Should you be using assessment software at all? Is it worth it?
Traditional hiring processes are biased, inefficient and fail to identify genuinely qualified candidates.
Any recruitment software or pre-employment assessments that use anonymisation and tests for quantifiable skills is undoubtedly better than using either a CV process or standard hiring system that uses a candidate’s background and experience to make hiring decisions.
However, not all skill-based assessment software was created equal.
Whilst all of the platforms below will give you objective data to make decisions - not all of this data is going to be of equal value.
Here at Applied, we set out to build a hiring platform that tests candidates using only the most ethical and accurate assessments.
So, we’ll be looking at some of the more predictive Testgorilla alternatives on the market - and giving our honest opinion on how accurately they might identify people who will perform in the job… and how effectively they reduce bias.
Testgorilla - a quick overview
Testgorilla is a pre-employment testing tool for screening candidates. They offer multiple test types such as cognitive ability tests, online coding tests, software skill tests, personality tests, culture fit tests, language tests, etc.
Testgorilla features
- Aptitude Testing
- Personality Testing
- Skills Assessment
- Custom Assessments
- Online Tests
- Automatic Grading
- Candidate Management
- Question Library
What we like: impressive test library
Testgorilla’s library of assessments is pretty extensive - with over 250 test to choose from, which can be filtered by both skills and roles.
All of these assessments are verified using the UGESP framework of employee selection and the US Department of Labor’s skills analyses.
They’ve also taken steps to reduce unconscious bias - working with The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Things to consider: candidate experience
Although Testgorilla’s assessments claim to be ‘scientifically validated’, they’re not necessarily job-specific. They’re also multiple-choice, which might make collecting scores quick and easy, but doesn’t offer a genuine insight into how someone might think and work, should they get the job.
So whilst they may be able to accurately predict certain skills, this might not directly translate into job performance.
One of the biggest pitfalls of Testgorilla is its candidate experience - tests are timed which adds an unnecessary layer of pressure and candidates are photographed every 30 seconds to verify their identity - something some candidates may find to be intrusive.
Testgorilla alternative #1: Criteria
Criteria is an assessment platform that combines data science with validation backed by I/O psychologists. They claim their suite of assessments is the most comprehensive on the market, covering aptitude, personality and emotional intelligence.
Criteria features
- Aptitude Testing
- Personality Testing
- Skills Assessment
- Custom Assessments
- Online Tests
- Automatic Grading
- Candidate Management
What we like: questions tested for cultural/gender bias
Criteria's assessments are backed by experts in I/O psychology - which is definitely a step up from making assumptions based on someone’s CV.
In terms of bias reduction, Criteria actually goes beyond just anonymisation. They test their questions for cultural sensitivity to reduce unconscious biases across both cultural and gender groups.
Things to consider: assessments aren't job specific
We have no reason to doubt that Criteria is highly predictive when it comes to things like cognitive aptitude, personality traits and even core skills like computer literacy.
The problem is that none of these are in context. General cognitive and personality testing tend to be trusted since they sound fairly scientific…
But the reality is that they were never intended to be the sole means of making hiring decisions - only as tools to help inform decision-making.
Testgorilla alternative #2: WonScore
Backed by extensive scientific I/O research, WonScore assesses three crucial components: cognitive ability, personality, and motivation.
WonScore features
- Aptitude Testing
- Personality Testing
- Skills Assessment
- Online Tests
- Automatic Grading
- Candidate Management
What we like: motivation testing
WonScore claims that its assessments can meaningfully predict job performance. Each of these predictors is said to be weighted based on the unique KSA requirements required for performance in each specific job.
Unlike some of their competitors in this list, WonScore tests candidates’ motivation for work-related interests like support, artistry, investigation etc.
Things to consider: lack of customisation
WonScore’s job descriptions are pre-set, which means that you’ll be unable to tailor them to more niche roles within your organisation. This also means you’ll be stuck with a default skillset for each role, which may not be suitable for all roles.
Whilst we like that the platform looks at motivation, the specific tests here have little real-world correlation. We’d rather see less abstract tests that look at how interested candidates are in your organisation and its mission.
As far as we can tell, WonScore also lacks any anti-bias measures. Although testing is not based on background (which is definitely a good thing), even someone’s name can trigger unconscious biases around ethnicity and gender, even amongst the most well-intentioned hirers.
We’d also urge caution around personality-heavy assessments, as these tend to be biased towards extroverts and may not be neuro-inclusive.
Testgorilla alternative #3: Harver
Built to help organisations with high-volume hiring, Harver combines data-driven matching and automation to help you hire candidates faster and fairer at scale.
Harver features
- Aptitude Testing
- Personality Testing
- Skills Assessment
- Custom Assessments
- Online Tests
- Automatic Grading
- Candidate Management
- Question Library
What we like: predictive job preview tests
Beyond the usual behavioural, cognitive and soft skill assessments, Harver also allows you to use job knowledge and ‘realistic job preview’ tests.
This means job applicants are presented with realistic scenarios related to the day-to-day challenges they’ll be facing in the specific job they’re applying for.
This is the most predictive means of quantifying how suitable someone is for the job - which is why we take a similar approach to assessing candidates here at Applied.
Things to consider
Whilst this may be useful if you’re hiring at volume, Harver automatically scores candidates. The truth is - to gain a genuine insight into how someone would think and work on the job, sometimes you need a real human to review candidates.
And to ensure decisions are as diversity-optimised and fair as possible, we’d even recommend having three reviewers to average out any individual biases.
Testgorilla alternative #4: Applied
Born out of the UK Government's Behavioural Insights Team (also known as the Nudge Unit), we designed Applied to reliably predict the best candidate for the job and measurably improve organisations’ diversity.
Every step of our process has been purpose-built to make hiring ethical and predictive using anonymised applications and behavioural science-backed, behavioral assessments to improve diversity and identify the best talent.
Applied features
- Skills Assessment
- Custom Assessments
- Online Tests
- Automatic Grading
- Candidate Management
- Question Library
How do we compare to other Testgorilla alternatives?
Unlike most other assessment tools currently on the market, Applied focuses solely on candidates' job-specific skills.
Since we don’t compromise on predictivity or fairness, the Applied Platform is an end-to-end platform - which means we’ll handle everything from inclusive job descriptions to interviews and feedback - all tracked via our advanced reporting suite
This means that candidates will only ever be tested using proven, bias-free assessments with a complete analytics suite to make reporting on diversity, accuracy and efficiency as streamlined as possible.
Like other Testgorilla alternatives, we offer an extensive library of role-specific questions to use - although we believe the most predictive, insightful questions are custom tests/questions crafted explicitly for the role and organisation you’re hiring for.
The Applied platform also allows you to use programming skills/coding skills for hiring software engineers as well as numerical tests for high-volume roles.
What makes an assessment predictive?
At Applied, we based our assessment process on 100+ years of research.
Whilst things like cognitive and personality tests aren’t without any merit whatsoever… they’re just not as predictive as simulating parts of the job itself.
And so traditional psychometric assessments aren’t effective at spreading the field.
However, if you’re dealing with an extremely large candidate pool, sometimes an automatically-scored assessment round may be necessary.
This is why we built our cognitive assessment - Mapped - specifically to test numerical, analytical and problem-solving skills required for demanding analytical and commercial roles.
We worked with investment bankers, strategy consultants and behavioural scientists to build assessments that test only for the skills that really matter.
When we talk about an assessment being ‘predictive’ - what we’re referring to is how accurately they can forecast how someone will perform in a given role.
Although studies around predictive validity can take years to complete, the Schmidt-Hunter meta-analysis gives us a rough idea of what works when it comes to what has been proven to work.
This research is the reason why the Applied Platform uses ‘work sample tests’ - which ask candidates how they would approach realistic scenarios/tasks that they’d encounter on the job.
They’re 3x more predictive than CVs and measure skills within the context of the role they’ll actually be used in means that we can reliably predict future job performance.
And by effectively role-playing small parts of the job, you can see how naturally aligned candidates are with your organisation’s mission and values, without putting them through additional ‘motivation’ or ‘culture fit’ tests that some of the platforms above offer.
Here’s what one of our work sample questions looks like in practice…
The bottom line: is Applied for you?
If you want to build a detailed profile of someone's personality, then one of the above Testgorilla alternatives may be for you.
But if you're serious about predicting job performance and measurably improving diversity, then a solution like Applied may be more suitable.
The kind of 'off-the-shelf' candidate assessments that Testgorilla and its competitors offer aren't bad...
They're just not the most optimal way to pick out qualified candidates.
Personality traits and cognitive aptitude may well tell you something about a candidate…. but they’re still only proxies for the real-world abilities needed to succeed in a given job.
Here are a few of the outcomes our customers tend to see:
- Up to 4x increase in ethnic diversity of candidates
- 3x as many suitable candidates
- 66% reduction in time spent hiring
- 93% retention rate after one year
- 9/10 candidate experience rating
Start transforming your hiring now: book in a demo.