Use Skills Tests for Healthcare Assistants For Better Hires
How to Hire Better Healthcare Assistants with Skills Tests
The healthcare industry is one of the biggest service industries in the world, and its growth won’t stop any time soon. Not surprisingly, as the population ages, there’s an increased demand for healthcare assistants since more people need access to care. While the most publicized shortage in healthcare is for nurses, seven of the 20 fastest-growing occupations in the U.S. are healthcare assistant positions, including home health aides, personal care aides, and physical therapist assistants.
The increase of available healthcare assistant positions, the historically low U.S. unemployment rate, and the aging population are leading to widespread talent shortages that are expected to grow worse over the coming years. And with the healthcare industry’s high turnover rate second only to the hospitality industry, recruiting better healthcare assistants is key to organizations’ success.
According to a recent survey, 78% of healthcare professionals reported that hiring talent is more important now than a year ago, but only 28% reported an increase in budget to do so. Since healthcare professionals are faced with financial restraints, they need to use innovative recruitment techniques to build strong pipelines of qualified candidates to meet current and future hiring needs.
eSkill’s state-of-the-art recruiting technology—healthcare skills tests, simulations, one-way recorded video interviews, and advanced data analytics—allows employers to identify qualified candidates while saving time and limited resources.
Use Technology to Reach Top Talent
Technology is revolutionizing every aspect of human resource practices, and employee screening is no exception. As you attempt to attract high-quality applicants to your organization, it’s important to use tech tools that can streamline your hiring processes and improve the candidate experience.
With the healthcare unemployment rate sitting at only 2.1%, tapping into a candidate pool of employed healthcare assistants is a logical strategy. Mobile-friendly pre-employment processes are crucial to reaching these candidates. In the past, scheduling pre-employment skills tests and interviews required recruiters to align their schedules with the schedules of candidates. However, this approach lacks the flexibility needed in today’s candidate-driven market. Hiring teams need to provide ways for candidates to complete pre-employment skills tests and initial interviews at a time that works best for them.
eSkill’s web-based skills test for healthcare assistants makes the initial screening process feasible for those who are currently employed, as candidates are able to complete the assessment anytime and anywhere. Similarly, eSkill’s on-demand video interviews—recorded, one-way interviews where candidates respond to a series of questions—allow candidates to move further into the hiring funnel in a way that works with their schedule.
Not only does this technology make the hiring process more accessible to employed candidates, but it streamlines the vetting process for hiring managers as well. The pre-hire skills tests and recorded video interviews are available for hiring managers to review at a time that fits their schedule.
With portions of the initial screening process automated, hiring teams are able to efficiently and effectively create a shortlist of candidates. By bringing in only the best candidates for onsite interviews, hiring teams are able to give them a high-touch experience.
Utilizing healthcare assistant skills tests and on-demand video interviews decreases time-to-hire, improves the candidate experience, increases the likelihood that new-hires will succeed and ultimately, improves the employee retention rate.
Assess Soft Skills and Technical Skills
Soft skills are imperative in the healthcare industry. These skills not only play a part in effectively working with other staff, but they are essential when caring for people, and can make a real difference in patients’ quality of life. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate candidates’ soft skills from interpersonal skills to empathy, patience, and teamwork. eSkill’s library of skills tests for healthcare assistants uses behavioral and scenario questions to obtain an accurate assessment of candidates’ soft skills.
Administering a numeracy and literacy skills test for healthcare assistants may be just as important as understanding candidates’ soft skills. Although healthcare assistants must work with patients, they must also complete a wide variety of administrative duties and technical tasks that require strong literacy and numeracy skills. For example, a healthcare assistant may need to record patients’ pulse, respiration rate, and blood pressure, process blood samples, order medical supplies, record and update patients’ medical histories and code medical records for billing.
To evaluate the scope of skills needed for specific positions, eSkill has developed a variety of medical assistant assessments that measure relevant soft skills, technical skills, and cognitive abilities. eSkill’s Client Success Managers are available to assist hiring teams in choosing the skills test or tests that will accurately measure candidates’ potential to be successful in a position.
eSkill offers both job-based and subject-based skills tests for healthcare assistants, including:
Medical Assistant Skills Test
Patient Care Assistant Skills Test
Home Health Aide Skills Test
Personal Care Aide Skills Test
Certified Medication Aide Skills Test
Certified Nursing Assistant Skills Test
Patient Access Associate Skills Test
Outpatient Scheduler Skills Test
Medical Records Skills Test
Medical Billing Skills Test
Customer Service – Healthcare Skills Test
HIPAA – Privacy and Security Skills Test
HIPAA – Health Insurance Coverage Skills Test
First Aid Skills Test
Medical Coding Skills Test
Medical Terminology Skills Test
Dental Terminology Skills Test
Medical Dosage Calculations – Basic Skills Test
Basic Nursing Skills Test
eSkill’s user-friendly platform makes combining and editing skill tests simple. Easily create a healthcare assistant skills test that matches the requirements of any position by merging multiple skills tests, editing questions, or creating additional questions.
With a shortage of skilled workers, an ever-growing demand for healthcare assistants, and an alarmingly high turnover rate, identifying and hiring qualified healthcare assistants is becoming increasingly difficult. Simplify the hiring process and improve the quality of your hires with eSkill’s customizable skills tests for healthcare assistants.
Interested in Administering a Skills Test for Healthcare Assistants?
Learn more about the benefits of using eSkill’s subject-based and job-based skills tests. Whether searching for a numeracy and literacy skills test for healthcare assistants, a behavioral assessment for healthcare assistants, or both, eSkill’s comprehensive library of assessments will help you find qualified candidates quickly.
Request a demo today.