Introducing new assessment solutions to an organization can be exciting, but it can also be challenging. Adoption of new software is often hindered by a variety of factors, including resistance to change, lack of training, and poor user experience.
However, there are several best practices and actionable steps that can be taken to increase hiring manager adoption of a new assessment solution into their hiring process.
Those include:
Develop a Comprehensive Adoption Plan
A comprehensive adoption plan is essential to ensuring the success of a new assessment solution. The adoption plan should include the following:
- Clear objectives: Clearly define the goals of the pre-employment assessment and the benefits it will provide to the organization.
- Communication plan: Develop a communication plan to ensure that all stakeholders are informed about the new assessment, its benefits, and the implementation process.
- Training plan: Develop a training plan that includes training materials and sessions that will provide end users with the knowledge and skills they need to use the tools effectively.
- User feedback: Establish channels for user feedback and support to ensure that users can ask questions, report issues, and provide feedback.
Provide Adequate Training and Support
Training and support are crucial to ensuring that hiring managers can use the software and candidate reports effectively. Provide training sessions that are tailored to the needs of each user group, including administrators, managers, and end users. Offer different types of training, such as online training modules, in-person sessions, and one-on-one training. Additionally, provide ongoing support to end users through help desks, user forums, and support tickets.
Your assessment vendor should also provide access to their workplace psychologists, who can provide context around the need for candidate insights, what qualities are critical for each role, and how to conduct more informed, bias-free interviews using the assessment solution.
Ensure a Positive User Experience
User experience is critical to the success of new assessment software adoption. Ensure that your assessment solution is easy to use and intuitive, with clear instructions and simple navigation. Dashboards should be visually appealing and user-friendly, with clear instructions on how to interpret the data and drill into results as needed.
Encourage User Adoption
Encouraging user adoption is critical to ensuring the success of new assessment implementation. Some ways to encourage adoption amongst hiring managers include:
- Involve users in the process: Involve your hiring managers in the implementation process, including selecting the software, providing input on features, and testing the assessment before launch.
- Recognize and reward active users: Recognize and reward those hiring managers who adopt the assessment early and become advocates for it. This can include incentives such as prizes, recognition in company communications, or additional training and support.
- Communicate and educate: Provide ongoing communication and education to ensure that users are aware of the benefits of the software and how to use it effectively.
Monitor Adoption and Provide Feedback
Monitoring assessment adoption and providing feedback is essential to ensuring the success of the implementation. Establish metrics to measure adoption, such as usage rates, and create benchmarks for metrics influenced by assessments, like turnover rates pre/post implementation. Use these metrics to identify areas where users may need additional training or support, and to track progress over time. Provide regular feedback to hiring managers to ensure that they understand how to use the assessment effectively and to address any issues that may arise.
Conclusion
Implementing new software solutions can be challenging, but following these best practices and actionable steps can help ensure the success of new assesssment adoption among hiriung managers. By developing a comprehensive adoption plan, providing adequate training and support, ensuring a positive user experience, encouraging user adoption, and monitoring adoption and providing feedback, talent teams can increase hiring manager adoption of new assessment solutions and realize the full benefits of these technologies.
