Assessment organisations put considerable effort into ensuring that assessments are valid, reliable and fair. But the candidate's ability to demonstrate what they know or can do can also be affected by what happens before the assessment begins.
Do candidates understand what is expected? Do they know how the assessment will work? Have they been able to prepare for an unfamiliar format or technology? Do they know what they need to do beforehand — and where to get help if something isn't working?
Candidate preparation is therefore more than a communications exercise.
Done well, it identifies the uncertainty and avoidable barriers that could get in the way on assessment day and addresses them earlier in the journey.
For a digitally delivered assessment, that might mean giving candidates access to the platform beforehand, checking devices and connectivity, familiarising them with key functionality and explaining clearly what will happen when they log in. The aim is simple: make the unfamiliar familiar before it matters.
Remove uncertainty, don't just provide information
Assessment organisations often have a lot they need to tell candidates: regulations, timings, preparation requirements, permitted equipment, identification, technology, security, results and what to do if something goes wrong.
The temptation is to put everything into a comprehensive set of instructions.
But providing information and preparing someone effectively aren't necessarily the same thing.
A better starting point is the candidate journey. What does the candidate need to know, understand or do at each stage? What are they likely to be uncertain about? What could prevent them being ready?
For a digitally delivered assessment, for example, preparation might include access to the platform before the assessment, device and connectivity checks, familiarisation with key functionality and a clear understanding of what will happen from the moment they log in. The aim is to make the unfamiliar familiar before it matters.
Give candidates information when they can use it
Timing matters too.
Over time, important instructions and safeguards tend to accumulate. Each addition may be perfectly sensible, but eventually candidates can be presented with a large amount of information at precisely the point when they are concentrating on the assessment ahead.
The answer isn't necessarily to remove important information. It may be to move it to a better point in the journey.
Make important guidance available beforehand. Let candidates revisit it. Use different formats where appropriate. Then reinforce the information that matters at the point it is needed.
Being well informed isn't the same as being given lots of information.
Good candidate communication means providing the right information, at the right time, in a form candidates can understand and revisit.
Prepare for the problems, not just the happy path
Preparation should also acknowledge that things sometimes go wrong.
If an assessment depends on technology, what happens if a device fails, connectivity drops or audio doesn't work? If candidates are sitting remotely, what problems could arise with their environment? What can reasonably be checked or resolved beforehand?
Candidate preparation can include backup devices, alternative connectivity, troubleshooting steps and clear routes to support. The physical environment can be considered in advance too — from lighting and noise to equipment and room setup.
This isn't about alarming candidates with everything that could possibly go wrong.
It's about identifying predictable points of failure and reducing the likelihood that they interfere with a candidate's assessment.
Don't wait for candidates to ask for help
The same thinking applies to support.
A traditional support model waits for a candidate to encounter a problem, recognise it, find the correct contact route and ask for help.
A better model considers where candidates are most likely to need support and makes it readily available at those points.
And where the service allows it, support can become proactive. If operational monitoring indicates that a candidate is having difficulty accessing an assessment, for example, the organisation may be able to contact them rather than waiting for them to work out that something is wrong.
The principle is simple: design support around the candidate journey, rather than expecting candidates to navigate the organisation.
Learn from every assessment
Candidate preparation shouldn't be treated as something that is designed once and then periodically reviewed.
Every assessment provides new evidence.
What questions did candidates ask? Where did they struggle? What generated calls to support? What caused delays? Which instructions were misunderstood? What incidents occurred? What did candidates and delivery teams tell you afterwards?
That evidence can be used to improve guidance, communications, support and processes before the next assessment.
Over time, the preparation experience should evolve alongside the assessment itself.
A useful question after every delivery is:
If the answer is yes, there is an opportunity to improve.
The objective isn't to make the assessment easier. It is to remove avoidable uncertainty and barriers so candidates arrive prepared, know what to expect and have a fair opportunity to demonstrate their ability.