Boost the quality of your hires with English proficiency testing

Samantha Ball
Business people sat and waiting in a row
Reading time: 6.5 minutes

Hire quality is top of the agenda for recruiters and talent acquisition leaders. Discover the impact of English skill testing on hiring fit-for-role employees.

The results are in… thousands of recruiting professionals and top talent acquisition leaders say that sourcing high-quality candidates is their number one objective in 2024 and beyond.

54% of recruiters are now prioritizing quality of hire above all else, according to LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions report . The report also highlights that 73% are using a skills-based approach to find top-quality hires, faster, with skills that fit the business both now and in future.

Getting recruitment right can drastically impact productivity. In the UK alone, r, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Conversely, the direct and indirect costs of mistake hires are a constant concern to organizations, not just in the UK but around the world. According to a survey of 400 hiring decision-makers by , 75% have hired the wrong person and say that one bad hire costs them nearly $17,000 on average. It’s no surprise then that skills-based quality hiring is such a top priority for recruiters.

It’s harder than it might seem to systematically increase the quality of your hires, especially when you’re recruiting at scale. But the rewards are high when you get it right and a skills-first approach increases your chances of success – particularly when you focus on core skills like English proficiency that underpin communication. As an added bonus, skills-based testing can speed up the recruitment process significantly.

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Why are great communication skills so intrinsically linked to high-quality hires?

The ability to communicate well and integrate into the company culture is a core workplace skill that’s easy to assess with the right tools. Effective communication is essential for successful business operations. It’s the fundamental skill across all roles and departments that not only underpins a full suite of soft business power skills such as building customer relations, negotiation, delivering presentations and problem-solving, but also hard skills including IT literacy, data analysis and reporting.

Why testing English skills should be central to the hiring process

Proficient English language skills power confident business communication. It’s long been acknowledged that English is the , with one in four of the global population speaking it to at least a useful level. English is also the language of technology. Since the globalization of the internet – and more recently the widespread adoption of generative AI – English has established itself as the global language of digital technology and innovation. To remain competitive, forward-thinking international businesses know that they must prioritize English proficiency.

Many skilled professionals around the world are proficient in English, so by testing proficiency levels, organizations can access a larger pool of candidates from diverse backgrounds and locations, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives.

This is particularly true when it comes to recruiting candidates who speak English as a second or additional language. It’s also an important consideration when hiring for remote or hybrid positions (according to , there was a 146% increase in remote job applications last year alone). A team that’s strong in English also means good communication with clients, suppliers and colleagues, wherever in the world they are based.

Testing English skill levels at an early stage of the recruitment process can be efficiently carried out at scale to increase the chances of quality hires. Regardless of sector, role, level or department, screening out candidates who don’t meet the minimum requirements for English fluency will save all parties time, giving you a shortcut to the very best candidates for the role.

A skills-based hiring approach fast-tracks finding the best talent

This approach has been proven to open up access to a much wider range of talent, with LinkedIn reporting that . It’s a trend that’s set to stay, not least because Gen Z will soon make up more than a quarter of the workforce and they’re to prioritize skill development opportunities.

When building teams, recruiters are under increasing, and often conflicting, pressures – not just to fulfill short-term need, but also to factor in longer-term strategic workforce planning priorities. An emphasis on using skills to increase quality of hire helps build experienced, skilled and stronger teams for the long term (and reducing attrition rates due to higher employee satisfaction, too).

Judy Wisenhunt, APAC CEO, TDS Global Solutions, says:

“English language assessment gives individuals a starting point from which to improve their communication skills, competencies and capabilities, subsequently boosting their confidence and personal growth. This will open doors to better career opportunities.

While testing is invaluable, organizations should emphasize the importance of effective communication, continual exposure to the language, consistent practice and continuous learning to realize long-term business benefits.”

Contact us about corporate English testing

Why robust data is key to supporting skills-based hiring

are now commonplace and skills assessments that speed up the decision-making process using reliable data are a key part of that. By using AI-based English language assessment tools such as Versant by app, recruiters can be confident that results are not only accurate but also unbiased, ensuring a consistent recruiting experience for all candidates and supporting wider DE&I initiatives.

Large-scale intakes can be incredibly difficult and time-consuming to manage. Using innovative AI-led technology can reduce the time to hire. With tools that reduce the number of manual touchpoints needed, you can streamline the process and deliver insightful recruitment metrics that can be used to inform and speed up future hiring decisions.

It’s not only recruiters who benefit from a more efficient hiring process with in-built skill testing. Candidates also value a speedy and streamlined process, as it increases their chances of finding the right role more quickly. AI-based skills testing can free-up recruiters to focus on a more thorough human assessment of candidates to find the best fit for the role (and candidates still value human interaction in the recruitment process, according to ).

Quality hiring means widening your talent pool

To attract the best of the best, particularly when hiring at speed and scale, you need to be sure that your talent pool is as wide and diverse as possible. From a well-written job advert and person specification right through to screening and language testing, the interview stage and beyond, demonstrating to candidates that you value communication skills will make your organization attractive to a far greater number of candidates. English language testing at scale can open the door to candidates all over the world, without risking the quality of business outcomes dropping due to employees’ English skill levels not being appropriate for the role.

app Languages’ VP of Product Management (Corporate), Nick Laul, says:

“Employers tell us that language proficiency is critical to the retention and success of new hires, but language skills are difficult to assess without support. Subjective judgments based on communication in interviews can give a misleading picture and often lead to qualified candidates being filtered out of a recruitment process or unqualified ones being advanced.

Using a tool like Versant by app, talent acquisition professionals can efficiently maximize the pool of qualified candidates and recruit based on the skills and experience most relevant to the role, safe in the knowledge that language won’t be a barrier to success.”

The long-term benefits of skills-based hiring cannot be overstated

Putting English language testing at the center of a skills-first recruitment strategy can bolster your hiring practices and increase top-quality, long-term hires.

A skills-first approach to quality hiring delivers a wealth of longer-term business advantages, including:

1. Cost savings

Raising the quality of hires by testing skills like English proficiency means fewer costly mistakes hires.

2. Retention

Putting the right people in the right roles reduces employee churn (a growing concern, particularly in the wake of the Great Resignation). Confident communicators find it easier to integrate into teams and feel a sense of belonging.

3. Productivity

A confident and skilled workforce positions your organization to operate and expand into an international marketplace.

4. Employee satisfaction

Hiring with a focus on communication skills leads to a happier, more confident and collaborative workforce.

5. Happy customers

Recruiting well means giving your customers the very best service, and by testing English proficiency at the hiring stage, you can be sure that standards won’t be compromised.

6. Better workforce planning

It’s far easier to make strategic, long-term plans and identify skills gaps with a skills-based approach.

7. A great culture

Putting communication at the top of your hiring agenda means a happier and healthier culture and team dynamics.

The quality of your hires is directly linked to the amount of time and resources you put into testing core communication skills like English language proficiency. This is set to shape the hiring strategies of the future as talent acquisition leaders work to get the most out of every hire.

Communication has always been, and will always be, an enduring workplace skill that underpins a wealth of other skills.

Testing English skills early in the recruitment process ensures you attract top-tier candidates and hire effective communicators. It can accelerate your hiring process, enhance team performance and help you retain the best talent.

Prioritizing English language skills supports a high-quality recruitment strategy, cultivating a competent and adept workforce that ultimately improves business outcomes.

Find out more about how we can help your business recruit, retain and develop top talent with app Language Solutions for Work.

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    Acing the app English International Certificate: 10 essential revision strategies

    By Amy Malloy

    Every student and teacher knows how important revision is ahead of exams. It’s not only about how much students revise and practice – it’s also about how they do it.

    So, if you or your students are preparing for the app English International Certificate (PEIC), here are ten top revision strategies to help. All of the advice below can be applied to all six levels from A1 to Level 5.

    Know what to expect

    You can download detailed 'Functions and Notions' guides for all levels. These will give you a very clear idea of the language we expect students to produce at each level. You can download the test guides for each level as well as practice tests and other important documents.

    Work on synonyms and paraphrasing

    Often in the reading and listening tasks, the answers will be synonyms or paraphrased versions of the question. Working with synonyms and paraphrasing in class or at home is a great way to expand vocabulary and help be better prepared for the test. In the A1 test students are expected to show only “a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases”, but as they progress through the levels, more range is expected in vocabulary and grammar.

    Focus on sentence structure

    As well as helping to improve grammatical control, taking a close look at sentence structure will really benefit you or your learners, especially in the dictation task (section 2). Identifying the tense of a verb or whether they need to use this or these, for example, will help you avoid losing points unnecessarily. It’s also important that they check sentences are complete and correct in the gap-fill tasks at higher levels (Sections 3 and 7), so always tell them/make sure to re-read the whole sentence for every question.

    Create a list of errors

    We all know that learners often make the same mistakes, so a good idea is for them to create a personalized errors list.

    Teacher: Each time you do a writing task, dictation, or gap fill, have them write down the typical mistakes they make. Then, next time, tell them to check their work with their list before you correct it.

    Self-learner: Make sure to take note of the mistakes you make and put them into a list, taking care to avoid them in the future.

    Use a highlighter

    Get yourself or your students into the habit of highlighting or underlining keywords in questions every time you do a task. This helps learners focus on the information they need to listen or look for and also encourages them to subconsciously start thinking about vocabulary related to the topic. This could be practiced by downloading a sample exam and practicing underlining the keywords.

    Say more

    For the spoken test, train your students to expand their answers and make sure they feel comfortable talking about themselves. At higher levels, give your learners language so they can support their point of view. Remind them that the topics may be more complex, but they still need to be able to give an opinion about them.

    Listen to as much as possible

    In the listening sections, learners will hear a variety of different accents from people of different ages, so it’s important to expose them/yourself to lots of different voices in preparation for the test. That might be a parent talking to a child or an elderly person in a shop, so the more experience someone has listening to different dialogues, the better. As well as the listening activities in coursebooks, encourage students to listen to podcasts or watch videos on YouTube in their free time.

    Be (in)formal

    In the writing and role play, it’s important for learners to know what level of formality is required for each task. They should have lots of practice in written and spoken structures to deal with different types of people, such as a friend, a shop assistant or a bank manager. Also remind them to make the most of the 15 seconds they have to prepare the role play in the spoken test and think about the type of structures and vocabulary they’ll need.

    Keep to the word limit

    For each of the writing tasks, there is a ‘tolerated word limit’ which allows students to be a few words over or under. However, you should train learners to keep an eye on how much they are writing so they become familiar with the required task length. Students can save time calculating exactly how many words they’ve written by choosing an average line from their writing, counting the number of words on that line and then multiplying it by the total number of full lines.

    It’s also essential students practice writing under exam conditions so they get used to completing the tasks quickly. Be sure to include some exam practice in class or as a self-learner, try to practice with a past exam paper in a quiet place, replicating exam conditions as closely as you can.

    Check the answers again

    While our final tip isn’t really a revision strategy, it’s certainly very helpful for students to bear in mind when applying all of the other revision strategies. It is essential that students leave themselves time at the end of the test to check through their paper: Have they filled in every question? Are the sentences complete in the gap fill tasks? Have they checked their writing and remembered their frequent mistakes? Are all the answers clear and easy to read? One final check-through could make all the difference!

    With these top tips, you or your students will be more than ready for the test. Good luck!

  • A child and parent laying on a carpet staring at eachother and smiling

    Mindfulness activities for kids to reduce stress

    By Amy Malloy

    How can we help children (and ourselves) deal with turbulent situations?

    As humans, we are programmed to position ourselves according to the constants around us: people, structures and boundaries. When those constants shift, it can be unsettling for adults and children.

    Sometimes we find ourselves in unprecedented situations, and we each have our own approach to managing things. If you feel confused and without direction because of a turbulent situation, please know that that is okay.

    We’ll look today at why that is, to help us understand ourselves a little more and why these simple mindfulness activities can help us navigate it.

    What causes social stress?

    There may be many reasons for feeling stressed in life, but during turbulent times in society, it is often due to not feeling safe.

    Something in our environment is alerting our survival instinct. This makes our brains produce stress hormones, which get us ready to fight the threat, run from it, or freeze until it’s gone away.

    The threat might be to our physical or even social survival – and the two are linked. Things can feel even scarier when we also feel isolated from our social group, which keeps us protected from that threat.

    Human beings are social by nature. We live and work in communities, we connect through love and empathy and we protect each other. There’s truth to the saying“there’s safety in numbers”.

    But it’s not just about safety. We also define ourselves by comparing ourselves to others and working out what we are not.

    Research has found that we identify deeply with our role in society and the ‘pack’ to which we belong. This holds deep ties with our sense of safety, contentment and self-esteem. If the boundaries by which we define and position ourselves have shifted or continue to shift, we will feel unsafe, threatened and therefore stressed.

    Are children affected by social stress in the same way?

    If we then apply this to children, the constants to whom they look for security are the adults in their life. If the adults are behaving differently, the children will feel a shift and feel unsafe and stressed too. If they don’t have their friends alongside them for social positioning, this too can lead to them feeling confused and uncertain.

    Here are some key ways we can help:

    Communicating and listening

    Children may often lack the language to express what they are feeling, or even to recognize it themselves. Therefore, we must offer ways to help them make sense of the world around them, to help them feel safe and to help express their concerns.

    Communication provides the necessary social interaction and models for them on how to handle the new situation. It firms up their boundaries, and provides a safe space where they feel listened to and acknowledged and this, in turn, helps diffuse their stress.

    The activity below is a lovely way to invite children to express any worry they might be feeling, mindfully and with support – and give them something to do with their feelings. It also has the benefit of helping them breathe fully and slowly, which will calm down their nervous system.

    Breath activity: Worry bubbles

    1. Sit together and invite your child to put their palms together.
    2. Invite them to take a big breath in. As they breathe in, they can draw their palms further and further apart, spreading their fingers as they imagine blowing up a big bubble between their hands.
    3. Invite them to whisper a worry into the bubble.
    4. Invite them to blow the breath out nice and slowly. As they breathe out, they can imagine blowing the bubble (and the worry) away with a big sigh.
    5. Twinkle the fingers back down to the lap, and start again, either with the same worry or a new one

    Helping them find a safety anchor inside themselves

    By helping children focus on breathing, we can teach them that even if things feel wobbly around them, their breath is always there. The act of focusing on the breath also helps settle the fight or flight branch of their nervous system into a calmer, more balanced state.

    Breath Activity: Counting breaths

    1. Invite your child to sit with you.
    2. Invite them to place their hands on their tummy and breathe in slowly so they push into their hands, counting slowly up to four.
    3. As they breathe out, invite them to count up to six, as they slowly empty the belly and their hands lower back down.
    4. Continue until they feel calmer. You can do this every morning or evening to help sustain balance. With younger children, they might like a teddy on their tummy to push up and down!

    These two activities can be lovely daily practices to try and provide some safety and structure to your child or students’ mental health right now. They are also enjoyable activities to try for yourself – you may like to increase the in and out count of the breath a little bit for an adult breath.