It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post. Back when we started Equalture, I was the one writing all our content, so sitting down to write this brought back that early startup feeling from six years ago. The big difference now? I’m not just writing about ambitions anymore—I get to share real results. Because while stories inspire, it’s the data that proves. I hope you enjoy the read!
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Traditional assessments are losing ground. They’re increasingly perceived as long and tedious, making candidates drop out. Game-based assessments promise to be a more candidate-friendly alternative to prevent dropoff. But when I speak to companies thinking about using Equalture’s game-based assessment platform, I often hear a worry—what if game-based assessments are just another barrier?
In this blog, I’ll cover:
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Why (game-based) assessments are essential for hiring success in 2025, especially pre-screening
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Key stats from Equalture’s game-based assessments by industry (Retail, Customer Service, Manufacturing, Facilities, Logistics, Finance & Consulting)
Why (game-based) assessments are essential, especially pre-screening
Whether you like it or not, assessments aren’t optional anymore for successful hiring in 2025, especially when hiring large volumes. CV-based hiring will become increasingly problematic with the labour market getting even tighter. The only way to fight this is by shifting focus from CVs to competencies, which is very suitable for most Blue Collar roles, or roles in industries such as Customer Service and Retail.
But hiring is not the only challenge—retention is just as critical. Most organisations struggle to identify the competencies that drive success in different roles or the behaviours that lead to a poor fit with their company culture. Assessments help you identify these, hire smarter, and track which hires succeed to optimise competency profiles over time. It’s the one thing that helps you take the guesswork out of hiring.
Using assessments at the start of the hiring process—during the pre-screening phase—makes them even more powerful, as you will be able to:
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Spot hidden talent: Identify candidates with the right skills who might be overlooked based on their CV.
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Save time and effort: Focus on candidates with the competencies needed to succeed, right from the start.
Yet, many organisations—even those with huge hiring volumes—are scared to introduce assessments in today’s tight labour market. The idea of using them at the pre-screening stage? That’s an even bigger concern.
So, are game-based assessments the answer? Can they reduce candidate drop-off and still give a great experience, even at the pre-screening stage? Or are the worries about using assessments—game-based or not—actually valid? I am a big fan of data, so I will let data do the talking.
Key stats from Equalture’s game-based assessments across industries
Assuming I don’t need to convince you about the benefits of assessments for retention and hiring efficiency—let’s focus on Candidate Experience and Completion Rates for this part. I carefully analysed Equalture’s key stats for different industries. What’s important to know:
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For this analysis, I used data from some of our largest enterprise customers, including DHL Express, VodafoneZiggo, Randstad, G4S & FrieslandCampina.
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All these clients—and every client included in this analysis—use Equalture’s games as part of the pre-screening process. This means candidates complete the games before their application is reviewed, ensuring decisions are based on competencies right from the start.
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I focused on the following industries: Retail, Customer Service, Manufacturing, Facilities & Logistics, Finance & Consulting.
We focused on two key metrics about candidates:
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Candidate Experience Rating: A score from 1 to 5 candidates give their experience with Equalture’s games after completing.
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Completion Rate: The percentage of candidates who finish the assessment.
Candidate Experience & Completion Rate by Industry
Across industries, Equalture’s games outperform traditional assessments, with completion rates 1.3x higher and overwhelmingly positive candidate feedback. Some interesting insights:
Retail and Customer Service candidates rate Equalture’s games the highest on average.
Retail and Customer Service candidates also give the most positive ratings (4 or 5 out of 5).
Retail and Facilities candidates give the fewest negative ratings (1 out of 5, just 1% of all candidates).
Manufacturing and Finance/Consulting candidates have the highest completion rates.
All completion rates are well above the market average of 66% for pre-screening assessments.
Let’s circle back to the question we started with: Could game-based assessments be the answer to high candidate drop-off, providing a viable alternative to the more tedious traditional assessments? The answer is yes. Equalture’s games show 1.3x higher completion rates compared to traditional tests.
But that’s not all—customers like G4S and VodafoneZiggo also see retention rates improving, which is eventually what Equalture is built for. Here you can read more about their experiences with Equalture. So no, you don’t have to choose between quality and quantity—you can achieve both.
I hope I have been able to ease any concerns you might have about using game-based assessments at the pre-screening stage. Ready to see how it works? Try out a game yourself!
Let’s shape the world of unbiased hiring,
Charlotte (Equalture’s CEO)
