Democratization of opportunity - A fresh take

Over the years, the Online assessment industry has seen many cycles of evolution. Assessments can be traced back to the recruitment of soldiers in WW II. Yet, the genesis of the current form factor goes back a decade when corporates attempted to widen the top of their hiring funnel by incorporating online assessments.

It triggered some fierce debates about accuracy, efficacy and the authenticity of the exam process itself.?At that time the world of corporates saw assessments as a "Filter", a hurdle to solve the problems of "too many applicants". The assessment industry further increased its addressable market by authoring the "Employability" test on campus, encouraging students to pay for assessments to land better jobs.?

? Mettl I believe, helped the industry pivot from being a "Filter" to a "Selction" tool. We decided to work with corporates and understood the unique skills needed to get a task done for each company incorporating the nuances of different geographies and teams. Corporations saw us as partners who were not just peddling their products but truly adding value. We had terrific fun working with some of the most prominent names across industries authoring recruitment and learning and development frameworks that were unique to each client.??

We quietly authored another pivot that enabled the test taker and the corporates to move beyond a test and result relationship. The vocabulary of selection and rejection gave way to the language of collaboration.

Our Mercer Mettl Xathon platform gave companies a window to announce - What they stand for, what they believe in, what they are trying to achieve and what kind of teams they have. In turn, they wanted participants, individually or as teams, to spend time on the platform. Through gamification, this platform empowered them to display their entire spectrum of skills and behaviors. The result could be either common ground or a decision not to work together, but the decision was un-rushed and un-pressured.?

Post the initial onslaught of the pandemic, I feel we are on the cusp of another seismic shift. A move that anchors the use of assessment for the democratization of opportunity for all.

The fault lines in our social constructs are wide and, courtesy social media, in our faces. There is a desperate need to make the opportunity available freely and unbiasedly. And we need to do this across genders, skin color, ethnicity, country of origin etc.

By documenting what skills are needed for what task, detailing how we will measure those skills and baking them into the selection process to ensure these checks and balances are bias-free. And finally, by putting this up for every opportunity out in the open. I believe this can play a pivotal role in the evolution of society.?

The onus is on the assessment industry to correct gut-based decisions' faultiness. We need assessments more than ever to author a more fair and transparent world.?

In my next article, I will talk more about what Mercer | Mettl is doing to make this a reality.?