Psychometric Testing: The Recruitment Tool of the Future
Publié le 2 March 2020
What is Psychometric Testing?
Psychometric testing is the latest recruiting trend sweeping the human resources department of businesses across the country. As defined by the Institute of Psychometric Coaching, “psychometric tests are designed to measure candidates’ suitability for a role based on the required personality characteristics and aptitude”. It presents recruits with a series of scenarios and judges their reactions and answers, with the aim of quantifying the personality traits and work habits of prospective employees.
Psychometric Factors to be Tested
While the exact factors psychometric tests gauge differ depending on the source of test and the industry they target, common factors include:
- Personality type
- Numerical reasoning
- Verbal reasoning
- Mechanical reasoning
- Abstract reasoning
The idea is that with enough questions and responses, recruiters will be presented with an accurate view of a prospective employee’s overall personality, motives, skills, habits and instincts. Think of it as an updated — and far more comprehensive — version of the classic career aptitude test that has been employed by high school guidance counselors for decades.
Simplify the Job Search
The most appealing benefit of psychometric, aptitude and personality testing is the potential to dramatically simplify the job search. For every open position, businesses and HR professionals have an idea of the type of worker who would best fit that role. Psychometric testing allows companies to target the recruits who will fit their existing business model and personal needs. This process is much more precise compared to placing a “Help Wanted” ad in the Classified section of the newspaper and being inundated with hundreds of resumes from potential candidates.
If a company is hiring for a sales position, a person who ranks highly under extroverted and verbal personality traits will immediately stand out to recruiters. Conversely, companies seeking data analytic specialists will be happy to identify candidates who demonstrate the ability to pay a high level of attention to details and lack the tendency to become distracted. The ability to instantly target and hone in on the desired personality traits and work habits will save companies valuable time and resources during the job search process.
Reduce Training and On-Boarding Time
An unavoidable truth in business is that companies lose money and time when they hire and instruct new recruits. This leads businesses to seek methods to maximize training for new employees. The nature of psychometric tests means that a candidate who has been hired already has a strong aptitude for their new position. Their innate personality and learning traits will make them more receptive to the training and on-boarding process.
Additionally, if the test for new employees’ reveals one or two areas in which a recruit may struggle, this will help HR professionals tailor employee training to meet their specific needs. Rather than spending days going over the salient elements of a role for which a candidate is ill-suited, the prospective recruit will be able to grasp the finer points of their new position much more effectively. This will enable them to become an active and involved employee right away and contribute to a company’s success.
Avoiding Professional Interviewers
A main benefit of using psychometric testing to gauge the aptitude of prospective employees is that they help businesses avoid so-called “professional interviewers”. These are candidates who know how to tailor their responses to suit an available role, even if their innate personality and working style is not a correct match for a company. These candidates end up costing the company time and money, because while they seem qualified in an interview, they are unable to deliver once the day-to-day work begins.
One of the reasons that psychometric assessments can be quite extensive is that they actually present different versions of the similar scenarios. This allows the assessment to weed out candidates who provide differing answers and reactions to related circumstances, revealing their true outlook. This is all part of the process of finding appropriate candidates for every available position, and avoiding those who may have provided deceptive answers during an interview.
Customize the Psychometric Test for Your Business
Each business is unique, and there should not be one standard psychometric assessment for every single business. While a general version of the assessment can still provide an overview of a candidate’s overall aptitude, a custom psychometric aptitude assessment will identify the right candidate for a specific role. There has been a proliferation of companies and job networks offering custom psychometric test creation for all types of businesses.
It is important to note that the price of custom tests can be slightly cost-prohibitive for smaller business, but the quality of the results speak for themselves. Alternatively, it is now possible for companies to create their own custom tests, modifying the template to meet their needs and target specific goals while staying within the company budget.
Highlight Areas for Improvement
Psychometric assessments can also be a benefit for existing employees. For a company to grow and expand, employees must be willing and eager to embrace new techniques. The aptitude test will reveal the scenarios where an employee might encounter a certain level of difficulty. Armed with this knowledge, they will be able to take this into account during the learning process and place extra emphasis on these areas. This will help employees embrace growth and change, gaining valuable skills and knowledge in the process.
While the experience and intuition of a recruiter still have a role to play in the interview and recruitment process, businesses must take advantage of the latest tools and trends in order to remain on the cutting edge of their industry. Psychometric assessments are a great advantage to companies, HR departments and job networks, as it provides a wealth of valuable information that is not readily available during one-on-one interviews. By taking a scientific approach to recruitment, it provides leaders and managers with a strong degree of certainty knowing that they have found the right candidate who will work to make their company a success.
