Amongst all tools used by HR teams globally, psychometrics is presumably the oldest. Yet, still most extensively used. Having high validity and trustability, psychometrics has great use cases in both talent acquisition and management helping HR make better, faster, and utmost accurate talent decisions. In this blog, we explore more about psychometric measures and how to successfully use these tools in your association.

What Is Psychometrics?

Before deep- diving into how an association should use psychometrics, it’s essential to establish a unified understanding of psychometrics. According to the American Psychological Association( APA), psychometrics – coined from the Greek words for mental and measurement – refers to the field of psychology devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and related activities.

 

  • Personality – These measurements give insights into a person’s natural behavioural preference and tendency to lean toward or away from a set of capabilities and traits.
  • Interest & Motives – These measures uncover a person’s interest in organizational values and cultural alignment while also looking at factors that motivate a person’s performance.
  • Cognitive – These measures show internal power or fluid intelligence and look at the capability to learn and unlearn information while logic with numerical data, verbal information, or logical problems.

 

Why Use Psychometrics?

The human decision- making process is frequently told bynon-relevant data as we process too important information at one go or are blinded as we’re unable to see certain factors. This is a expensive miracle to anyone in HR or in charge of making talent decisions. As not only could the impact of a wrong decision impact business, but also a person’s livelihood. Psychometric tools help minimize the chances of a wrong decision by providing additional objective data to aid in decision- making. Below are the top 3 reasons organizations use psychometric tools in their talent processes.

1. Psychometrics take away unconscious bias

Each of us has our own set of experiences, prospects, habits, and beliefs as humans. As a result, we constantly make biased decisions without even noticing them. Psychometric tests, unlike us, are science- based and data- driven, which means the results give associations with an objective assessment that helps HR or directors objectively dissect a candidate’s fit.

Psychometric tests also help maintain norms for scientifically measuring personality traits and aptitude, which makes the recruitment process fair. As the test score considers a variety of factors and deliversnon-biased findings, it allows people to be counted on the same scale, making recruitment and talent processes easier.

2. Psychometrics give crucial additional data

Psychometric assessments give companies further information about potential hires or promotional candidates that they might not be suitable to get from other sources, similar as interviews or resumes. Psychometrics, in particular, is an effective way to assess potential as it looks into strengths, weaknesses, and aptitude. Indeed if used in conjunction with interviews, having additional data gives the recruiter the capability to ask more informed questions as well as explore other points of concern. This fresh data can also act as a strong filter, especially for businesses that have a high focus on cultural fit and vision alignment as measurement criteria.

3. Psychometrics give a better return on investment

Since psychometric assessments help reduce or diminish the chances of a bad hire, they aren’t a sunken investment but rather do become cost-effective in the long run when pitted against the cost of a bad hire. While a good fit seeker is an asset for your business, a bad hire can prove to be extremely expensive and impact the productivity and morale of other workers.

The data from psychometric assessments help associations match the right talent with the right places ensuring speed to productivity, higher hand engagement, and advanced retention rates.

What To Consider When Choosing An Assessment Provider?

1. Reliability and validity

As psychometrics is a field of science that has numerous accreditation bodies and experts, any vendor selected should be suitable to give extensive documentation on the validity and trustability of their tools.

This documentation and evidence of science- based substantiation should ascertain the tool’s trustability by ensuring consistency in results. As well as its validity by guaranteeing the tool actually measures what it’s set to measure.

2. User friendliness of the platform

Technology has raised our prospects of user experience and this is no different in psychometrics. Hence, it’s extremely important to consider the platform’s interface when qualifying a vendor. The platform should be intuitive and engaging to use for both the hiring brigades and the candidate. Not only does a great user experience help your employer branding, but it also ensures the candidate is undisturbed by usability during the assessment. The hiring team’s side ensures an easy and smooth administration process that doesn’t disrupt time to talent cycle time.

3. Result Affair

The data affair is one of the most important considerations to have when choosing a seller as it’ll determine how easy it’s to interpret results, lessen the chances of wrong interpretation, and speed up the decision- making process.

Result output and reports should ideally be easy to understand and not psychology jargon- filled. It should be contextualized to your association for easy recrimination understanding and it should assist the decision- maker with perceptivity into candidates ’ strengths and weaknesses.

Gaining The Most Out Of Psychometrics

With further than 75 of Fortune 500 companies using psychometrics in hiring and equally using it in managing talent, psychometrics is no doubt a norm in associations today. still, associations need to ensure proper processes are in place to get their psychometric tools.

Read More: Psychometric Assessments