Washoe County was faced with the problem of administering an online exam to 250 deputy sheriff/recruit applicants in COVID times when typical resources, like the community college computer labs, were unavailable. The in-house computer lab only allowed for 18 candidates at a time – which would take over 13 testing sessions and have the net effect of taking county staff away from essential duties for over a week.
The challenge was to find a solution outside of Washoe County’s previous process to administer the exam given the new set of constraints based on COVID restrictions.
Washoe County chose to leverage CPS HR Testing Services. In particular, off-site remote proctored exams were used to administer the exam and provide enhanced testing experience for the candidates.
The results of using CPS HR Remote Testing was a decrease in the number of hours county staff worked to administer the exam. In the past, the county would have rented two computer labs and had four staff members approximately one Saturday a month to proctor the exam. Partnering with CPS HR saved Washoe County many proctor hours.
Feedback from Julie Paholke, Human Resources Analyst at Washoe County: “The overall experience was OUTSTANDING! When county recruitment staff learned remote proctoring was an option, it energized the team. CPS HR was always very good about assisting us andour candidates. Their customer service is amazing.”
Washoe County administers two online exams through CPS HR – Deputy Sheriff and Sergeant. Administering online exams and receiving the scores as the candidates complete the test allows the county to be more responsive to the Sheriff’s Office needs. It also makes helps the Washoe County stand out to candidates as a more progressive agency.
CPS HR Consulting is a self-supporting public agency providing a full range of integrated HR solutions to government and nonprofit clients across the country. Our strategic approach to increasing the effectiveness of human resources results in improved organizational performance for our clients. We have a deep expertise and unmatched perspective in guiding our clients in the areas of organizational strategy, recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, and training and development.
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