The use of psychometrics or personality profiling in recruitment and development has grown significantly in the past few years and many employers use them as part of the selection procedure. But in spite of their increased popularity, myths about their use persist.
Sometimes candidates express concern at having to take them as part of the recruitment process perceiving them to be a potential barrier to their getting the job. In fact, this is not what psychometrics are about at all – they should not be looked at in terms of success of failure, but an opportunity to determine whether there is a mutual fit between the candidate and the job and the organization .
Employing someone in spite of a mismatch between the person and the job is likely to result in an employee who struggles to succeed in the role. If they don’t have the capability they will find the job stressful.
As an extreme example, an HR manager was taken on by an hfi client despite the recommendation of the psychometrics. Within three months, he had to take long term sick leave as he was suffering from stress and depression. The result was not good for him and not good for the client’s organization .
In seeking a match between the candidate and the organization , psychometric testing can be used to look at the potential for cultural fit of a candidate into an organization or team. Research suggests that the majority of departing employees leave as a result of issues with their manager or working environment, so trying to achieve best fit from the start can potentially have a significant impact on reducing employee turnover.
It is surely far better to identify potential problem areas prior to recruiting someone into a role than to find out once the person is in place. This is where the predictive power of psychometrics can add enormous value.
If you would like to find out more about how hfi uses psychometrics to help organizations make better hiring and promotion decisions, contact us today!
