Psychometric tests have been around since the early part of the 20th century but are now gaining popularity as a reliable tool in the recruitment and selection process.
They measure personality traits, intelligence, and aptitude. This provides employers with insight into how potential employees can handle stress, work with other people, and adapt to a new workplace.
At CREGG Recruitment, our Psychometric Services are handled by our Organisational Psychologist Nicola Larkin.
Nicola has taken a few minutes to write about Psychometric Testing in the HR & Recruitment Fields.
Types of psychometric tests
Psychometric tests fall into two broad categories: aptitude tests to measure intellect and reasoning, and personality tests which try to define certain personality aspects.
- Aptitude tests can measure a whole host of different abilities. There are over 5000 of these tests on the market at the moment. These tests can measure anything from verbal ability, numeric ability, mechanical reasoning, data checking, and even spatial ability.
- Personality tests measure various aspects of personality, including enthusiasm, motivation and the ability to work with others. Personality clashes are one of the largest sources of conflict in the workplace. These tests are beneficial to employers looking for people who can fit into the existing corporate culture.
The benefits of using psychometric testing in recruitment
There are numerous benefits to using psychometric testing in recruitment. Psychometric tests have been shown to improve recruitment outcomes by 24%, which in turn saves the business money in both the short and long term.
- General benefits of psychometric testing include measurable results that are objective and standardized. This means that recruiters are less likely to make bad hires based on gut feel and selection bias inherent in the interview process.
- Psychometric tests are generally used at the beginning of the selection process as a way of eliminating large numbers of candidates. This results in a small pool of suitable candidates.
- Unlike psychological testing, psychometric testing can be done by anybody. Psychometric tests have started to take a “design first” approach, providing easy to read, data-rich tests that tell recruiters exactly what they need to know. The move to digital also assists recruiters, as digital tests can provide automatic in-depth analysis in the form of reports.
- This gives hiring managers the confidence to make informed and sound hiring decisions without having to resort to outside expertise.
The challenges of psychometric testing
In the beginning, it can be very tempting to get carried away and test everybody and everything in the business. The best way to use psychometric testing is to evaluate why are you testing a certain task or person.
Secondly, whether the appropriate test is administered in the correct way to get results. Even though psychometric tests are becoming a core business resource, if there isn’t a good reason to test something, don’t use tests.
The core principle of psychometric testing is objectivity and freedom from bias. Good psychometric tests are designed to eliminate subjectivity and correct for bias. Similarly, they are ideally sensitive to cultural differences.
The future of psychometric testing
As more businesses expand into different markets, psychometric tests need to be able to account for cultural and language differences while still being used throughout an organization.
As a result, many tests are taking advantage of statistical techniques and IT developments to improve reliability and sensitivity, providing more information than before.
CREGG Recruitment Psychometric Services
We offer a wide suite of Psychometric Services. Primarily, we utilise our in-house designed Psychometric Assessment to assess individuals for suitability in the Medical Device industry, this includes Operators, Technicians, and Engineers. We can also provide tailored solutions to your business no matter the industry.
We have seen excellent results in using Psychometrics in our recruitment process. We believe it gives companies an extra dimension by which to assess potential new recruits.
Please get in touch to discuss how CREGG Recruitment Psychometrics can help improve your recruitment and selection process.
Contact Nicola Larkin, Organisational Psychologist at CREGG Recruitment on 086 0467764 or email nicola@cregg.ie
