We are all talking about workplace diversity but not a lot is being done about it. This much is evident in the facts, and specifically PwC’s recent research that showed Australia has stagnated in 2015 on women’s economic empowerment, namely in closing the pay gap and increasing the number of females in paid work.

Some organisations have a pretty clear idea on what needs to be done, and a solid strategy in place, yet even they come up against barriers in seeing any real and fast change in this space. Our research into the literature, social discourse and client feedback in this area has showed very clear trends on what the biggest obstacles to success are:

1. Merit System

There is a false belief that a fair, equitable and robust merit system exists within each organisation, which measures and compares candidates against objective performance only. It doesn’t. The current ‘merit’ system discriminates on gender, race, social status and even more specific criteria like universities and schools. It is not a system that promotes equal accessibility to every candidate. It’s essential to audit the recruitment and performance systems in your organisation to ensure merit is objectively defined and implemented.

2. Talent Pipeline

Many organisations complain about the lack of a female or culturally diverse pipeline of talent. More than 55% of graduates in Australia are female so something doesn’t add up here. If you still can’t find diverse candidates, you are doing something wrong. Re-think and re-design your recruitment process, from attraction onwards, to make it more appealing to diverse candidates and more accessible to everyone who isn’t called John Smith. One way to achieve this is to start recruiting on value-alignment as opposed to the outdated concept of ‘years of experience’.

3. Ignorance

‘We don’t have a diversity problem, it’s grossly overstated’ – say many. Yet facts show only 10.1% of executive roles in Australia are held by women, and only 12 out of the top 200 CEO’s, are women. Many don’t believe that they are exercising recruitment and promotion in a ‘like me’ fashion but the unconscious bias struggle is real! Refer back to point one above. Isn’t it time you become educated in how bias operates, how it affects your recruitment team and how you can manage the adverse impact it has?

To paraphrase the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – It’s 2016 Australia – a lack of progress on diversity in the workplace is just not acceptable anymore. Now what are you going to do about it?

Contact our consultants to help you determine the best approach for your organisation.

We are all talking about workplace diversity but not a lot is being done about it. This much is evident in the facts, and specifically PwC’s recent research that showed Australia has stagnated in 2015 on women’s economic empowerment, namely in closing the pay gap and increasing the number of females in paid work.

Some organisations have a pretty clear idea on what needs to be done, and a solid strategy in place, yet even they come up against barriers in seeing any real and fast change in this space. Our research into the literature, social discourse and client feedback in this area has showed very clear trends on what the biggest obstacles to success are:

1. Merit System

There is a false belief that a fair, equitable and robust merit system exists within each organisation, which measures and compares candidates against objective performance only. It doesn’t. The current ‘merit’ system discriminates on gender, race, social status and even more specific criteria like universities and schools. It is not a system that promotes equal accessibility to every candidate. It’s essential to audit the recruitment and performance systems in your organisation to ensure merit is objectively defined and implemented.

2. Talent Pipeline

Many organisations complain about the lack of a female or culturally diverse pipeline of talent. More than 55% of graduates in Australia are female so something doesn’t add up here. If you still can’t find diverse candidates, you are doing something wrong. Re-think and re-design your recruitment process, from attraction onwards, to make it more appealing to diverse candidates and more accessible to everyone who isn’t called John Smith. One way to achieve this is to start recruiting on value-alignment as opposed to the outdated concept of ‘years of experience’.

3. Ignorance

‘We don’t have a diversity problem, it’s grossly overstated’ – say many. Yet facts show only 10.1% of executive roles in Australia are held by women, and only 12 out of the top 200 CEO’s, are women. Many don’t believe that they are exercising recruitment and promotion in a ‘like me’ fashion but the unconscious bias struggle is real! Refer back to point one above. Isn’t it time you become educated in how bias operates, how it affects your recruitment team and how you can manage the adverse impact it has?

To paraphrase the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – It’s 2016 Australia – a lack of progress on diversity in the workplace is just not acceptable anymore. Now what are you going to do about it?

Contact our consultants to help you determine the best approach for your organisation.

The idea of “diversity and inclusion” pops up as a regular topic of discussion in business circles for a good reason. We no longer live in an era in which diversity is a box that needs to be ticked. Rather, diversity and inclusion, today, are recognized to make workplaces healthier, more productive, more progressive and more forward-thinking. A lot of companies now realise that diversity and inclusion not only benefit employees, but they also benefit the companies themselves. An inclusive culture that doesn’t discriminate against gender identity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, race, religion, age and disability and, instead, expresses a commitment to diversity is one that thrives.

Except, not all companies are there yet. Some still need some work in that department. Fewer large Australian companies are run by women than are run by men named John. Or Peter. Or David. The number of women in leadership is in fact falling since that statistic was first reported in 2017 (Conrad Liveris, To Be Meritorious, Gender Equality At Work In 2017.)

It gets a little better if we take a step down from the C-Suite to the executive level. 40 per cent of executives in the Commonwealth public service are women, relatively close to the 50 per cent level of overall staff numbers (ABS). The reality however is, that we still have a lot of work to do before we can allow ourselves to become complacent.

“Women and minorities no longer need a boarding pass, they need an upgrade,” said R. Roosevelt Thomas

“The problem is not getting them in at the entry level; the problem is making better use of their potential at every level, especially in middle-management and leadership positions. This is no longer simply a question of common decency; it is a question of business survival.”

Thomas made this statement back in 1990 for an article in the Harvard Business Review. Thirty-one years later, effectively managing diversity and inclusion in companies continues to be a critical topic

• Making efforts all about the numbers: If your company’s leadership is solely focused on increasing diversity numbers through recruiting initiatives, but not identifying ways to create an inclusive environment, they are operating in the past.
• Diversity and Inclusion is not well defined: If your company approaches diversity and inclusion with a vague statement then you may have a situation in which no one knows what diversity and inclusion means. Instead, the company should explicitly define them and broadcast that message internally within the company and externally within the community
• There’s diversity but exclusion: You can’t have diversity without inclusion, and you can’t have inclusion without diversity. For example, do you feel like others (regardless of how similar or different they are to you), treat you with respect, kindness and aim to understand you? When you’re in a meeting, does everyone pay attention to the loudest person in the room or do your colleagues make an effort to encourage participation from everyone?
• The leaders at the top look the same: Who are the executives in your organisation? What types of people are usually getting promoted in your department or company? Do they resemble the leaders who are promoting them or do they have a diverse background, skill or experience? If the former, there may be a problem in how people advance into leadership.

Diversity remains a top priority as organisations attempt to meet age, gender and cultural diversity requirements. But which diversity strategies are the best fit for your organisation? There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

Testgrid are experts in psychometric testing and talent management—we know the best way to assist with developing and enhancing your diversity strategies.
We have over 20 years’ experience in the assessment and testing industry, plus in-house experts in custom process design to ensure you achieve your targeted outcomes.

If you want to talk to one of our experts about how we can help drive your success with the right people, we are offering a gap analysis with on of our expert team. Simply sign up and book a time or contact hello@testgrid.com.

For better or worse, remote working is here to stay, so to kick off our remote working series, we take a look at hiring remote workers to succeed and thrive in the environment.

Below are the competencies a candidate should possess to successfully work from home.

COMMUNICATES CLEARLY

Initiates contact with colleagues and maintains open communication, checking for understanding. Adapts communication style and technologies used to suit situations.

EMBRACES NEW TECHNOLOGY & PROGRAMS

Adapts to use of remote working technologies, adopting a curious attitude when approaching challenges. Asks for help when needed and manages shortcomings when dealing with technology issues.

MOTIVATES SELF & TAKES INITIATIVE

Keeps to a schedule, is proactive and sets clear goals. Does not give up or allow the distractions of remote working to affect productivity.

ORGANISES SELF & MAKES PLANS

Sets clear timelines and breaks down tasks into manageable steps. Plans for changing circumstances and adjusts timelines, as necessary.

EMBRACES CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY

Readily adjusts approaches to suit changing environments. Copes well with ambiguity.

MAINTAINS WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Balances professional and personal commitments, creating boundaries when necessary. Engages in activities to relieve stress and energise self.

WORKS COLLABORATIVELY AND SHOWS TEAM UNDERSTANDING

Maintains a team mindset despite physical distance. Shows understanding of team goals, works collaboratively, and involves others in decision making.

DISPLAYS INTEGRITY AND RELIABILITY

Uses work hours effectively and demonstrates reliability and honesty, working productively without close supervision. Submits work on time.

Recruiters and HR managers can use these competencies to create a candidate profile and then utilise behavioural testing to identify the right behavioural traits in candidates. These can then be mapped back to the competencies above to find the right people or person for the role.

Understanding the right competencies for a successful remote worker is the first piece of the puzzle. Utilise behavioural testing to identify the best candidates for the role or develop talent to reach the requirements.

SCORING

Use behavioural testing to assess candidates’ and gain the data you need to find the right fit before hiring remote workers.

GAP ANALYSIS

Utilise Testgrid’s reporting tools and programs to understand the preferences of how people want to work to enhance communication, collaboration, and engagement. Then compare these to the competencies above to determine how the candidate will fair in a remote working setting.

HIRE/NO HIRE OR DEVELOP

Once you have a 360 view of the candidate, or pool of candidates, you now know whether they are going to succeed in a remote working model. You can create a shortlist of candidates or decide to hire or not. But finding gaps doesn’t mean the candidate/s will not be able to work remotely. Now that you understand the candidate/s ability to WFH and any gaps, you can decide if you think you can fill those gaps through support, development, and training.

Emotional intelligence is a crucial skill for most employees these days but remote working can put a strain on employees. Knowing that a candidate has a high EQ and can manage their own and be mindful of others’ mental health should be high up on your list of criteria.

We have been closely monitoring our customers’ needs throughout the last 12 months, and our reports show that companies seeking Emotional Intelligence assessments have increased by 7.5 times since last year. This indicates that employers are applying more emphasis on EQ than ever before and that it is imperative for employee mental health that hires in people-facing roles can empathise with, and navigate mental health matters.

If you are unsure about whether you are set up for remote working success, sing up below or contact our team at hello@testgrid.com for a free Remote Working Gap Analysis, where one of our specialists will work with you to determine where you sit on the scale, and how you adapt your process.

Verbal, Numerical and Mechanical Reasoning assessments are fairly self-explanatory, in terms of what they measure and the types of questions we can expect to be presented with. Abstract Reasoning, however, can be a little trickier to get one’s head around (because, well… it’s abstract!). To clear up any confusion, let’s take a look at exactly what it is, and why it’s useful.

Abstract Reasoning items involve shapes and patterns. You may also hear these tests referred to as ‘Logical’ or ‘Inductive’ Reasoning assessments.

 They generally involve figuring out the ‘underlying rule’ in a given sequence or pattern and then applying this rule to solve a problem. (This is more challenging than Diagrammatic Reasoning, where the rule is already given and the individual just needs to apply the rule.) It does not really matter whether the given pattern is made up of symbols, shapes, or numbers; it is just ‘new data’ to be interpreted.

Verbal, Numerical, and Mechanical Reasoning assessments are fairly self-explanatory, in terms of what they measure and the types of questions we can expect to be presented with. Abstract Reasoning, however, can be a little trickier to get one’s head around (because, well… it’s abstract!). To clear up any confusion, let’s take a look at exactly what it is, and why it’s useful.

Abstract Reasoning is important in most workplaces, where we are required to think on our feet, rapidly learn new information and acquire new skills, form new strategies, and solve new problems on a regular basis. We can’t always rely on past experience, particularly in our constantly changing work environments.

A candidate who obtains a very low Abstract Reasoning score may struggle to see the ‘big picture’, conceptualise complex problems, detect relationships between ideas, or learn new skills quickly. For these reasons, we have some clients who consider Abstract Reasoning the most important of the various cognitive assessments.

Abstract Reasoning assessments are also gaining popularity as diversity-centric cognitive tests, as they are language-free (and acultural), and therefore cannot discriminate on the basis of English language. Performance on these tests is also less affected by socio-economic factors and educational circumstances.

To learn more about abstract reasoning assessments and other tests, head over to our psychometric assessments page or reach out to our team!

Recruitment in the time of COVID19 is a thing. With the nation going in and out of  lockdowns, the positive reality is that work still needs to be done, and we need people to do it – take Amazon’s creation of 100,000 new jobs for example, or closer to home – Coles’ creation of 5,000+ casual jobs. In times like this, where people are working via distance and can’t orchestrate interviews and assessment centres, it’s easy to adopt the mindset of ‘trusting your gut’ on hiring decisions – something we know is crawling with bias. However, this need not be the case! There are plenty of distance-friendly solutions for assessing your candidates. Certain industries, in particular suppliers and supermarkets, are dealing with extreme recruitment volumes (because we all keep hoarding their products) and are actually finding the socially distant methods as the most effective!

Emotional Intelligence

Computers are trading our money for us, supermarket checkouts are automated and cars are driving themselves. Computers have the ability to synthesise and analyse information for us, but what can’t they do? Empathise. In the age of AI, emotional intelligence skills are the main thing computers can’t do better than us and are therefore being seen as a must-have in the next 3-5 years. Also, what do you need most when the corona anxiety hits? Not a hug! But someone to listen (preferably from 1.5-2 meters away).

Adjusting To Change

Change orientation is a highly sought-after skill, and its relevance is peaking right now. Changes in the workplace are inevitable and necessary for growth but are sometimes feared by employees for a range of reasons. For example, restructuring and new developments can result in fear of failure, rejection, and criticism. In the midst of COVID19, the world we know is feeling unstable. Now is the time to focus on candidates who can work flexibly, and adopt a positive attitude in the light of confusion and uncertainty.

Resilience

Humans find comfort in the safety and predictability of everyday routine. It’s normal to feel unsettled in the face of such changes, however, resilient people are more likely to adapt, think positively, and overcome challenges. Resilience is a key competency to test for during this pandemic to promote effective productivity and organisational culture.

The experts at Testgrid are able to create behavioural frameworks specific to competencies necessary for your organisation at this time, so you can focus on hiring employees who embody these relevant behaviours. If you would like to know more, get in touch with our team for a gap analysis.

There are many types of psychometric assessments, and there are often so many factors to consider when selecting suitable recruitment selection methods: candidate care, efficiency, cost, and so on – that it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the most important factor: which assessment methods are the most predictive of job performance – and therefore the most valid?

The validity ‘ladder’ is a timely reminder of the importance of ensuring that you select valid assessment tools that will help you make the most effective recruitment decisions possible. The higher the statistic (on the ladder), the more valid that assessment method is, and as you can see, psychometric assessments really are much greater at predicting on the job performance.

If you would like to talk to us about how you can improve the validity of your current recruitment process? Get in touch with our team today.

We are pleased to finally share with you what we have been working on behind the scenes for so long. For Testgrid, much like the rest of the world, 2020 was a time of immense change and growth. Our assessments were completed over 1,000,000 times in 2020 alone, we have continued to acquire new customers in key industries, such as Government and Retail, in the face of adverse market conditions, and our team continues to grow in Testgrid’s Customer Success, Psychology and Development departments to accommodate the growing demand for our technology.

We took this opportunity to evolve our brand in order to better communicate the breadth of expertise that Testgrid represents and realign with our refined vision.

Many of you may have already observed that Testgrid is sporting a brand new logo and an entirely new look. This marks a significant milestone in our journey, providing an opportunity to reflect on everything that the original Testgrid brand stood for and everything that we aspire to become as we move forward into an exciting future.

Behind the new look we are still the same company and team (although larger and more technically talented), dedicated to providing you the best possible services and solutions.

We are incredibly proud of the work that we do at Testgrid and thankful for the employees, the partnerships, and the clients that have accompanied us in our growth. We owe this rebrand to all of you.

If you have any questions about our new brand and direction, or simply want to know more, don’t hesitate to reach out and talk to our team. Until then, keep an eye on Testgrid as we have innovative technology to announce later this year that will allow recruiters to monitor candidates as they complete their assessment, and we can not wait to tell you all about it.

When hiring, developing, or promoting employees for new positions in your company, resumes and interviews only tell you so much. A person’s education, experience, and references all provide indicators about what a person knows and what they have done. But, the best way to understand one’s abilities and level of proficiency is to conduct skills testing. For recruitment, skills assessments are recommended to be used alongside cognitive and/or behavioural assessments.

Very simply, a skills assessment is an evaluation of an individual’s ability to perform a specific skill or set of skills. Usually, it’s an evaluation of skills specific to a job or role. Ideally, the assessment captures the level of proficiency for each skill, so you know which participants are new to a skill and which have mastered it.

According to a recent HAYS survey of only 18% of employers conduct an assessment before deciding on what training to offer each employee. A further 36% do so only for select staff.

The skills we need to be able to demonstrate and assess, vary considerably depending on the role, seniority, and the type of company. Some of the most commonly used areas are:

• Administration skills – make sure that your prospective hires can demonstrate the basic skills that you need such as typing speed, data entry, and computer literacy

• Microsoft Skills – these are our most popular range of skills assessments, they are designed to ensure that the proficiency in tools such as Excel, Word, and Outlook that are claimed on resumes are accurate.

• Call Centre and Customer Service – real-life simulations and audio clips assess the customer-centric approach that you want to hire for and are a very quick and effective way to screen candidates

• IT and Programming Skills – there are hundreds of IT-specific assessments to ensure that candidates meet your minimum requirements in whatever IT environment or coding languages that you need.

For most office workers in Australia, it has been years since we started working from home and we have seen the challenged that come with managing virtual teams. We know that WFH is associated with psychological risks and novel challenges. As recommended by Safe Work Australia, team leads should be taking steps to protect teams from these risks, and support their team’s wellbeing.

Whether you’ve experienced all or just a few, these are the top causes of psychological distress while WFH:

• Being isolated from managers, colleagues, and support networks

• Less support, for example, workers may feel they don’t have the normal support they receive from their supervisor or manager

• Changes to work demand, for example, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and a move to working at home may create higher workloads for some workers and reduced workloads for others

• Low job control

• Not having clear boundaries between home-life and work-life

• Fatigue

• Poor environmental conditions, for example, an ergonomically unsound work station or high noise levels, and

• Poor organisational change management, for example, workers may feel they haven’t been consulted about the changes to their work.

The stress of these psychological hazards can be reduced in a number of ways; individuals can take steps to manage their own wellbeing (see our team’s suggestions here), but self-care is only one component of wellbeing. You can engage in all of the self-care activities you like, but if you feel isolated or alone, the burden of fear and change can weigh heavily on your shoulders. Research shows that social support from managers & peers increases work wellbeing during difficult situations, in addition to self-care activities. Therefore, we have the best chance of safeguarding our teams from these psychological hazards if managers can take action to better support and lead their teams, and improvements to communication can be made.

Communication has shown to be one of the biggest challenges for teams working from home. We all have differing needs for human connection, and remote working emphasises these differences. The lack of ‘water-cooler conversation’ means extroverts may be missing out on the social fuel they need, while introverts become a little too comfortable isolating themselves, forgetting to reach out when help is needed. Working remotely means we need to go out of our way to engage with others, which may feel unnatural but is easier if you know the best way to go about it for your team’s specific needs.

We know wellbeing & communication are important when working remotely, so let’s talk about some practical steps. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide for managing virtual teams. See below how you can use our new Virtual Teams Report to gain an understanding of your team in more detail, manage additional challenges from working virtually, and get the team working more effectively and purposefully.

We all have different needs when working from home, based on both our personality preferences and our surroundings. When managing a virtual team, it’s crucial to consider the things that each team member needs to feel supported and work at their best.

For example:

What do they need to stay focused? 

What sort of recognition do they prefer?

What’s the best way for them to learn? 

How much warmth or detail do they need in communication? 

How can you support their ideal working environment? 

How do they manage conflict, 

and what sorts of tasks help them to thrive?

Group settings in a video chat can amplify the differences between team members’ talkativeness and comfort level with making contributions. As a manager, you can source recommendations for how to best utilise the strengths of each team member in a virtual meeting. For example; who kicks off the conversation, who needs to be explicitly asked for their opinion & who to watch that they don’t dominate the conversation?

If there’s one behaviour that’s integral at the moment, it’s adjusting to change and coping with uncertainty. Awareness of your team’s behavioural preferences indicates the tasks and conditions they naturally prefer – but what if they need to be more agile than that? The key to improving performance (and wellbeing) of your existing team is to help people adapt to different needs by switching mindsets and drawing on specific skills – adjusting to their conditions. Not everyone will naturally embrace change, so drawing from specific, tailored tips to encourage development in your team is highly effective in helping teams adjust to virtual working environments.

Training & development is an excellent way to show teams you value their contributions and support their wellbeing. They also facilitate adjustment to new working environments. Encouraging staff to complete development activities during this time helps to keep teams engaged and motivated while making use of the extra time at home for self-development. Additionally, training helps staff develop their awareness of self and each other, so they can collaborate more effectively and work to each other’s strengths.

Resources for these steps are all covered in our new Virtual Teams Report, which has been specially designed during the Covid pandemic. This report gives tips on how to meet the needs of each team member, and collates similar team members into categories, allowing you to make relevant sense of the tips for your organisation. It also includes personal training plans and development resources specific to each individual. If you’d like to get the best out of your teams and support them to success while working remotely, get in touch at hello@testgrid.com.