Psychometric Tests: Truly A Future Recruitment Tool?

Psychometric test is an overused term. However, it is the testing of the brain.

In contrast to qualifications, education, experience or appearance & punctuality, a candidate’s character traits and personality are challenging to judge in an interview.

Through psychometric testing, employers can assess candidates’ future performance and, hopefully, increase employee retention by making effective hiring decisions.

We Experience This, And We’ve Practiced This.

We at JobGrin -India’s Fast Growing Job Portal, keep exploring various aspects of recruiting.

Our experts often inquire about employee retention, workplace environment, quick hiring, etc. We came to know about psychometric testing a few months back, and we found it fascinating. So, we implemented it straight away.

Our company’s staff hiring has achieved much better results, and we feel that psychometric testing is worth trying.

What is Psychometric Testing?

The term “psychometric” is the assessment of the mind. The tests we employ can base on the concept of a competency framework, with competency defined as,

“The range of abilities that include activities, processes, and actions that permit various work demands to be effectively met by specific individuals over others.”

The framework can be created by extensive research into the performance of employees, their leadership behavior, and an exhaustive examination of other competency models.

Certain employers opt to employ psychometric testing in their hiring process to provide an overall assessment of a candidate and possibly ensure they have the right fit for the job.

The process of proving a connection between performance at work and psychometric assessments isn’t easy. However, those who employ the test believe it can provide a more accurate overview of a candidate’s personality strengths, weaknesses, and working style.

Psychometric tests should typically never be taken in isolation but as an element of a larger integrated assessment strategy.

For employers, psychometric tests can help employers gauge the performance of a candidate and possibly increase the retention of employees through making successful hiring decisions.

Since objectivity is the most crucial factor when using these tests, a practical psychometric test will give exact and reliable results each time it’s administered.

The Psychometric Test Needs To Satisfy These Three Essential Conditions:

• Standardization

The test has to can base on the results of authentically representative individuals who will take the test. It’s impossible to test all working people in the country. However, you can try an appropriate sample of the group and then apply your findings to the particular individuals in your test.

Additionally, a standard test can administer identically each time to reduce test bias. When you use a standardized test, you can examine the results against anyone with characteristics identical to the test sample.

• Reliability

The test should produce consistently good results and not be significantly affected by external influences. For example, if you experience stress when you take the test, the results shouldn’t be substantially different from when you were at ease or relaxed.

• Validity

It’s perhaps the most important quality of the test. A valid test must be able to measure what it’s supposed to determine. So, for example, if the test can intend to gauge a person’s interest, it should prove that it measures interest and not something else related to good.

Do Psychometric Tests Provide The Best Candidates?

Newman Stewart uses Psychometric Assessment tools as part of their screening procedure when asked to conduct the test and meet internal recruitment requirements. With years of experience in interviewing and screening candidates, we have a solid conviction and evidence that there is a link between test scores on psychometrics and the performance of employees.

The most common metrics businesses can utilize to evaluate the impact on their business of employing psychometric tests to aid in the recruiting strategy include:

• Performance of a successful candidate for the job
• Employee turnover
• Time to reach competence
• Increased levels of individual engagement and performance
• Savings on costs for training
• Are there more talent pools?

The Role Of Psychometric Testing In Your Recruitment Process

Psychometric tests can measure several aspects like intelligence, critical reasoning, motivation, and personality profiles.

The interviewing process is often subjective, and even though employers typically examine skills and experiences precisely, a lot can leave to the individual’s intuition regarding aligned values.

Psychometric tests provide objective, measurable information that gives an overall perception of a candidate’s suitability.

One could argue that testing with psychometrics adds “scientific” credibility and objectivity to assessing applicants. In addition, it could be an accurate and fair method of determining a candidate since each applicant can give an exact test.

Traditionally the tests have been in the shape of pen and paper or multiple-choice questions. However, they are increasingly moving to a digital world. It means that they’re simple and quick to incorporate in any phase that the test is taking place.

Certain companies often use psychometric tests to select (and eventually eliminate) massive numbers of candidates before the beginning of a hiring campaign.

In this scenario, it is possible for psychometric testing to assist in drastically reducing the burden on the hiring manager. In that, it allows them to rapidly identify fewer candidates who could succeed in the final phases of the interview.

Psychometric Factors To Be Tested

The psychometric tests’ same variables differ based on the test’s source and the sector they can aim for. Common factors are:

• Personality Type
• Verbal reasoning
• Numerical reasoning
• Abstract reasoning
• Mechanical reasoning

It can believe that by answering sufficient responses and questions, employers will get an accurate picture of a potential employee’s personality, motivations, skills, habits, and abilities.

Imagine it as an updated and much more thorough version of the traditional career aptitude test, which guidance counselors at high schools have used for decades.

What Are The Most Significant Advantages?

• Simplify The Job Search

The main benefit of aptitude, psychometric and personality tests is the potential to simplify the process of searching for a job drastically. For each open position, the HR and business personnel know the person who will best suit the job.

Psychometric tests allow companies to choose applicants who meet their current business model and individual needs. This method is more precise than placing a “Help Wanted” ad in the newspaper’s classified section and then bombarded with thousands of resumes submitted by potential applicants.

If a company is looking to hire for sales positions, one who is high in the category of verbal and extroverted personality traits will immediately notice by recruiters.

Companies that are looking for analysts with data will be delighted to find applicants who can pay a lot of focus to details and not be distracted. The ability to quickly identify and narrow down a person’s desirable traits and working habits will save employers significant time and effort in job searching.

• Reduce Training And On-Boarding Time

The unavoidable fact in business is that firms cannot make money or save time when they employ and train new employees. The result is that companies can force to find methods for maximizing training for new employees.

Psychometric tests indicate that a person can hire already is a good fit for their new job. In addition, their natural personality and learning abilities are likely to make them more open to onboarding and learning.

In addition, if the test for new employees reveals some areas where a new employee may have difficulty, it will assist HR professionals in customizing employee training to their requirements.

Instead of going over the essential aspects of the job the candidate can not suit, the new hire will be able to better comprehend the specifics of their new role. It will help them immediately be more active, engaged, and part of the company’s growth.

• Avoiding Professional Interviewers

The main benefit of conducting psychometric tests to assess candidates’ abilities is that it helps businesses stay clear of “professional interviewers.”

Candidates know how to adapt their answers to match the position they are applying for, even if their inherent personal characteristics and working style are not a good fit for the company.

They end up costing the business time and money even though they appear competent during an interview; they cannot perform once day-to-day work gets underway.

One reason that psychometric tests can be highly long is that they provide different versions of similar situations. It allows the test to filter out candidates who give different responses and answers to similar situations and reveal they’re proper perspectives.

It is part of identifying suitable candidates for each position and avoiding candidates who might have given misleading answers in an interview.

• Highlight Areas For Improvement

Psychometric assessments are also beneficial for existing employees. Employees can be open and ready to acquire new skills to help a company flourish and grow. In addition, a test of aptitude will show the situations where employees may encounter a particular difficulty level.

Armed with this information, they’ll be capable of considering this during the learning process and putting the most focus on those areas. In addition, this will enable employees to adapt to change and growth as they gain essential skills and knowledge during the process.

What Are The Negatives?

The tests might not be reliable – A candidate can tempt to find the perfect candidate for the job and then be unable to answer the questions honestly.
Testing anxiety can lead to false negatives – results may be distorted and not be representative of the test subject is not a good test taker.
The tests could place certain people at a disadvantage; for instance, if they have an ethnic background that is different or has a language barrier, they may not be able to pass like others, and this is not necessarily because they’re not suitable for the job.

The tests require a skilled individual to present and interpret their tests. Therefore, it is more efficient to use support from a third party and avoid the cost of higher-level posts that require more specialized skills.

Conclusion:

The experience and expertise of a recruiter have an essential role in the recruitment and interview process. Businesses must take advantage of the most current methods and techniques to stay on the leading edge of their field.

Psychometric assessments can be a huge advantage for companies, HR departments, and job boards since they provide essential information that isn’t readily available in one-on-one interviews.

A systematic approach to recruiting provides managers and leaders with the assurance that they’ve discovered the perfect person to ensure their business is booming.