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Our guide for HR professionals on what psychometric tests are and why they are important for recruiting
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Move beyond CVs, interviews, or gut-feel. Psychometric assessments offer a data-driven scientific approach to hiring. Psychometric tests help you identify top talent with the skills, behaviours, and motivations that drive success in your organisation.
In this resource, you will delve deeper into the role and effectiveness of psychometric tests across various stages of hiring. We aim to equip you with a thorough understanding of how these tests function, why they are increasingly integrated into recruitment strategies, the advantages they bring to the table, and the types of tests available.
PAGE CONTENTS
- What is a psychometric test in recruitment?
- Why are psychometric tests used when hiring?
- Benefits of psychometric testing
- What types of psychometric tests are there?
- Additional psychometric test FAQs
- Free example psychometric tests
PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS
What is a psychometric test in recruitment?
A psychometric test is used to assess a candidate's cognitive ability or their personality traits. In talent management, psychometric testing can predict valuable insights such as job performance, competence, and motivations.
There are two general types of psychometric tests: ability tests and personality tests.
- Ability tests will be able to identify a candidate's level of cognitive ability. It can assess, to name a few, their numerical, verbal, logical, criticalthinking skills.
- Personality tests are focused on understanding the candidate's behaviours and motivations.
PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS USED IN HIRING
Why are psychometric tests used when hiring?
When recruiting new employees, psychometric tests provide the ultimate insight into a candidates potential, providing a meaningful and highly valid prediction ofthat candidates knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics of good job performance.
Psychometric tests are administered online by test publishers, like Test Partnership. This means that hundreds, or even thousands, of candidates can be tested fromthe click of a button, and their data can be compiled and reported automatically. This saves an incredible amount of time and money for hiring companies, as theycan quickly identify those star candidates from their candidate pool with the greatest of ease.
Psychometric tests hold no bias and are effective at testing candidates from all job levels from entry level to CEOs. Hiring companies can even createbespoke assessments that are designed specifically for their organisation tailoring the assessments for specific roles
ADVANTAGES
Benefits of psychometric testing
We've already mentioned a couple reasons why employers would use psychometric tests, here we will take a deeper look into some of the main benefits of psychometrictesting for hiring companies:
Job performance: Psychometric tests are the most powerful and valid predictors of job performance available today and are over 14 timesbetter at predicting job performance than the average selection interview (Hunter & Hunter, 1984). As a standardised testing method, psychometric tests offera highly effective way of predicting how effectively a candidate will perform in their new job.
Organisational performance: The use of psychometric tests in the workplace has been found to lead to the following workplace outcomes:increased organisational performance, increased employee retention, reduced cost per hire, decreased employee turnover, decreased absenteeism and higherlevels of employee engagement/motivation. Selecting top performing candidates and ensuring a high quality workforce is imperative for any organisation andpsychometric testing is the ideal mechanism for ensuring this.
Convenience: Online psychometric tests can be sent to candidates at the click of a button, individually or by the thousand. As a result,psychometric testing is significantly less time intensive than other selection processes, such as interviews and assessment centres. Once a candidatecompletes their assessment, reports are automatically generated and available for viewing within seconds, requiring little input from staff. This makespsychometric testing ideal for pre-employment screening, high volume recruitment, or in busy human resources departments.
Return on investment: Psychometric tests can be purchased online and Test Partnership allow you to setup tests easily. The cost of hiring apoor performing candidate has been found to be 3.2 times the salary of the individual (Gallop International). Whereas, high-performing candidates were foundto produce on average 43% more revenue than an average performing employee (Hay group). The cost of using a psychometric testing platform, like TestPartnership, will likely save you money and result in a better performing workforce.
This table shows how using cognitive ability testing compares to other hiring methods.
Objectivity: Selecting employees using well-researched psychometric tests increases the fairness and objectivity of a selection process. Thismeans that employees can be selected on merit using fair and standardised tests, rather than subjective (or biased) selection methods. Unstructured interviewsare classic examples of subjective and inefficient selection tools, which may screen out high performing candidates unnecessarily. Fair, standardised, andvalid selection tests are a great way to increase the fairness and objectivity of a selection process, helping organisations avoid legal disputes over unfairselection decisions.
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TYPES OF PSYCHOMETRICTEST
What types of psychometric tests are there?
Psychometric tests for selection and assessment can be grouped into two categories: cognitive ability tests (also known as aptitude tests) and personality tests.Cognitive ability tests are measures of cognitive ability/intelligence, and personality questionnaires measure specific personality traits such as extraversion andagreeableness.
These two psychological constructs are important to employee selection as they both show meaningful correlations with job performance. Therefore usingscientifically valid psychometric tests when hiring, such as ours at Test Partnership, can accurately measure these constructs, providing a predictor of good jobperformance to client companies.
Within cognitive ability tests, a variety of specific aptitudes can be measured and evaluated, using the following:
- Numerical reasoning tests
- Verbal reasoning tests
- Logical/diagrammatic reasoning tests
- Error checking tests
- Data analysis tests
- Critical thinking tests
- Mechanical reasoning tests
Personality questionnaires are even more versatile and can measure the following variables:
- Leadership potential
- Strengths
- Teamwork
- Development needs
- Competencies
- Values
- Motivations and behaviours
Other psychometric tests, such as situational judgement tests draw aspects from both cognitive ability tests and personality questionnaires. As a result, manypsychologists consider these exercises to be an intermediate between cognitive ability tests and personality questionnaires.
Due to the range of tests on the market, it is always advisable to discuss psychometric testing with an expert before deciding on theuse of psychometrics in the workplace.
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- Get expert advice: Discuss your needs and goals with an experienced business psychologist.
- Understand our assessments: Receive a guided tour of our psychometric tests and learn how they identify the strongest candidates.
- Explore our platform: One to one walkthrough of our dedicated psychometric testing platform.
- Discuss pricing: Request a formal quote for pricing and customisation options.
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FREE PRACTICE
Free example psychometric tests
Here are some practice psychometric tests for you to understand what each test type entails. The practice tests are timed and will have worked solutions at the endexplaining the correct answers.
Additional psychometric test FAQs
Are psychometric tests reliable for recruitment?
Psychometric tests can be a useful tool for employers in the recruitment process as they are the most powerful predictor of job performance, but it is important to understand that they are not a perfect indicator of an individual's suitability for a job. The reliability of a test depends on several factors including the quality of the test and how well it has been validated. A well-designed and validated test can provide valuable information about a candidate's abilities, personality, and other characteristics that are relevant to the job in question. However, to maximise effectiveness, it should be used in conjunction with other methods of assessment such as interviews and work exercises to get a more complete picture of a candidate's qualifications.
What are the 3 types of psychometric assessments?
The three types of psychometric assessments are personality tests, situational judgment tests (SJTs), and aptitude tests.
- Personality tests: These assessments measure an individual's personality traits and characteristics, such as their emotionalstability, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion.
- Situational judgment tests (SJTs): SJTs assess an individual's ability to respond to hypothetical scenarios or situations that theymay encounter in the workplace. These tests measure a candidate's decision-making skills, problem-solving ability, and their capacity to prioritizetasks and handle conflicts effectively.
- Aptitude tests: Aptitude tests evaluate an individual's cognitive abilities, such as their verbal and numerical reasoning, memory,and spatial awareness. These tests are designed to measure an individual's potential to learn and perform well in a particular job or educationalsetting.
Can psychometric tests measure IQ?
Psychometric tests can measure a person's cognitive abilities, which can include intelligence (IQ). However, not all psychometric tests are designed to measure IQ specifically. IQ tests are a type of cognitive ability test that are specifically designed to measure a person's general intelligence, which is often defined as the ability to learn, understand, and reason.
How accurate is psychometric testing?
Psychometric tests are an accurate predictor of performance and an essential part of a well-working recruitment strategy as they provide objective measures of cognitive abilities, personality traits, and work-related skills that can help predict a candidate's potential for success in a particular role. By using psychometric tests, employers can make more informed decisions about recruitment and selection, and tailor their training and development programs to meet individual needs.