Psychometrics, or cognitive ability and personality tests are designed to facilitate employers in making effective selection and development decisions. Used correctly they can prove an extremely cost effective supplementary tool for both initial selection, subsequent development of employees and in managing underperformers.
Picture this scenario and see how psychometric testing helped one particular organisation make a difficult and important recruitment decision.
The board have conducted final interviews for a finance director, and two candidates have stood out as both having the technical and cultural fit required. Both have good interpersonal skills and experience of managing people and it is difficult to make the final choice. The board are looking for a transformational leader who will show initiative and drive the finance function moving forward in a more strategic direction. They are leaning slightly more to-wards candidate 'B' who has more experience and appears to be a more 'solid' candidate, but they are still not sure. Can psychometric testing help them?
An occupational psychologist discussed the post with the board and elicited that the key requirement was to select a finance director who would be capable of critically evaluating current practices within the Dept., and of suggesting innovative solutions to the problems found and translating these solutions into results. She decided to carry out an Occupational Personality Questionnaire or OPQ to evaluate their personalities in this regard. This is an SHL test, designed specifically for an Occupational setting, and widely accepted worldwide.
Candidate A's profile showed an immediate fit with the role requirements. In the section dealing with preferred Thinking style, it was clear that she enjoyed critically evaluating information and was more likely to focus on errors or problems, scoring highly as she did on the Evaluative scale. Coupled with this she had a high score on the Innovative scale, meaning that she was more likely to generate original solutions to problems than to build on existing practices. A high score on the Forward Thinking and mid range score on Detail Conscious was also a plus. This data meant that candidate A preferred to take a long term perspective in her planning, and was quite focused on detail in her day to day work.
Candidate 'B' did not rate his preferred style of working in the same way at all. Although at interview he claimed to be hungry to overhaul a department, his preferred style (as rated by him) showed that he was very conscientious, preferring to stick to established methods of getting the job done, rather than trying new methods, disliked evaluating data(low evaluative score) and preferred to do repetitive, routine work (Low Variety Seeking score).
The Board regrouped and selected Candidate 'A' who is now in the post for 18 months and managing a thriving 'Finance' Department.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE PSYCHOMETRICS?
Psychometrics is the group term to include both Personality Questionnaires and Cognitive Ability Tests. A Personality Questionnaire is used to determine your preferred work style and Cognitive Ability Tests are used to determine your actual aptitude to do the job in a wide range of possible areas eg. numerical, spatial, verbal, diagrammatical to name but a few. Although many tests exist in the market place it is important to ensure that the test that you choose has high reliability and validity, as well as having large cross sectional norm group data. High reliability means that the test measures what it purports to measure and high predictive validity means that the test can be used to make informed predictions about performance. Norm group data is gathered when the test has been developed initially and can be gathered on an ongoing basis after this also. Norm groups could be for example school leavers or white collar workers. When scoring a test the administrator will place the candidate in question beside the nearest norm group and compare the score. In this way it can be established where the candidate's performance lies vis a vis their peers.
Psychometrics are best used in conjunction with other assessment and selection tools such as interviews. Administration of psychometrics also include a feedback interview which, particularly in the case of personality questionnaires can act as supplementary sources of info on the candidate.
HOW CAN PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING ADD VALUE?
Recruitment and Selection
Many organisations now use psychometric testing routinely in their recruitment process especially at a senior level. It forces an examination and sound understanding of the competencies inherent in the role in question and links the candidates competencies with those of the role. It makes for sound selection decisions and identifies development areas for the successful candidate. Ideally, if tests are used at selection stage, employers are immediately aware of any areas - ability or personality - where an employee might not be an exact match for the job, and can make informed decisions as to whether the employee should be selected and trained, or rejected.
Training and Development
Companies who make the investment in psychometric testing for identifying development needs can reap the benefits. One company invested in personality testing for their management team of 12 and a host of development needs were identified that would never have arisen out of the straightforward appraisal process. Initially, the team were slightly threatened by the process but bought into it and were thrilled with the results. The process provided a forum for discussion and facilitated a personal development plan for each manager that was tailored to their particular needs.
Managing underperformers
This is an area where psychometric testing can really make a difference especially where you have an underperformer who is brilliant in one particular area but lacking in another. A typical example would be a technical wizard who is alienating the three staff he manages. A Cognitive Ability Test or Personality Questionnaire can identify the reasons why this is happening and help focussed discussion with the manager in relation to same. It can identify the development required for change and can help assess the likelihood of whether development will work in this case.
CAN YOU CHEAT?
Psychometrics are used in the workplace to help effectively match candidates and jobs - for the benefit of both parties. It should never be seen as a 'test' more a matching of required skills, attitudes and aptitudes. Studies show that practising for Cognitive Ability Tests has no real impact on performance, and any personality test worth its salt will have an inbuilt ‘Social Desirability’ scale. This scale indicates if a candidate has been trying to ‘fake good’. This is quite common in a competitive market place where there are fewer jobs than candidates, and is often indicative of a competitive candidate. A high score on this scale can however also be indicative of a mis-match, as the candidate is actively trying to sell themselves too hard. The issue should be explored by the test administrator in more detail during the feedback interview, and a decision should be taken in conjunction with the other data gleaned.
WHICH TEST TO USE?
In order to ascertain which test/s you should use it is necessary to have an understanding of the competencies necessary to perform well at the job. This is often ascertained from a Job Analysis where the job is analysed and broken down into core behaviours, attitudes and competencies necessary to achieve highly. Once these building blocks are uncovered they can be ranked and the most important identified. Tests purporting to measure the most necessary competencies would then be chosen. So, for example, if recruiting for a junior accountant interested in training up in accountancy, one might choose a Numerical Cognitive Ability Test to evaluate if the candidate has an aptitude for numbers and numerical data. If looking for a customer contact staff member, one might choose a numerical and verbal test, as these would be the skills necessary to perform well in this role. If recruiting for a senior technical manager, one might administer Numerical and Spatial Reasoning Tests , and a Personality Questionnaire to determine technical aptitude and preferred work style.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Many people are unsure as to what type of questions they will be asked in a psychometric test. The inset panels show excerpts from a numerical and a verbal SHL Cognitive Ability Test as well as an excerpt from an SHL personality test. All psychometrics will give a sample question and answer to facilitate users quickly understand the format being used. Tests are usually timed and personality tests can be either normative ( rating scales) or ipsative (forced choice).
IS THERE A TYPICAL ‘SUCCESS’ PROFILE?
Unfortunately there is no one ‘best’ profile which will guarantee success across the board, as different organisations require different competencies at different times. For example, if recruiting for a leader of a business keen to grow and develop in new directions, one might look for a transformational leader scoring high on the Evaluative, Forward Thinking and Innovative scales - as in our earlier example. If looking for a leader who will come in and manage the status quo one might recruit a manager who scores highly on the Democratic, Conventional and Rule Following scales.
What is critical in recruiting and developing a successful leader is a real understanding of the context in which they will fit; what do they need to achieve and in what way? Without this understanding it is not even possible to identify the correct tests to use never mind trying to identify the right person!
Examples have been omittied from the online version of this article.
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