Psychometric assessment for recruitment and selection
In an age where every decision needs to be justified, backed up and informed by data, psychometric testing contributes a key element of science in an industry that has often relied on gut feel and synergies between the recruiter and jobseeker when making important hiring decisions. In fact, more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies utilize psychometric profiling in recruitment.
Here are the top 5 reasons leading HR artisans rely on psychometric tests in recruitment
1. Testing beats gut feel
Human instinct is little better than rolling dice and having the stakeholders absorb the cost of a bad hire. To replace a skilled position, research indicates it can cost up to 150% of an employee’s salary in lost productivity; making bad hires is a cost every business should strive to reduce. Psychometric testing adds a level of standardization and objectivity to the traditional art of recruitment by helping to remove the unconscious bias that comes along with many selection decisions. Meta-analyses have shown that including psychometric assessments can improve recruitment outcomes by over traditional selection methods, such as resume screening and unstructured interviews.
2. The results are measurable
Quantifying human behavior and its associated impact on the bottom line is one of the most difficult challenges facing organizations. With the coming age of Big Data, pre-employment assessment is one of the most simple and cost effective ways you can clearly quantify people-related ROI. Correlating assessment and recruitment results with outcome variables such as core job performance, turnover percentage, engagement and commitment is the way for HR departments to transform their image of being a cost center to an accountable, profit driving, business critical function.
3. You don’t need a psych degree
Gone are the days of complex reports where a psychologist was needed to interpret esoteric psychometric test results. Psychometric test providers are slowly adopting a ‘design first, data second’ principle. Beautifully designed, data rich and easy to read reports can now be instantly accessed online. Simplified real world language and graphics that tell you exactly what you need to know are becoming the norm. Delivering a well designed psychometric test report to a hiring manager is now an empowering moment that helps them to make confident hiring decisions.