Recruiting Support & Skills Testing: Hire Confidently with Clear, Real-World Evidence




Recruiting support and testing from ScottB.ca gives small businesses the practical tools to select the right people—backed by objective evidence. With extensive experience across industries and decades of hands-on problem solving, I assess and validate staff skills, conduct live exercises, and advise on obtainable performance targets. The result is a hiring process that is faster, fairer, and far more predictive of on-the-job success.




Why Evidence-Based Hiring Matters for Small Teams

For organizations with fewer than 60 employees, every hire is high leverage. A great hire compounds productivity and culture; a mis-hire drains focus, budget, and morale. Traditional screening (résumé scans and unstructured conversations) often misses genuine capability and fit. By adding structured assessments, realistic work samples, and calibrated scorecards, you reduce risk, shorten time-to-hire, and set new team members up to succeed from day one.




What I Provide

  • Role & Outcome Clarification: Translate your business goals into clear responsibilities, decision rights, and success metrics for the role.
  • Competency Models: Define the technical, operational, and behavioral competencies that predict success in your environment.
  • Practical Skills Tests: Design hands-on tasks (work samples, take‑home challenges, pair‑work sessions) mapped to real deliverables.
  • Live Testing & Working Sessions: Observe candidates solving realistic problems, collaborating with stakeholders, and communicating trade‑offs.
  • Structured Interviews: Question banks, scoring rubrics, and interviewer training to reduce bias and improve signal quality.
  • Scorecards & Decision Aids: Weighted criteria, red‑flag lists, and hiring debrief templates for consistent decisions.
  • Performance Targeting: Define obtainable 30/60/90‑day outcomes, onboarding plans, and ramp milestones tied to role KPIs.
  • Reference & Background Frameworks: Practical, job‑relevant reference questions and a right‑sized due-diligence checklist.
  • Candidate Experience: Clear instructions, timelines, and feedback norms that respect candidates’ time and reflect your brand.



My Process

  1. Discovery & Role Blueprint

    We clarify the core outcomes for the role, the constraints (budget, tools, schedules), and the interfaces with other teams or vendors. The output is a concise role blueprint with success criteria, decision rights, and measurable KPIs.

  2. Competency Mapping

    We define essential competencies across three layers: foundational (e.g., communication, reliability), functional (e.g., network troubleshooting, helpdesk triage, bookkeeping accuracy), and contextual (your stack, policies, and customer expectations).

  3. Assessment Design

    I create practical tests aligned to day‑to‑day work: scenario prompts, data clean‑ups, ticket triage drills, log analysis, or short build‑and‑demo exercises. Each task has a rubric, timebox, and pass/fail thresholds plus a stretch band for top performers.

  4. Structured Interviewing

    Interviewers get behavior‑based question sets and anchored rating scales (1–5 examples for each competency). This standardization increases fairness and improves predictive validity.

  5. Live Testing & Debriefs

    We observe candidates collaborate on a short, realistic task—screen‑share troubleshooting, a mini‑project walkthrough, or a customer email rewrite. Debrief templates ensure consistent signal capture.

  6. Recommendation & Offer Support

    You receive a concise decision brief: strengths, risks, coaching plan, and an offer range justified by role scope and market realities.

  7. Onboarding & 1,3,or 6 Month plans

    I can translate the selection criteria into an onboarding plan with week‑by‑week milestones, shadowing if needed, and early wins or concerns, plus a feedback cadence.




Types of Assessments I Can Use

  • Work Sample Tests: Candidates perform a slice of real work—e.g., draft an SOP step, build a small spreadsheet, or analyze a log snippet.
  • Technical Exercises: Targeted diagnostics (e.g., map a network diagram, identify root cause from an incident report, prioritize tickets).
  • Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs): Multiple realistic options where candidates explain trade‑offs and choose the best response.
  • Communication Drills: Write a customer update, summarize risk for non‑technical stakeholders, or role‑play a difficult conversation.
  • Process & Quality Checks: Quick accuracy tasks (spot data inconsistencies, validate configurations against a checklist).

Lets Connect and review




Right-Sized for Your Businesses Size

Everything can be calibrated for your team drequirements - minimal admin overhead, reusable templates, and tools you already have (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or your ERP or CRM).




Defining Obtainable Performance Targets

Ambitious but realistic targets help new hires ramp confidently. I collaborate with you to translate business outcomes into measurable indicators such as ticket resolution time, first‑contact resolution rate, project cycle time, accuracy thresholds, or customer satisfaction metrics. Targets become the backbone of probation reviews and growth plans.




Fairness, Compliance & Practical Guardrails

I focus on job‑related, evidence‑based evaluation and avoid invasive or irrelevant questions. Structured rubrics and consistent processes reduce bias and improve defensibility. (I don’t provide legal advice, but I will flag when a policy or test might warrant review under your local regulations.)




Deliverables You Can Reuse

  • Role blueprint (outcomes, KPIs, decision rights).
  • Competency matrix and anchored rating scales.
  • Assessment library: work samples, SJTs, rubrics, and answer keys.
  • Interview kits: scheduled flow, questions, evaluation sheets.
  • Decision brief and offer template.
  • 30/60/90‑day onboarding plan with checkpoints and feedback prompts.
  • Hiring analytics dashboard (time‑to‑hire, pass‑through rates, quality of hire signals).



Examples by Role

  • IT Support / Helpdesk: Ticket triage simulation, Wi‑Fi troubleshooting scenario, email drafting, Information gathering.
  • Network/Systems Technician: Diagram a small business network, identify misconfigurations, propose a backup schedule, prioritize maintenance tasks.
  • Customer Service: Tone‑appropriate replies, escalation judgment, and concise status summaries.

Lets Connect and talk growth




How Testing Links to Onboarding & Training

The same rubrics and competencies used in selection feed into onboarding plans and later into training paths (KB + LMS). New hires see exactly what “good” looks like and how they will be supported to get there.




Frequently Asked Questions

How long are the assessments?

Most work samples are 20–45 minutes and designed to mirror actual tasks. Live sessions are typically 30–60 minutes including a short debrief.

Will this slow down hiring?

The process is streamlined. Clear rubrics reduce second‑guessing and speed up decisions. Many clients move faster because interview loops become simpler and more decisive.

Can we adapt tests for different seniority levels?

Yes. Each assessment can be adjusted for basic, intermediate, and advanced variants

Can you support remote-only hiring?

Absolutely. Tests and interviews can be delivered via your collaboration tools with secure file sharing and time‑boxed tasks.

How do we keep things fair?

Use the same instructions, time limits, and scoring anchors for every candidate; keep decision notes; and emphasize job‑relevant criteria only.




Why Work with ScottB.ca

My unique selling point is honesty and a commitment to the best solution for your actual needs—even if that means advising against unrealistic role expectations or suggesting a phased approach. I’ve seen what works in small, resource‑constrained teams across London, Ontario as well as larger business enviroments. I’ll help you avoid costly mis‑hires, align expectations, But its important to rember that the first weeks of employment can tell you more than an assesment.




Hiring doesn’t have to be guesswork. With structured, real‑world assessments, live testing, and clear performance targets, you can select the right people confidently and onboard them effectively. ScottB.ca brings practical, reusable recruiting assets to your team—so every hire moves you closer to your business goals.