companies actually recruit and where is there some catching up to do?

So why are the figures alarming?

Stagnation and low development are always a problem — but especially when other areas are developing ever faster. This is because digitization is progressing ever faster in other areas of applicants' lives (just think of the fact that they order groceries and other products online and make bank transfers via mobile apps), while the recruiting world seems to be standing on the spot.

• The episode: Applicants increasingly expect what they know from their private lives, including in the application process: Uncomplicated applications via mobile-optimized websites, prompt feedback, a high level of transparency and a selection process that actively uses the latest scientific findings and technical options.
• The problem: This only applies to a small number of selection processes in companies. The study carried out, for example, paints a rather negative picture: The majority of HR managers rely on outdated processes, do not adequately integrate the latest scientific findings and make insufficient use of the possibilities of online assessments to pre-select suitable applicants.

The application and selection process must become more digital — and not just in the age of COVID-19

Surely HR managers should have already recognized this? So why are you so hesitant? What prevents HR managers from using online assessments? HR managers asked themselves this question in the survey and answered the unclear added value of online selection processes (51%) as the main argument against their use.

It is surprising that those companies that already rely on online selection processes recognize their added value very clearly (see Figure 3).

According to HR managers, this is primarily due to high user-friendliness and the resulting time savings — for applicants and recruiters alike. For example, the interviewed HR managers, who already use online assessments, estimate the time saved by pre-selecting applicants through online selection processes at 37%. Considering that the companies surveyed say they spend an average of 21 hours pre-selecting applicants, this results in a Time saved of almost 8 hours — and therefore a full working day.

Particularly exciting: At the same time, more than half of the interviewed HR managers name (51%) reducing the costs and time required for the selection process immediately after the implementation of Potential analyses and Aptitude diagnostics (63%) as key backlog demand.

Science and Recruiting — Enemy or Friend?

But it is not only in the area of digital competence that companies have a lot of catching up to do — but also in the selection of Staff selection criteriathat actually predict professional eligibility. This is because if you look at the selection criteria that HR managers say they use most frequently (see Figure 5), such as Letter of motivation And the Final grade, this is once again an alarming picture. This is because, according to scientific studies, the most frequently used criteria are only unreliable in predicting professional eligibility (see Figure 6). HR managers therefore rely on precisely those criteria whose added value for predicting professional suitability is repeatedly doubted in scientific studies.

But then what? What should HR managers rely on if not the letter of motivation and final grade? Fortunately, science provides a clear answer to this question: Scientifically based aptitude diagnostic test methods! Because no method predicts success in a job as well as the intelligence test. Now you may be able to understand a certain skepticism on the part of HR managers when it comes to presenting lengthy intelligence tests to applicants, especially when it comes to a younger target group such as trainees. But here too, aptitude diagnostics has certainly evolved in recent years and there are more and more opportunities to attractively package test procedures and adapt them to the needs of the respective target group, for example by using intelligence and other important competencies as part of psychometric mini-games be tested playfully.

Quo Vadis: The personnel selection of the future is digital!

Looking at the results of scientific studies shows: Past-related, biography-centered procedures, such as letters of motivation and CVs, are used in the Personnel selection of the future lose importance. The reason for this is their declining predictive power in an increasingly rapidly changing world of work (see Figure 6).

Inferring future performance from past performance — this will work worse and worse. Instead, the personnel selection of the future must move from a very narrow concept of professional suitability to a intellectual potential analysis move, which, in addition to job-specific skills, are increasingly interdisciplinary dimensions of suitability, such as includes adaptability and takes into account the candidate's development potential.

Measuring this is the task of a professional psychological aptitude diagnostics — and this is exactly where companies need to catch up to do (see Figure 4). As a result, in addition to well-founded information about the processes and their added value, HR managers also need more reliable guidelines in order to be able to distinguish competent providers of psychological aptitude diagnostics from dubious providers on the market.

The reasons for using digital aptitude diagnostic methods are obvious — but so are the reasons for their slow entry into HR departments in Germany. Resistance to change, fear of the unknown and lack of information about procedures play an important role. The results of the study make it clear: Educational work is necessary — and better yesterday than today.

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It is to be hoped that companies will be just as willing to learn and adaptable as they expect from their applicants as they develop their selection processes. Because through scientifically based personnel selection, new digital opportunities (e.g. online tests) and algorithm-based evaluation methods consistently, not only does the fairness for applicants increase, but also the long-term success of the selection decision.