Use of talent assessments in India increased by 114% from 2016 to 2017: Mettl analysis

India Inc. is undergoing exciting times of growth and is set to remain the fastest growing G20 economy. While the conversations still loom around the hiring outlook amidst multiple disruptive forces, economists predict higher job growth in areas that require niche skills. Amidst the turmoil in multiple industries and technological advancements, TA & LnD teams are under significant pressure to evolve as a future-proofing unit that can attract and retain the best talent that business needs to drive organizational performance.

In keeping with the times, Mettl envisaged to launch the 1st edition of it’s annual report in an attempt to bring out the top trends in assessments for Talent Acquisition and L&D across 5 top industries, for the year 2018.

For the Talent Assessment Study, Mettl analysed its proprietary database of over 1.7 million candidates who gave talent assessments as a part of hiring and L&D processes during 2016-17. Some of the key takeaways from the study are:

• The study saw an increase in the use of talent assessments by 114% from 2016 to 2017.
• The shortage of highly-skilled people has compelled organisations to adopt innovative ways and technology tools to attract, assess, and retain quality talent.
• Simulation tools have seen the maximum increase in application, i.e. by 219%, as compared to other tools like Cognitive (34%), Domain (76%), Technical MCQs (105%), and Psychometric (49%).
• The adoption of Anti-Cheating Technology and Remote Proctoring also grew significantly by 231% in 2017.

Industries such as IT, BFSI, Retail, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, and Consulting emerged as the top users. The BFSI industry saw the maximum growth (217%) for assessments, followed by Consulting (157%), IT (132%), Education, Manufacturing and E-commerce.

Sharing his excitement on the report launch, Ketan Kapoor, Co-Founder and CEO, Mettl, said, “While most organisations continue to face a scarcity of talent, the demand for high-quality skilled talent is constantly rising. As we enter the 8th year of our existence in the HR technology landscape, I have seen the uptick in the number of assessments across various degrees only in the last 2 years - a primary reason for the same is the warranted RoI which HR teams across the board have started to realise. “

Through the analysis deduced from 2.3 million assessments Mettl found another reason of increased assessment adoption was of the cost which the company has to pay for every bad hire. Through usage of such data-driven and scientifically researched tools - the pain to hire has been thankfully reduced by about 60%. Industries such as IT, BFSI, Retail, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, and Consulting  which require a specific skill sets and proficiencies have seen the most amount of improvement in their training processes. A well-rounded approach to acquiring and nurturing talent such as this can help organisations achieve big wins in the long term.

Some other insights highlighted in the report are -

• Search for top talent: In spite of a talent shortage, organisations are only interested in hiring highly skilled and talented employees who have expertise in a few unique skills and fit in the overall organisation structure with least resistance.
• Adoption of New Technologies: Organisations are opting for on-the-job skill proficiency testing via engaging tools such as simulations, assessment centres and to uncover technical skills, proficiencies, behavioural aspects, and gaps.
• Best practices: Adopted across the industry and with veritable results no less, every single industry has its case study for best practices attached which gives a bird-eye view of what is actually working for respective industries.