Why use psychometric tests?

Research shows that interviews, references and application forms are very bad at predicting whether people will succeed. Interviews are particularly dangerous because you will be hugely influenced by your prejudices, likes and dislikes without realising it. If you think back, you'll remember the great candidate who proved to be a complete disaster. Using tests can never prevent mistakes like this, but they can make them less likely.

What are psychometric tests used for?
Tests are used to provide career guidance; recruit new staff; identify people with the potential to be promoted and developed; counsel staff who are under-performing; put teams together; coach senior managers; identify stress factors in an organisation; decide on the best organisational structure; create incentive programmes that really motivate - any decision about people individually or people in groups.

What are the organisational benefits of testing?
Psychometric tests sound rather academic but they're actually a way of making hard-headed business decisions. They will increase your bottom line. They'll decrease staff turnover, identify talent, create a more efficient organisation. While psychometric tests represent a relatively small additional expense expensive to the recruitment process consider how much it may cost if you recruit the wrong senior manager.

Tests will also help companies defend against legal challenges to HR decisions, which might end up in expensive tribunals and court cases. It's illegal to discriminate on grounds of gender, race, sexual orientation, age or religious belief. Test results are defensible evidence in court, whereas interviews are open to all sorts of challenges. And, of course, using them will ensure that you are being objective, building a successful, effective, motivated organisation.

Good recruitment and development practice are part of a company's marketing and brand development. Even a rejected candidate will speak well of a company that's taken the time to create a professional recruitment process which gives valuable feedback: tests provide that.

Do we have to be a big company to use tests?
Not anymore. Once upon a time the costs of training in, then buying the materials seemed prohibitive. The internet has seen psychometric tests become a viable and cost effective solution for even the smallest companies. In fact, there's a strong argument that smaller companies need to use psychometric tests even more than larger organisations. A rogue senior manager in a 30,000 staff company can do damage; in a small business with 10 employees however he or she can literally destroy the business. Every recruitment decision in a small business is high stakes! Contact JPS Career Psychology and we'll tailor a cost effective solution to your needs.

Can psychometric tests be faked?
Ability tests are extremely difficult to fake and with personality questionnaires there are built-in checks to highlight if this has been attempted.

Where do I learn more about psychometrics?
Contact JPS Career Psychology and we'll be more than happy to advise you. Contact us..