Pre-hire Assessments FAQ

A: Our Data Analytics based testing is more reliable, accurate, and cost effective than a company's current pre- employment evaluation process. Using our services allows you to focus the more expensive and personal evaluation techniques to a smaller, better-qualified pool of candidates.

Cangrade can accommodate any level job, from entry-level hourly rate employees to those at the professional and management level. Cangrade provides highly validated, data driven assessments that rely on job-relevant personality and skill factors. As a rule, we recommend that the most cost-effective and validated tools are utilized as early as possible in the hiring process.

A: Everyone will agree that employee skills impact their job performance, however, a plethora of other factors contribute to this outcome as well. An employee’s success depends on the interplay of many skills and personal characteristics, which makes the prediction of an employee fit very complex. How do you solve this complexity?

By collecting personality and skill data from the existing employees and combining it with data about employee success (i.e. performance, manager reviews, retention, engagement, etc.), we are creating statistical models that allow us to predict the success of future employees based on the knowledge of their personality and skillset.

To create these statistical models Cangrade utilizes Predictive Analytics tools, most important of which is Multivariate Regression.

A: The ultimate measurement of a pre-hire assessment is its validity. Like any statistical models, the validity of our assessments are measured in R-squared values, also known as “Predictive Power.”

Cangrade Predictive Power ranges between 30% and 70%. It is best to see the Cangrade assessment validity in comparison to other assessment techniques. For example, phone screening’s predictive power is known to be 3%, job interview: 9%, skill testing: 20%.

If we were to translate these numbers to a probability of hiring a less than average employee, we would be looking at a 40% chance of doing it if we only screened candidates via Job Interview. With Cangrade this probability is reduced to 7%-10%.

A: The Cangrade assessment is specifically designed to be next to impossible to cheat. Most people want to think of themselves in a positive way and they prefer others to think highly of them as well. Our scoring formulas are designed to take this "self-inflating" into account. We also include checks that identify inconsistent or inappropriate answers.

We constantly monitor the scoring range to insure that it falls into a normal distribution. It provides an assurance that there is no widespread “gaming” of the assessment is taking place.

A: Cangrade assessments can be integrated into the most commonly used applicant tracking systems (Silkroad, Taleo, etc.). In some cases, using integrated solutions come with a cost from the ATS vendor. For systems without an existing integration solution Cangrade provides a lightweight integration via ATS’s auto-response function. It is easy to implement, free, and requires no training.

A: Yes, you can. We have all the functions of a full ATS system that you can use to track, manage, and assess applicants.

A: Cangrade does NOT replace recruiters. Conversely, it empowers recruiters by giving them a statistically reliable tool, which allows recruiters as well as hiring managers to focus on the candidates with the highest potential.

A: We specifically validate our assessments to be adverse impact free. We run all our statistical models against datasets that include the protected categories such as race, gender etc. Using an evaluation that has been validated and optimized for reducing "adverse impact" greatly reduces human bias from being introduced into the employment process. The concept of adverse impact is defined in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection, 1978, and is overseen by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

A: The benchmark is conducted with a number of existing employees in a specific role (at least 30), by sending them a custom link to a survey and a set of later reminders via Cangrade system. Then we ask the employer to provide employee performance data or any other data indicative of employee success. Next, we run the analysis to regress these data sets and create the statistical models that predict employee success.

A: Employees are both the largest single investment any organization can make and the largest source of risk. It is essential to know who you are hiring in order to avoid the very significant consequences of bad hiring decisions. The US Labor Department estimates that the cost of turning over an hourly employee is between $3K and $6K, with salaried employee turn over costing between 30% and 150% of their annual salary.

Since Cangrade testing will increase the number of great employees hired, while reducing the number of unfit hires, the cost of our evaluation quickly pays for itself and produces a significant return. Our ROI Calculator will provide you with a guideline of your annual returns from using Cangrade.

A: We take steps to ensure all Cangrade procedures are in compliance with all state and federal regulations. Cangrade Inc. does not provide any legal services but in the case of EEOC litigation against our customers Cangrade will provide all necessary data to show their compliance. We recommend that our clients consult their legal counsel regarding specific legal responsibilities.