What to Look for in a Data Entry Assessment Test?

Typing and data entry are the basic necessities for any job. Employees will have to be able to maintain records of their work, send and receive information, save and convert data, etc., depending on the job.

Data entry is an exclusive job besides being a part of other jobs. Many firms hire candidates with minimum or no experience entering the data from a physical to a digital format. These entry-level jobs require the candidate to type pages of information daily. The primary criteria for these jobs are for the candidates to read and order faster.

Does that mean these jobs do not require an elaborate recruitment process? The answer is yes. However, enterprises will still test employees for their typing speed before hiring them. Many companies in the market conduct employee assessment tests on behalf of the enterprises. The businesses can use a pre-defined test form already existing in the database of the company to run the tests. When looking for a data entry test, enterprises should consider a few things that will help them not only design a perfect test form but also help them shortlist the most eligible candidates.

As much as the typing speed, known as WMP (Words Per Minute), is essential, it is equally crucial that the entered data is accurate and does not have spelling or grammatical errors. It means the candidates should have basic knowledge of the subject and the language of the data they will be working on.

This is where the test form changes from one industry to another. An enterprise from the food industry would need the candidate to have basic knowledge about the ingredients used, utensils or equipment required, types and a variety of foods, etc. This would differ entirely from a firm that converts classic literature from old books to a digital format. Here, the candidate should have a good command of the language and be able to type long passages from those without too much effort and errors.

KPH (Keystrokes Per Hour) is another aspect considered. Sometimes, it is substituted in place of WPM. The following can be assessed using this parameter.

• Addresses: As it contains alphabets, numbers, and symbols.
• Money: Enter prices, amounts, figures, etc., in a data sheet.
• Phone Numbers: Many companies have databases where they store the phone numbers of customers and clients to call or send messages to them.
• Credit Card Details: Credit card details are a mix of numbers and alphabets.
• Customer Care: Customer care executives must enter the data they receive from customers who call the helpline. They must simultaneously type a varied set of information when interacting with a person.

Technical Information

Every industry has technical information that is specific to their work. The candidates should be aware of the terms and their meanings. As much as spelling is essential, the content entered should also be accurate and provide the correct information.

Programming Code

Though this is specific to some industries, the candidates applying for a job in those particular industries should know the basics of the subjects. Programming code is tricky, uses numbers, alphabets, and symbols, is case sensitive, and has keywords that should be used as they are for a program to run successfully.

Languages

Data transcription jobs also come under data entry. The data must be translated from one language to another and presented in a different format. In such instances, the candidates are tested in both languages to ensure that they can do the job accurately.

When looking for data entry tests, enterprises can use the extensive database provided by the companies conducting the assessment tests or upload their information into the system. The test forms can be interactive with audio files (that read aloud the data to be entered) as a part of the test form.