Test knowledge and skills with online assessments

Companies often invest heavily in training their employees. This is fantastic, of course, as it ensures that employees stay up to date, possess relevant and current knowledge and skills, and that all acquired knowledge is put to use within the organization.

Offering e-learning within a company is often seen as a responsibility or obligation that can now be "checked off." The e-learning has been developed, employees can access it and go through it at their own pace—ideal. As a company or organization, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Or do you?

How can you be sure that the employees who completed the e-learning have actually achieved the learning outcomes you envisioned as an organization? Does what has been learned align with the organization's goals and future vision?

In addition, as a company, you naturally want to recruit and select the right new employees. You can do this by conducting an interview and looking at the number of diplomas and the experience someone has. But how do you know if someone truly has enough motivation and talent?

Find out and develop an online assessment or aptitude test!

What is an online assessment?

An online assessment is used to evaluate whether someone is a good fit for a specific set of tasks or a particular role. To assess this, you can test things like a person's drivers, their IQ, and what personality traits they possess.

What is an aptitude test?

An aptitude test is a form of online assessment that measures the skills of a (new) employee. You can use it to test whether someone has the right competencies to perform a specific job. You can use this test during the hiring process, or if a current employee wants to change roles or departments, for example.

Both forms of online testing are great ways to test your employees' knowledge and skills, whether you are looking for a new hire or want to measure the learning outcomes of your e-learning courses.

We previously described three good reasons to offer an assessment. In this blog, we build on that by sharing 5 conditions that your online assessments or aptitude tests should meet.

5 guidelines for measuring knowledge and competencies

1. ‍Measure before and after

It is, of course, important to realize where the starting point is. Where does an employee stand in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes at the beginning of the e-learning? And how does the employee feel about those same topics at the end of the e-learning? Is there growth? Applying self-reflection is very valuable for employees. It ensures that they take more responsibility for their own learning process and can more quickly translate it into their daily work practice.

2. Keep it simple and relevant

No one enjoys endless questions, tests, exams, or papers. Therefore, keep the assessment as short as possible. Ensure that all questions you ask the participant are formulated concisely, are linked to the learning objectives, and align with the goals and vision of the organization. This way, you collect data effectively, and this data can easily be translated into ROI later on.

3. Offer variety in online assessment methods

As you may have read in our previous blogs about Universal Design for Learning, not everyone learns in the same way, and not everyone has the same interests. It is therefore unfair to expect everyone to demonstrate what they have learned in exactly the same way. Offer variety in the ways someone can demonstrate or illustrate what they have learned.

Did you know that Pluvo also offers all kinds of different assessment formats?

4. Look beyond acquired knowledge

We are often inclined to focus assessments mainly on what someone has learned, because knowledge is simply the easiest thing to measure. But there is so much more we can analyze to get a better picture of someone's learning process. For example, we can look at:

• Participation
• Progress
• Speed
• Interaction
• Group participation
• Success or failure in assessments
• Dropping out early

These factors give us a much more complete picture of the employee's learning process, and therefore also the learning outcome.

5. Learn from the feedback you receive

In addition to collecting the data we mentioned in point 4, it is also important to ask employees for their opinion: what did they think of the e-learning? Did it meet their needs? Was the e-learning:

• Interesting
• Accessible
• Easy to follow
• Valuable
• Did it help the employee in their daily work practice?
• Were the learning goals the employee had set for themselves beforehand achieved?

This information is very valuable, and you can use it to make your e-learning even better and more valuable.

Read more about the evaluation of your online training.

Curious how Pluvo can help you develop valuable assessments for your organization? Contact us via the chat!