Pre-employment tests are an important addition to your hiring process. While they add another step to the recruitment and onboarding process, they ensure that you hire the right candidate to fill the vacant position while improving retention rates. This is why most leading companies have adopted this approach and use various types of pre-employment tests. However, to realize these benefits, you should test every candidates’ level of proficiency across multiple core programs in your business.

One of the commonly tested software packages is Microsoft Word. This program is used pervasively in preparing business reports, proposals, customer interactions, and more.

Why Should You Conduct Pre-Employment Screening?

Pre-employment tests are invaluable to businesses in several ways. Two top benefits include:

• Ensuring a smooth onboarding process of new employees
• Slow turnover rates; these costs increase when new employees don’t have the necessary skills

The more time your new hire spends undergoing training, the more they cost your business, both in terms of training costs and productivity. Rolling out reliable pre-employment tests reduces delays or shortens the time newly-hired employees take before becoming productive in your team.

Microsoft Skills Pre-Employment Tests

Advancing technology has made it mandatory for nearly all businesses to install computers in their offices. Therefore, you should hire employees who can handle Microsoft Office and possess other related skills. Microsoft Office Skills tests evaluate proficiency in various MS programs.

While business needs vary depending on operation niche, general MS Office skills required for most administrative positions include:

• Outlook skills – These skills come in handy in scheduling appointments, creating contact and mailing lists, and managing calendars.
• Word skills – Businesses regularly write letters, documents, sales documents, and reports with Word programs.
• Excel – This program is used routinely to create expense reports, generate graphs, and more.
• PowerPoint – These skills are a must if presenting reports or marketing details is part of the job description.

Keep in mind that the knowledge levels required for every application depend on the nature of the position. For instance, a secretary who primarily answers emails and schedules meetings doesn't need Excel expertise.

Note that you can use Microsoft Office tests to evaluate computer proficiency for your current employees. Using these skills tests enables you to pinpoint important knowledge gaps amongst your employees that require immediate training. Results from initial and subsequent MS Office tests also allow you to evaluate the success of subsequent training programs.

How to Test Employees On Microsoft Office Skills

You can use one of the following two options when testing prospective and current employees on Microsoft Office skills.

1. You can create the MS Office tests yourself if you have the necessary proficiency, time, and method to create reliable tests.
2. Outsource – Several pre-employment testing platforms can roll out these tests to your candidates and employees. However, you should consider several factors to find the best platform.

Endnote

Microsoft Office tests from EmployTest provide a quick and effective way of evaluating potential candidates’ skills. These assessments include various question styles, providing a thorough evaluation of every candidates’ potential.