Psychometric Testing in Recruitment

Posted on 31/01/2019 by Breeanna Noske

Psychometric testing assesses a person’s behavioural traits and personality, and is often used within a recruitment process to (together with interviewing, skills testing and reference checking) build a well-rounded depiction of a candidate. Entrée Recruitment offer psychometric testing as an added part of a recruitment campaign, or as a standalone offering to organisations. However, we aim to ensure that clients utilising certain psychometric tests accurately understand their purpose and know how to interpret results appropriately.

Most importantly, psychometric testing should not independently inform a hiring decision. Personality assessments have no correct or incorrect result. There is no pass or fail. Instead, the tests provide a suggestion of a person’s ways of thinking and methods of approaching work tasks. They detail HOW somebody will approach a job, not whether or not they will succeed in it. They provide a personality profile, not an assessment of skills. Experience, interests and motivations all play a significant factor, TOGETHER with personality profile, to determine a person’s suitability to a position.

Every person is different. That is the nature of humanity. We each possess our own differences in how we approach tasks and assess situations, but that is not to say that we can’t all achieve success within those tasks and situations. It is the variety in our methods and thinking that provide for diverse workplaces with collaborative and complementary teamwork, encouraging effective brainstorming and alternate points of view.

It is for this reason that we at Entrée Recruitment choose to incorporate psychometric testing towards the end of a recruitment process, rather than early on. We do not believe that psychometric testing results should be used to eliminate candidates from a recruitment process prior to our other methods of assessment such as interviews, reference checks and other assessment techniques. Making the mistake of over-interpreting or placing too heavy an importance on results can run the risk of eliminating well-suited candidates from the running based on factors that do not influence their ability to succeed in a position.

How SHOULD you utilise psychometric testing?

We at Entrée Recruitment find that psychometric test results can prove useful in (together with the components of the full process) narrowing a decision between two remaining shortlisted candidates. After ascertaining that two shortlisted candidates have succeeded in their interviews and reference checks, the deciding factor between them might be their reasoning abilities or psychometric tendencies. Having this further insight (whilst taken with a grain of salt) can “break the tie”.

Psychometric test results can also inform strategies and decisions around the training and management of your new hire. Test results can assist in understanding how your new employee might approach a challenge, assimilate to new information, display their emotions or interact within a group setting. These insights are vital to appreciating the nature of your employees, and it is for this reason that psychometric testing can also prove useful outside of the recruitment process. To save resources throughout the training and induction process, training procedures can be customised to the specific needs of the trainee.

Testing existing staff members psychometrically can assist, similarly, with performance management and ensure you are getting the most from your team. Struggling to understand how an employee approaches tasks? Frustrated that you’re not getting the most out of somebody? Understanding their psyche and workplace specific traits may assist in managing the staff member more effectively and help you uncover talent.

So what psychometric tests are on offer?

Whilst Entrée can facilitate a range of psychometric testing, the most commonly administered tests are as follows:

General Reasoning (Verbal)
What it tests: A candidate’s ability to reason using words and draw inferences and logical conclusions about verbal information. Also tests understanding of the meaning of words and the relationships between them.
How this applies to the workplace: This test can indicate a person’s ability to draw conclusions from company manuals and reports or produce reports and documents.

General Reasoning (Numeric)
What it tests: A candidate’s ability to use and manipulate numbers in a logical way and understand the relationships between numbers.
How this applies to the workplace: This test can indicate a person’s ability to draw conclusions from numerical data such as figures, financial results and analyses.

15FQ+
What it tests: The 15FQ+ assesses a candidate’s personality and individual differences based on the research of psychologists Catell and McCrae and Costa. Can provide insights into a person’s openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
How this applies to the workplace: This test can indicate a person’s social interaction style, proneness to stress, excitement when faced with a challenge or ability to say “no”.

As discussed, when appropriately interpreted and utilised, psychometric testing can add an additional layer of consideration to a recruitment process. Interested in psychometric testing? Contact Entrée Recruitment on 8100 8877 to have a discussion with our team and learn more.