Psychometric assessments are powerful tools that can help hiring managers make better decisions when it comes to finding the right candidates for their organizations. These assessments provide valuable insights into a candidate's personality, competencies, and abilities, which can help managers identify the best fit for a particular role. There are various types of psychometric assessments including cognitive ability tests, personality questionnaires, career interest inventories, etc. These can be used in a variety of settings including recruitment, coaching, creating development plans, etc. In this article, we discuss four different benefits of psychometric assessments, from increased objectivity to cost-effectiveness.
The Four Benefits of Psychometric Assessments
Here are the four main benefits of psychometric assessments to keep into consideration when deciding whether you should use the tool or not:
to evaluate candidates and can result in better hiring and development decisions. Perhaps the most important benefit is that they are more objective in assessing a candidate’s various characteristics. For instance, assessing the cognitive ability of a sales representative through an interview during a hiring process can be difficult to achieve but can be very easy when using a cognitive ability test.
This is particularly important when it comes to evaluating candidates based on factors like personality and cognitive ability. These factors are often difficult to assess through traditional methods, such as interviews or resumes, but psychometric assessments can provide a more accurate and objective way of evaluating these traits.
Improved Hiring Accuracy
Increased objectivity leads to improved hiring accuracy. This information can be used to identify candidates who are aligned with the requirements for a particular role and to avoid those who may not be aligned.
For example, if an organization were to hire an IT developer, likely characteristics include strong problem-solving skills and an attention to detail. A robust, objective process would include a cognitive ability test and a personality questionnaire to measure these characteristics respectively.
More Cost-Effective
Using psychometric assessments can also be a cost-effective way of evaluating candidates. The cost of administering assessments is often lower than the cost of conducting traditional interviews or other forms of evaluation, particularly when dealing with high volumes.
Additionally, the use of psychometric assessments can help to reduce the time and resources needed to evaluate candidates.
Improved Employee Work Satisfaction and Retention
Psychometric assessments can also help to improve retention rates by identifying candidates who are a good fit for the organization and the role. This can help to reduce turnover and improve employee satisfaction, which can have a positive impact on the bottom line.
In conclusion, psychometric assessments can provide hiring managers with valuable insights into a candidate's personality, competencies, and abilities. These assessments can help managers to identify the best fit for a particular role, increase objectivity, reduce costs and improve retention rates.
Implementing psychometric assessments in the hiring process can be a powerful tool for organizations looking to improve their hiring decisions and build a strong and effective workforce.
References:
1. Schmidt, F. L., & Oh, I. S. (2016). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 100 years. Retrieved from https://home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/645/session%204/Schmidt%20&%20Oh%20validity%20and%20util%20100%20yrs%20of%20research%20Wk%20PPR%202016.pdf
2. Society for Human Resource Management. Managing for employee retention. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingforemployeeretention.aspx
3. US Office of Personnel Management. Designing an assessment strategy. Retrieved from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/assessment-strategy