How Psychometric Testing Can Help Companies Make More-informed Hiring Decisions

Interviews often fail to reveal how well candidates will adapt to the company culture or perform in a team. Psychometric testing can avoid such omissions. Face-to-face interviews are a necessary part of the recruitment process used by HR managers and employment agencies. They are an opportunity for the interviewer to learn from the candidate those things not covered by their qualifications and references.

For the interviewee, they are a chance to learn more about what will be required of them, their prospective employers and working conditions. However, this conventional approach also has one potential weakness; the interviewer’s conclusions often tend to be too subjective. What employers and agencies require is a more objective means to assess the less tangible qualities of a prospective employee. Behavioural and industrial psychologists have developed a solution, which we will now discuss in more detail.

What is psychometric testing?

When applied to recruitment, the purpose of a psychometric assessment is to help determine a candidate’s suitability for the job on offer. More specifically, the tests it includes provide the employer with a means to evaluate some of the more esoteric qualities of an individual like verbal, numerical and logical reasoning, personality traits, emotional intelligence and communication skills. The tests must be standardised, objective, reliable and non-discriminatory to be effective and may be conducted online or in person.

From the results, an employer can determine how well a candidate will perform in a specified role. When applied on first contact, testing can help avoid wasting time and money conducting further interviews with candidates who will eventually prove to be unsuitable. Alternatively, these tests can also ensure that existing employees are given the roles for which they are best suited.

Are the findings of psychometric testing reliable?

A psychometric assessment may include verbal or written questions and can vary in complexity and length. There are no pass marks; one cannot pass or fail. In addition to assessing cognitive abilities, they aim to quantify personal qualities, such as attitude, empathy, ambition and loyalty. In this respect, those tests developed and administered by psychology professionals have proved to be consistently accurate and reliable.

How can recruiters benefit from psychometric testing?

Psychometric assessment offers three primary benefits:

• Speed: Given the current acute shortage of jobs, a recruitment advert will often generate hundreds of enquiries from hopefuls. While CVs and references are helpful, using these tests as a preliminary screening measure is the most effective way to limit the pool of possibilities to a more manageable number.

• Objectivity: The tests ensure objectivity by applying proven scientific principles to quantify the personal traits and characteristics that determine how an individual will cope with challenges, interact with others and perform in a proposed role. By contrast, interviews are subjective, often leading to candidates failing their probationary period and requiring replacement.

• Accuracy: Statistics confirm that human assessments cannot compete with the precision and repeatability of scientific testing.

Professional help with psychometric testing

Orgro offers a range of local and international assessments to aid recruitment and personnel development. If you’re looking for staff, please don’t wait until it’s too late to streamline your hiring process. Follow this link to get professional help from our team of experienced psychologists, psychometrists and problem-solvers today.

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