How TestGorilla helped Hydroemission cut time to hire by 80%

Hydroemission is a leading provider of controlled release technology for environmental applications, specializing in agriculture and public health. The company is headquartered in Singapore, with R&D and manufacturing operations in Johor, Malaysia. 

Hydroemission’s main focus is research & development and the manufacturing of controlled release consumer and industrial consumables. 

Paolo Nalin is the Managing Director of Hydroemission and was looking for a solution that’d allow the company to test the cognitive abilities of job applicants and optimize the recruitment process. 

Challenges

Prior to implementing TestGorilla, the HR department of Hydroemission preselected candidates and sent their resumes to the head of each department. Subsequently, candidates would be invited for an interview with one manager and the head of the department. 

This meant that the company relied heavily on face-to-face interviews in their hiring process, which were time-consuming and made hiring decisions open to subjectivity and bias.

COVID-19 further complicated things, as in-person interviews became more difficult to organize. 

Paolo felt that the hiring process was inefficient and didn’t allow the company to reliably assess candidates’ skills and knowledge. 

Hydroemission was looking for a pre-selection online test that would help bring objectivity to the hiring process and allow them to accurately evaluate applicants’ cognitive abilities before inviting them to an interview. Additionally, they were interested in finding a test that’d be easier to administer remotely. 

Solution

TestGorilla featured a variety of cognitive ability tests, which matched Hydroemission’s needs and use case scenario. The skills assessment platform also administers a Time Management test, which helps companies further narrow down the selection of candidates to invite to an interview.

At the moment, Hydroemission’s hiring process looks like this:

1. The HR department posts a job ad and collects resumes 

2. They screen the resumes they receive and send them to the head of department for review

3. Candidates receive an invitation to take a cognitive assessment, and subsequently a Time Management test

4. Candidates who pass these two assessments receive a take-home assignment they need to complete within a week and present online

5. The successful candidate is invited to an in-person interview

6. The Hydroemission team extends an employment offer

Results

Using skills assessments before the interview allows Hydroemission’s team to screen out unsuitable applications easily and concentrate only on their best candidates.

This has helped reduce the time spent on recruitment by at least 80%, and they’ve been able to reinvest the savings in other core business activities. 

TestGorilla enables Hydroemission to accurately and objectively assess applicants’ cognitive abilities and time management skills. This has helped them make sure new employees have the skills needed to succeed in their new role, which has improved the quality of hire. 

Paolo feels that TestGorilla’s skills tests help evaluate candidates’ level of motivation, too. Not everyone is willing to put time and effort to take the assessment, which gives Hydroemission’s team a direct indication of who their most motivated applicants are.

As results are stored online, the platform has helped Paolo and his team create a benchmark for new hires and current employees. This gives Hydroemission more insight into candidates’ skills and how they compare to others, making the process more objective and data-driven.

In short, TestGorilla has helped make the hiring process faster, more efficient, and more reliable, and has significantly improved Hydroemission’s quality of hire.