Selecting the right person for a job is a problem facing most employers. Poor selection often has disastrous consequences for the company as well as the employee.
From the perspective of the company, the costs of hiring as well as training an unsuitable candidate can be very high in terms of lost revenue and productivity, rising absenteeism, reduction in efficiency, reduced morale as well as wastage of money for both selection and training of new personnel.
Employers have tried to solve the selection and training problem by using many methods. But down the years, many such tests have emerged as fads with little predictive accuracy. Methods such as handwriting analysis and astrology have given way to more scientific methods.
Today, Psychometric tests have emerged as a popular mode of recruitment. In spite of the sophisticated name, psychometric testing is simply a test utilized to measure the potential behavior of candidates for jobs.
When trying to hire staff, employers mostly use psychometric testing as a tool to identify mental traits of job candidate- regarding both personality and cognitive ability. By doing this, companies hope to recruit staffs that not only have right skills for the role but also, the ideal fit for the culture of the company.
Nowadays there are many types of psychometric testing which are used widely to determine suitability of candidate by looking beyond academic achievements and work experience.
Components
Psychometric tests are created to measure a wide range of mental attributes. Though these may be customized as per the job, two main areas assessed are:
- Ability/ Aptitude
- Personality
Aptitude Tests
They are used to measure intelligence of persons. These are closely related to IQ tests and typically consist of candidates answering a range of multiple choice questions, related to reasoning and logic.
Aptitude tests may measure:
- Linguistic ability
- Numerical or mathematical ability
- Ability for spatial visualization
- Creativity
- Mechanical aptitude
- Manual dexterity
- Data checking
There are many more aptitude tests. But aptitude tests are designed to measure two types of intelligence: Crystallized and Fluid.
Fluid intelligence is connected to how ‘street smart’ a candidate is and relates to strategic thinking and abstract reasoning. In simple terms, it measures how good you are at thinking ‘out of the box’ or thinking on your feet.
On the other hand, crystallized intelligence indicates your ability to apply your experience and knowledge to complete tasks. For example, can you easily recollect facts from your memory or can you solve problems by making use of learned skills?
Aptitude testing is closely connected to how candidates will perform in the job and may veer closely to certain aspects based on the nature of the job. For instance, a vacancy in the area of finance will emphasize data checking and numerical reasoning.
Personality Tests
A personality test is used just for that- measuring your personality. A personality test will ask questions related to self-analysis and feelings. Thus it aims to understand how a candidate will behave in various situations.
Does the candidate have quality of withstanding pressure? Are they more likely to disappear from the background? Personality tests often take the form of questionnaires with multiple choice answers that range in strength of choice.
Apart from his behaviour in certain scenarios, personality tests can unearth what makes a candidate tick. A job candidate may be very proficient in communication skills but will not suit the job if he does not have the requisite motivation and interest. Hence it is vital for companies to judge their work ethic and motivation.
But personality tests have some drawbacks. For one, they are easy to manipulate. Such tests depend on a level of honesty which cannot be guaranteed. Mostly, candidates can sense what the highly desirable traits for the job are and answer accordingly.
Will any candidate reveal his tendency to be confrontational or to procrastinate in his job? Such questions can be used by candidates to get around and might not be efficient in weeding out the dishonest.
In case of many situations, such manipulation can be easily detected and tests will reframe or reword questions for mitigating it. However answers must be judged with a pinch of salt.
Why to Use Psychometric Tests? Psychometric testing has emerged a popular part of the recruitment process, with almost three quarters of UK companies using them while hiring. So what are the benefits of a Psychometric Test?
- Complete character profile
Though interviews and CV’s will paint a rough picture of a candidate, employers and recruiters will mostly conduct a psychometric test to gain a full profile of a candidate.
While searching for work, job candidates will attempt to present the best aspects about themselves, often trying to hide certain character traits. They will also be aware that inability to work in a team or an introverted personality could restrain them from landing a job.
Here emerges the utility of psychometric testing. By presenting questions to candidates with a range of multiple-choice questions regarding personality quirks, HR managers seek to uncover aspects of candidates which might emerge otherwise only in the future.
- Standard recruitment process
The structure which psychometric testing brings to recruitment process cannot be under-estimated. By making sure that every candidate takes the same test under same conditions, HR managers are able to incorporate a level of standardization which might not be present in other steps of hiring.
For instance, CV’s are carefully formatted and calculated documents which might be over-hyped. On the other hand job interviews can judge only the gift of the gab of the candidate and will not allow opportunities of candidate to display other skills.
- Easy to view results
One among the best features of a psychometric test is that results are very easy to read. You don’t require an expert with a degree in psychology to go through results and inform you about candidate. You can do this easily without help. Tests are designed well and results can be accessed online, instantly after the test.
Psychometric testing gets rid of influential factors and provides a fair chance for candidates to succeed. This helps companies go beyond the CV- education and experience of the candidate.
These are all some aspects about use of psychometric testing in the hiring process.
