The identification, selection, and recruitment of the very best candidates for a job vacancy is extremely challenging. This is one of the key reasons an increasing number of employers are using psychometric testing as an integral part of their recruitment strategies. Another reason is that using psychometric testing in the recruitment process has been statistically correlated with the identification of valuable, high performance employees.
What is Psychometric Testing?
Psychometric testing is used to assess a person’s skills, knowledge, personality traits, attitudes, performance, and more. By using psychometric testing early in the recruitment process, employers can quickly identify candidates who are most suitable for their organisation.
Psychometric testing can objectively determine whether an individual’s cognitive abilities and personality traits match those required for a specific role. Psychometric tests will also identify aspects of a candidate’s capabilities, attitudes, and personality which may not be apparent from interviews.
How is Psychometric Testing Carried Out?
Most psychometric testing and evaluation can be carried out online, making it very cost-effective and, therefore, popular with employers. Psychometric test questions are often in multiple choice format and some questions involve written, descriptive scenarios describing work situations, requiring a selected response from the candidate. There are psychometric test packages provided by a number of organisations, such as Thomas International.
How Psychometric Testing is Beneficial for Recruitment?
As noted, psychometric testing is effectively used to assess a candidate’s abilities, aptitudes, and personality. The process can reveal aspects of a candidate’s capabilities and attitudes that would otherwise not be apparent from their CV or from interviews. Here are just a few of the key benefits provided by psychometric testing:
Saves Time and Money
Using psychometric testing early in the recruitment process acts as an effective filter, enabling employers to quickly identify and filter out applicants who shouldn’t go any further in the process. If a vacancy or group of vacancies is likely to attract a lot of interest this is an extremely effective way to avoid sifting through far too many applications and CVs. This provides employers with significant savings in both time and cost.
By conducting psychometric tests online, candidates are not required to travel from their homes to test locations, saving them the cost and time involved.
Provides Valuable Candidate Insight
Psychometric tests provide valuable insight into how candidates respond to various real-world situations, how they work under pressure, and their strengths and weaknesses along with their career and training aspirations. Psychometric test results can accurately predict what a candidate is like to work with and whether they have high potential. Importantly, psychometric tests not only assess a candidate’s abilities these also examine how well they’re likely to get along with existing employees and working practices.
Avoids Reliance on Interviews
Interviews play an important part in the recruitment process, but they don’t always work for both employers and candidates. Some people are naturally good at face-to-face interviews; whereas, others might be poor. Psychometric testing provides an objective way to assess candidates that avoid the impact of these predispositions. They also avoid bias and subjectivity in the interview process.
Enables Recruitment Consistency
Standardised psychometric tests mean that every candidate undergoes the same evaluations. This allows valuable and actionable candidate comparisons to be made, enabling employers to accurately select those who have the attributes required for their vacancies and their organisation.
The Value of Psychometric Testing
Hopefully, this article has demonstrated the value of psychometric testing in the recruitment process. It’s not only beneficial for employers, but it also benefits candidates who gain valuable self-knowledge from the testing experience.