Hiring the right person for a physically demanding job involves more than evaluating a candidate’s experience, education, and interview performance. Employers also need to know whether a candidate can safely perform the position's essential physical demands without creating unnecessary risk for themselves or the organization.
Post offer employment testing (POET) is a type of functional assessment conducted after a conditional job offer. The testing process evaluates whether a prospective employee has the physical capabilities needed to perform the essential functions of a specific job.
When designed and implemented appropriately, POET can help employers make informed hiring decisions, identify potential physical capability gaps, and reduce the risk of work-related injuries.
Unlike a traditional workplace physical, a POET does not assess general health. Instead, it is a job-specific test to evaluate whether a candidate can safely perform the physical requirements of the job.
For example, a manufacturing position may require an employee to repeatedly lift materials weighing 50 pounds from floor level to a conveyor. A POET for that position could include a controlled assessment that measures whether the candidate can safely perform that task.
A POET is typically performed in a controlled clinical setting to determine whether a candidate can safely complete a task to the job's exact specifications without increasing their risk of injury.
Before an organization can develop a POET, it must measure and document the job's physical demands and essential functions through a Job Analysis (JA), also sometimes referred to as a Job Demands Analysis (JDA).
A job analysis is an evaluation performed by a trained occupational health expert to identify the physical, functional, environmental, and, in some cases, cognitive requirements needed to perform a job safely and successfully. Rather than relying on assumptions, job descriptions, or anecdotal input, it uses objective observations and measurements to capture the realities of the work being performed.
Without accurate job demand data, employers risk evaluating applicants on tasks that do not reflect the job's essential functions, reducing both the effectiveness and legal defensibility of the program.
A comprehensive job analysis typically documents:
The findings of a physical demands analysis form the foundation of the POET, ensuring each testing component measures an applicant's ability to safely perform the essential job tasks.
For example, if a role requires employees to repeatedly lift 50-pound boxes from floor level to a conveyor throughout a shift, the POET should evaluate the candidate's ability to perform that specific task pattern. The assessment should reflect the weight, frequency, range of motion, and physical demands documented during the JDA.
By starting with a job analysis, employers can be confident their POET is job-specific, objective, and consistent to support safer hiring decisions and better workforce health outcomes from day one.
The only legally defensible post offer employment testing program is based on functional job requirements. If a test evaluates abilities that are not required for the job, employers may face challenges defending hiring decisions based on those results.
Key considerations include:
Job-specific requirements: Testing must reflect the position's essential physical demands.
Validated processes: Assessments should use consistent procedures and appropriate evaluation methods.
Qualified professionals: Testing should be developed and administered by professionals with appropriate expertise in functional assessment and occupational health.
Consistency: Candidates for the same position should be evaluated using the same established criteria.
Legal compliance: Employers should ensure their testing program complies with applicable employment, disability, privacy, and anti-discrimination requirements.
Hiring and onboarding employees requires significant time and resources. When a worker is placed into a role that exceeds their physical capabilities, the result can be increased injury risk, productivity challenges, turnover, and additional hiring costs. POET helps organizations make more informed placement decisions using objective, job-specific data.
POET is an essential step in building a workplace safety program that keeps employees healthy from hiring to retiring through:
POET results do not need to dictate whether a job candidate is hired. Organizations can use physical abilities testing to ensure that new hires are prepared for physically demanding roles.
For example, employees who do not meet the minimum POET requirements for a job may be enrolled in a strengthening program, started in a lighter-duty position, or even be offered a permanent position in a better-suited role.
This is particularly valuable for organizations with multiple positions that have significantly different physical demands.
Many workplace injuries involve repetitive strain injuries from tasks such as lifting, repetitive movement, awkward postures, and forceful exertion. Understanding whether a worker can meet the physical requirements of a position can be one component of a broader injury prevention strategy.
POET supports injury prevention efforts by:
POET should not be viewed as a guarantee against workplace injuries. Instead, it can identify qualified candidates who pose a lower risk of injury and help inform hiring decisions using objective, legally defensible data.
A well-designed assessment can also establish an employee’s functional capabilities at the start of their employment.
Because POET documents an individual's demonstrated functional abilities at the time of hire, the information can serve as a useful point of reference when evaluating the effectiveness of conditioning programs or supporting return-to-work planning after an injury or extended absence.
POET programs can strengthen your larger workplace injury prevention strategy by revealing opportunities to improve the job itself.
If new applicants consistently fail a portion of the test related to a specific job task, that could signal a need to redesign it. A valve that requires 60lbs of force to open may seem simple to someone who has adapted to the task, but that current employee is still at risk of an injury.
POET programs should be reviewed regularly to take advantage of these insights. By applying them to your active workforce, you can improve the entire workplace, not just the new hire experience.
POET can be valuable for organizations with physically demanding positions, especially when employees regularly lift, handle materials, push, pull, climb, or perform other strenuous activities.
Testing should begin with a clear understanding of the job. When assessments are built from a thorough job analysis and integrated into a broader injury prevention strategy, organizations can make more informed hiring decisions, improve workforce placement, identify opportunities for safer job design, and better support employee safety from day one.
Take this guided self-assessment to see if a POET program might be a good fit for your organization!