Communication and soft skills assessment test for hiring
Compare six intermediate communication and soft skills assessments by focus, format and time, then choose a focused test or combine tests for the role.
The short answer
These six intermediate assessments use judgment scenarios to examine listening, workplace communication, presentation, time management, and judgment when technology changes work. They suit employers choosing tests for conversation-heavy, client-facing, office, team, and technology-led roles. Each offers evidence about a specific work behavior for a person to review alongside other hiring information.
6 tests
Active Listening
15 minutes · 16 questions · Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
See the testSituational judgmentCommunication Essentials
8 minutes · 8 questions · Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
See the testSituational judgmentCommunication in Practice
10 minutes · 10 questions · Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
See the testSituational judgmentDigital Agility
10 minutes · 10 questions · Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
See the testSituational judgmentPresentation Skills
10 minutes · 10 questions · Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
See the testSituational judgmentTime Management
9 minutes · 9 questions · Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
See the testTests by category
- Situational judgment (6 tests)
What the communication and soft skills tests cover
All six tests are intermediate and use judgment scenarios. They focus on different work situations rather than testing one broad, interchangeable skill. Active Listening measures how candidates reflect, clarify, validate, and summarize in conversation. Communication Essentials covers everyday workplace communication, including messages, listening, clarification, summaries, and professional etiquette.
Communication in Practice looks at judgment in writing, speaking, working with others, and listening. The focus of Presentation Skills is building a message, using clear visuals, engaging delivery, and adapting when things change. Time Management covers prioritizing, planning, completing work, and communicating about progress. Digital Agility examines judgment about tools, incomplete information, change, and working across teams.
Each test takes 8 to 15 minutes. Choose based on the work behavior you want to review, not on a broad label such as “soft skills.”
Choose a test for the role
Active Listening suits people managers and team leads, coaches and mentors, counselors and advisors, HR and employee relations staff, mediators, and client-facing roles where understanding people comes before solving problems. For sales and customer service, administration and coordination, or office and hybrid roles, consider Communication Essentials, which focuses on everyday communication judgment.
For administration, coordination, sales, support, operations, and team leads who share updates and work with colleagues, Communication in Practice covers several communication modes. Presentation Skills fits roles presenting to clients, managers, or colleagues, including sales and account staff, consultants, researchers and analysts, and trainers. It also suits project and product managers, legal and policy professionals, and team leads.
For people introducing new systems or ways of working, Digital Agility is designed for project and product managers, IT and operations managers, supervisors, and team leaders. Time Management suits roles juggling tasks and deadlines, including office and administrative staff, coordinators, analysts, project and operations teams, and early-career professionals. All six tests are intermediate, so use the role’s stated work needs to select a focus.
How to combine tests for a role
Start with the main behavior the role calls for, then add a second test only when it covers another relevant part of the work. For a role built on conversation and trust, Active Listening can focus the assessment on understanding and responding. If the role also involves everyday workplace messages and etiquette, Communication Essentials adds that focus.
For a role that gives presentations and coordinates work, consider Presentation Skills alongside Time Management. For a manager responsible for introducing technology-related change, Digital Agility can be paired with Communication in Practice when sharing information and working with others are also important. These are ways to match the test topics to the role, not required combinations.
Review each result as evidence about the behavior it measures. A score should inform a person's review, not act as a pass mark or decide the hiring outcome on its own.
Fairness and clear scenario wording
Each scenario is written to limit reliance on outside knowledge or assumptions. Communication Essentials states the facts, tone, and cues that matter, uses plain reading level, and describes body language and tone in words. Its scenarios do not require knowledge of a company practice or local custom, and responses are alike in length and tone. Communication in Practice also states the relevant facts, and its best responses check what someone means rather than reading body language through one culture’s rules.
For Presentation Skills, scenarios state the audience, goal, and constraints, without depending on a company’s habits, particular presentation software, or customs around eye contact, gestures, or formality. Digital Agility describes tools by what they do, not by brand, so product knowledge is not needed. The other tests also specify relevant scenario details: Time Management states deadlines, effort, and constraints, while Active Listening uses plain wording without idioms or slang and does not depend on one culture’s customs.
For questions about accommodations, see Fairness and accommodations.
Frequently asked questions
How do Communication Essentials and Communication in Practice differ?+
Communication Essentials takes 8 minutes and centers on everyday exchanges: reading and replying to messages, listening, clarifying and summarizing, and professional etiquette. Communication in Practice takes 10 minutes and spans writing, speaking, working with others and listening, for office, team and client-facing roles at any level.
Which communication and soft skills test suits customer-facing roles?+
Active Listening is suited to client-facing roles where understanding people comes before solving their problems. Communication Essentials also suits sales and customer service, while Communication in Practice covers client-facing roles that share information and work with others.
How long do the communication and soft skills tests take?+
Each of the six communication and soft skills tests takes between 8 and 15 minutes. Communication Essentials is 8 minutes, Time Management is 9, and Active Listening is 15.
Can employers combine communication and soft skills tests?+
Yes. Choose tests that cover distinct behaviors relevant to the role, such as pairing Presentation Skills with Time Management when presenting and coordinating work both matter. Treat results as evidence for review, not as a hiring decision by themselves.
What fairness considerations apply to communication and soft skills tests?+
Every test keeps its responses alike in length and tone, and names come from many backgrounds. Depending on the test, scenarios also avoid local customs, brand or software knowledge, stereotypes, or one culture's rules about body language. Active Listening is written as text rather than video, so accent and audio quality play no part.
Build an assessment from these tests
Pick the tests for your role, invite candidates and compare their results.