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Reduce Cheating Risk for Remote Testing

05/20/2020

Customers often ask us “How can we be sure that the job applicant is not cheating?”  It’s a valid question and one that isn’t always easily answered.

In the early days of pre-hire testing, all tests were administered on site at the company’s location. It was easy to maintain strict control over the testing process, including the physical location, tools available and any outside assistance that would be given (or not).

These days most tests are administered online with the test taker at home and, with the increase in remote working, that number will continue to grow.  Remote testing of job applicants, just like the remote workforce, is here to stay.

Now that we’re all committed to remote testing, let’s define what we mean by “cheating”.  Applicants can cheat on a pre-hire test in multiple ways, including the following:

Obviously these activities should not be tolerated by the hiring company.  If a new hire has falsely represented their skills, a myriad of problems can arise, from safety to productivity to overall employee morale. But there are some simple steps (and then some not-so-simple ones) that a company can take when applicants are testing remotely.

Some customers are using Zoom meeting sessions to monitor test sessions.  The applicant will complete the test while sharing their screen with the interviewer.  Other companies have used Skype or Webex in the same way.  Such functionality is in the plans to add to our platforms.

Visual confirmation of testing, whether in person or by video, will continue to be the “gold standard” to ensure the applicant is not cheating. But taking the steps outlined above (and communicating those steps to applicants) will help to reduce the probability of it happening during your hiring process.