How do I use psychometric assessments to help me recruit the right person?
“I can spot them as soon as they walk through the door”
How to minimise recruitment risks
HR has a challenge and using psychometric tests can go along way towards mitigating your risks.
Bringing in new talent to your organisation is critical to the success of your organisation, yet it can be very challenging to ensure that this is done effectively and relatively simply. Also, you do not do this all yourself – rather your HR role is to support and advise others.
Gut instinct
Sure, interviewing is important, but it may favour those who are skilled in playing the interview game and can really sell themselves. Sometimes we may appoint someone who promises the earth but, it turns out, clearly cannot deliver. Therefore, there is a need to get additional direct and objective evidence of the skills and qualities required for the job. Psychometric assessments can help tremendously here. Psychometrics provide an evidence-based approach to support recruitment.
Firstly, you need to identify the key skills required for the role and test for these.
For example, if the person needs to be highly business numerate then you can test for this business numeracy by giving the candidates an appropriate level business numeracy test. The test will provide concrete evidence of their capability in this area. You may have asked them in the interview “What are you like at understanding and handling business data?” But now you have hard evidence to support your interview findings – or possibly in some cases to indicate that they may have exaggerated their capabilities a bit during the interview!
Then find out their work-place preferences via personality assessment.
Here it is important to understand that we are not directly and immediately measuring people’s ability or performance. Rather, we are understanding an individual’s preferences. That is to say that we are all unique and our behavioural preferences define our personality. However, recruitment (and it should be obvious – but often it is not – also retention) is appreciating and understanding the fit between a person and a role. So given a specific role, certain behavioural preferences fit that role better. For example, a role in selling will suit a person who likes interacting with people, is persuasive, likes understanding people, etc. Whereas a person who does not enjoy interacting with people, or like persuading others and is not interested in understanding people is less suited to this role.
Finally use this evidence-based data during interview
The psychometric assessment reports provide you with the evidence based data required for supporting you both before and during the interview.
Short listing becomes more accurate when you have test results and an insight into candidates work-place preferences. Enabling you to choose candidates for interview who are not better on paper than in practice, even highlighting areas for further probing when compiling your competency based questions.
Ultimately, giving you the opportunity to hire the best fit for both your organisation’s culture and the role.
Similarly, the candidates 'work-place' preferences will also apply in terms of organisational culture fit.
A candidate who may have some ability but not the right fit personality-wise may struggle to sustain their performance and to enjoy their role. So this may not be good for the individual or the organisation. Therefore, personality assessment can add value to ensure that there is a good fit for candidates to join your organisation. However, we need to ensure equality and understand neurodiversity. So as to ensure that the selection criteria is based on the job requirements rather than expectations of what is classed as ‘normal’ behaviour.
Want to use psychometric assessments but don't know where to start?
Where to find them?
We provide access to all leading personality questionnaires and ability tests – with or without ‘formal’ psychometric training via our Online Testing Centre. Registration is free and allows you to access sample reports and questionnaires. There are no license fees or set-up costs, simply pay per use, saving you precious time and resources.
Which ones to choose?
Our advisers are here to help you identify the key skill requirements for the job role you are looking to fill. We will then guide you to the most suitable tests for your task. Enabling you to immediately benefit from applying psychometrics, supported by professionally interpreted reports and by our team of business psychologists.
Example of a psychometrics test available for a specific job level or role:
Advised for use when recruiting for managers or directors are Scenarios tests. These assess an individuals managerial judgement, they are Situational Judgement Tests (SJT’s).
- Scenarios ~ Managerial Judgement Test, see sample report here
- Scenarios ~ Executive Judgement Test, see sample report here
Example of a psychometric assessment available for all roles:
Your interviewers might benefit from their candidates completing a Personality Questionnaire. This will provide them with an Interview Report and suggested questions to tease out how well they would fit the role. The report should also help the interviewer to understand the candidate as a unique individual. A Candidate Feedback Report is also provided for you to supply once the role has been filled.
- Identity ~ Interview Report, see sample here
- Identity ~ Candidate Feedback Report, see sample here
- Identity ~ On-boarding Report, see sample here
To summarise
Recruitment can work out to be expensive for both organisations and potentially for candidates as well – as often it is not done effectively!
However, you can make some significant improvements by applying psychometrics. Also, you need to treat candidates the same as your important customers. Look after them; keep them well informed; make decisions reasonably quickly and provide them with useful feedback. Treat them respectfully. Learn from the mistakes of others e.g. a leading company that did not treat their candidates well actually had 18% of their candidates as their customers. These candidates not only took their business elsewhere, but they also told all their friends. So, the cost of not looking after their candidates was immense!
Also, the statistics show that it costs employers a minimum of 33% of an employee’s annual salary to hire a replacement if that worker leaves.
5 reasons for using Psychometrics Assessments to support your staff retention, they:
- help us to better understand and respect individuals within the workplace,
- improve communications,
- provide useful feedback
- deliver insightful on-boarding support,
- enable you to work up an on-going personal development plan.
Take the opportunity to use psychometric tests and assessments to help your organisation minimise their recruitment risks.