HR Alloy Brings 3D Interactive Simulations within Reach for HR Consultants

Latest addition to QMS™ technology platform enables assessment authoring in rich media environment.

Montreal, QC & Chicago, IL (PRWEB) October 19, 2005 -- From the 2005 HR Technology Conference and Expo in Chicago, HR Alloy, provider of the first advanced qualification management system (QMS™) for human resource professionals, today unveiled its Virtual Simulation Authoring (VSA™) module, the latest addition to an already robust technology platform designed to change the face of online assessment authoring and candidate management.

The new VSA application is built on Q-PEL, the same rules-based architecture and flexible development language announced last month by HR Alloy. It is a web-based modular add-on to the HR Alloy qualification management system (QMS™), and can also function as a stand-alone application. Initial set up time can be done in only a day, with user training completed in hours. No other system allows such rapid development of assessment simulations in a realistic 3D environment.

"I’ve been waiting for a feature-rich, affordable tool like this to come along for a couple of years now. In fact, I thought I might have to design one myself," stated Dr. Charles Handler, president of Rocket-Hire (http://www.rocket-hire.com) and author of the 'Online Buyer’s Guide to Web-based Screening and Assessment Systems'. “Simulations are the wave of the future because we’ve shown they are the most effective instrument for predicting job performance. Most of the simulations in use are expensive to produce and delivered in-person. Online ones take months to develop at a very high cost or are too simplistic. The creation of this product is very exciting news to those of us who understand that simulations represent an important component in the future of employee selection.”

The use of VSA technology is a breakthrough in the world of employment assessment. It will allow test authors and consultants with assessment design skills a range of control and flexibility they have not had access to until now. It will ultimately reduce costs for finding more accurate candidate-job matches.

Simulation Even Manager

Virtual Simulation Authoring (VSA) is a module that includes a simulation event manager allowing control over various realistic work environments. It utilizes a sophisticated text-to-speech for creating endless new situations. Importantly, it works over the Internet in an unproctored environment, so the need to travel to a specific assessment center has been eliminated. VSA is highly secure, connecting to the larger QMS and the complex algorithm scoring engine for inclusion of results in an overall selection process. With these features, HR professionals like organizational psychologists benefit from using a single system for building assessments to qualify candidates at any job level.

Use of Simulations on the Rise

Workforce Management reported from several sources, including global consulting firm SHL, increased use of simulations particularly for call centers, manufacturing, sales and health care. Most online models are limited to onscreen text messages and pre-recorded voice scenarios. More complex simulations are designed for use in-person, often in expensive assessment centers designed for executive level positions. Cost quotes run from $50 for entry-level jobs to $7000 per person for executives, with setup fees ranging from $10k to $100’s of thousands.

"HR Alloy has been working on this solution for five years. We’ve helped our customers expand the scope of their business with custom solutions in the past. With the release of Virtual Simulation Authoring, we are putting a whole new level of control in the hands of our clients," said J-F Gauthier, CEO, HR Alloy. "We look forward to delivering further value to our customers including cost reductions, increased productivity and accuracy of hire."

Creating Action

VSA begins with a set of common work backgrounds simulating an office or a meeting room that can be customized within the program using color, texture, even specific company logos. The environment is populated with avatars, the term used for computer generated graphic images representing a person. Avatars can be customized as well to fit specific situations. Finally, natural sounding text-to-voice technology provides the means to write a script and have an avatar speak that phrase without the need to pre-record various combinations or possibilities. If the simulation needs to be modified, a user can simply go into the VSA module and type in new text.

This type of complex simulation modeling has been used by entertainment, architectural, manufacturing and even retail companies like Starbucks to imagine what-if scenarios or plan space. However, measuring the actions, reactions and decisions of characters within the space – then scoring that – is an entirely different technology.

Game Environment Plus Predictive Validity

While the use of avatars set in a realistic 3D environment may seem to some as too gamelike for employment screening, HR Alloy’s VSA is a serious tool built on a dozen years of experience with psychometrics. While a user is in the simulation, the system is recording every action – and inaction – collecting nearly 20 datapoints that are saved in a complex scoring engine. Every decision made by the user, from clicks to response-delay, can be used to measure potential job success.

Dr. Wendell Williams, a well-known author and test developer, states that simulations are both effective and valid. “We’ve been able to measure improved results in the ability of a new hire to perform their job when simulations are part of the assessment process.” Dr. Williams has created test and online simulation content for call-center positions based on HR Alloy's QMS technologies.

In addition, the American Psychological Association (APA) published an article by Warren Bobrow, PhD, saying, “There is some data that shows equivalence in validity between live and computer-based simulations (Bobrow and Strachan, 2003). As with paper-and-pencil tests, the ability to administer valid, complex simulations via a computer represents a huge cost savings to organizations, and would make these types of tools available to more companies.”

HR Alloy Virtual Simulation Authoring (VSA) is deployed in Beta, and will be widely available by year end. Interested users can contact HR Alloy to schedule a live demo. Pricing for adding the VSA module to a QMS platform starts at $7500/yr.

About HR Alloy

HR Alloy is the only provider of an advanced qualification management system (QMS™) for HR professionals, which enables process automation, authoring and delivery of complete recruitment and assessment systems. Their unique, recruitment-specific business process language allows them to implement selection systems to meet specific organizational needs with unmatched speed and ease.

Their clients include FurstPerson, Inc., one of the fastest growing RPOs in the industry, Right Management Consulting, Inc. and SPB Organizational Psychology, Inc.

More information about HR Alloy can be found at: www.hralloy.com

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