This article applies to Hire users with cognitive access in the PI2 platform.
The PI Cognitive Assessment ("CA") is an important piece of data in your hiring toolbelt. It's also a highly sensitive piece of data — one that necessitates fair and responsible usage.
PI Hire supports the ability to allow candidates to retake the Cognitive Assessment. In this article, we'll walk through when you might consider allowing multiple CA attempts. We'll also share how to do this within the software.
When should I allow candidates to retake the PI Cognitive Assessment?
The decision to allow candidates to retake the CA ultimately lies with you and your organization. What's most important, however, is to have a consistent process for all candidates.
The PI software supports the ability to resend the CA up to 2 additional times (allowing for 3 attempts in total). Allowing multiple attempts is entirely optional — by default, candidates are allowed only 1 attempt.
There are pros and cons to allowing extra attempts:
On the one hand, allowing multiple attempts grants extra opportunities for candidates to do their best on the assessment.
On the other hand, allowing multiple attempts will likely extend your time-to-hire and require more admin work from your hiring team.
Regardless of whether or not you allow CA retakes, it's crucial that you clearly communicate the policy in advance and abide by the decision for all candidates.
Example: Your HR team has agreed on a 2-attempt policy for the Cognitive Assessment. When assessing candidates for a job with a Cognitive Target, you should make clear to all candidates that they will have the opportunity to take the CA a second time.
A few more important details:
Even if you allow candidates to retake the CA, they should not be mandated to take the assessment more than once.
Candidates should not take the CA more than 3 times total.
When allowing multiple CA attempts, you should only consider the candidate's highest score.
How to allow candidates to retake the Cognitive Assessment
Log in to the PI software.
Select Hire from the top navigation bar.
You will land on the Hiring Center.
Search for and select the relevant job.
Select the "Candidates" tab.
Select a candidate from the list.
Select the "Job Fit" tab.
Select "Cognitive Target Fit" on the left-hand side.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where it says "Multiple attempts."
Click "Send Assessment."
You will see an informational box explaining which CA attempt you are about to send.
(Optional) If this person requires additional time due to an assessment accommodation, select the "send an extended time format" option.
From here, enable "Send an extended time format" and select which format of the CA you'd like to send: either the 18-minute version (time and a half), or the 24-minute version (double the time). Learn more about Cognitive Assessment accommodations.
Click "Send Assessment."
FAQs
We typically only allow one Cognitive Assessment attempt. Is there ever a reason to allow a retake upon request?
We typically only allow one Cognitive Assessment attempt. Is there ever a reason to allow a retake upon request?
Yes. Even if your organization has a 1-attempt policy, there are certain conditions under which you may decide to allow a retest:
A candidate encounters technical problems, like a bad internet connection.
A candidate is distracted due to unforeseen circumstances, like a fire alarm.
Important: If you grant a retake upon request from a candidate, you should also allow that same opportunity to all candidates.
Example: Sally and Helen both completed the Cognitive Assessment. Helen reached out via email, requesting an additional attempt due to a computer malfunction. If you grant her the additional attempt, you should also grant Sally an additional attempt, even if she didn't personally request one.
In what scenarios should we allow a candidate extra time on the Cognitive Assessment?
In what scenarios should we allow a candidate extra time on the Cognitive Assessment?
How do I view a candidate's current Cognitive Assessment attempts?
How do I view a candidate's current Cognitive Assessment attempts?
You can flip through a candidate's CA attempts at any time. To do so:
Log in to the PI software.
Select Hire from the top navigation bar.
You will land on the Hiring Center.
Search for and select the relevant job.
Select the "Candidates" tab.
Select a candidate from the list.
Select the "Job Fit" tab.
Select "Cognitive Target Fit" on the left-hand side.
On the right-hand side, you'll see a dropdown labeled "Attempts."
Click the dropdown.
You will see a list of previous attempts, along with their respective cognitive fit (either “strong,” “moderate,” or “cautionary”).
Select from the dropdown options to view how the candidate performed relative to the Cognitive Target on the given date.
Important: When using cognitive fit as a data point in your hiring decision, only the highest score should be considered.
Example: Carl initially took the Cognitive Assessment on May 27 and was a cautionary fit. On May 31, he retook the CA and was a strong fit.
In this scenario, the hiring team would consider Carl a strong cognitive fit for the role.
Additional support
Applied learning