06. IMPACT OF PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING ON RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

 


Psychometric testing


Psychological testing systems identify desired qualities and try to screen candidates through psychometric tests.

With industrial revolution, the structure of today's organization has changed and it calls for dynamic changes in processes. Highly specialized workforce and skilled nature of work has put increased demands on finding appropriate talent. Finding suitable candidates have always been one of the challenges for employers and many different approaches have been taken to attract, screen, train and retain skillful employees. One of the recent developments in recruitment of qualified candidates is psychometric testing.  

What is psychometric testing?


Employers use psychometric tests to help them assess the strength and suitability of candidates to do a particular job. The tests are standardised and impersonal enabling recruiters to measure applicants’ skills, abilities or personality in a fair and objective way. The majority of tests are completed on-line and are usually timed exercises. Most psychometric tests are specific to the job and aimed at getting the best person to fill that position.

Most psychometric tests are set up with alerts to indicate consistency in the answers or that candidate is trying to portray himself in an unrealistic positive manner.


Type of psychometric tests

  • Personality tests
  • Aptitude tests
  • Skills tests

Why psychometric testing is important?

  • Bolster face-to-face interviews
Using psychometric tools alongside interviews means you don’t have to rely on face-to-face performance alone. You’ll have more takeaways and insights to hand, which helps to make decision making a lot easier.

  • Save time across the recruitment process
Psychometric tests offer a great deal of information about a candidate in a short space of time when the recruiters need to whittle down to a shortlist from a large pool of applicants as quickly as possible.
  • Highlight candidate skills and abilities
Assessment data is invaluable in identifying the right skills or personality traits for the particular vacancy in question.
  • Accurate and appropriate
The results that are obtained in this method are more accurate and appropriate.

  • Unbiased approach
These results are sturdy, reliable and unbiased which apparently turns out to be the major merit of this method. No kind of favoritism is involved.

  • Cost effective
Though a well qualified psychometric assessment is hugely expensive in terms of monetary values, it will immensely benefit the company in the long run. Considering the losses due to the non-performance of staff, high turnover rates, and underrated recruitment are far more higher than the costs that is tagged with this method.
  • Help to pick the right candidate 

Disadvantages of psychometric testing

  • Incompatible with others
If used in conjunction with the other information, these tests are unable to produce exact results as these tests are incompatible with the other tests of the same kind.
  • False answers
Employees tend to give fake answers. They would try to diminish their negative thoughts and try to enhance their positive aspects, just to answer well.
  • Inaccuracy
The result of a person can be mentioned as introvert after a psychometric test, but in general and reality, the individual can possess an introvert as well as extrovert personalities.
  • Answers are fixed
Candidates are forced to pick an answer through any of the answers do not match with the personality of them.



Comments

  1. Piyumi Imalka LiyanageDecember 30, 2021 at 12:40 AM

    Psychometric tests allow you to get a large amount of information in a short period of time and inappropriate use of psychometrics can damage candidate and employee experience by putting people through extensive assessments and then not providing adequate feedback even. As per my knowledge in European Context, professional services firms like Deloitte and KPMG are using gamified assessments in graduate and apprentice recruitment and at Pizza Hut, psychometric tools are used both in volume recruitment and employee development. Further, the luxury hotel chain Dorchester Collection is developing bespoke situational judgement tests that present candidates with several scenarios they could face in the role.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oshadi ManukulasuriyaDecember 30, 2021 at 7:09 AM

    Good article Chanika, The traditional methods of getting to know one’s strengths and weaknesses carry a high risk of individual bias. Such methods are outdated and subjective. They are not comprehensive and hence undermine effectiveness of people’s performance. Psychometric testing will go beyond decisions made on the basis of a chance to make a real impact on the talent and success quotient of any business (Fernandes, Sreenidhi, 2014).
    With all that said, more traditional assessment methods do still have a place in recruitment. In other words, psychometric tests on their own are not enough to inform all hiring decisions. Companies can make the most out of their recruitment process when using psychometric testing alongside other traditional recruitment methods. And it’s crucial to ensure recruiting is performed optimally, given the costs of poor hiring.

    ReplyDelete

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