How to use psychometrics effectively

Psychometric testing is now commonplace in the workplace. They are designed to understand different aspects of a candidate’s personality or cognitive abilities. This helps in many areas and has become especially popular when considering a person’s wellbeing, their suitability for a job and to help manage performance at work. 

To get the most out of using these tools a company needs to be clear about the reasons for the testing and what outcomes they are looking for. Once this is clear the business can select the most appropriate psychometric test for specific requirements being considered.  It is also essential to have a de-briefing session with the participant after the psychometric so the results can be contextualised to the individual and their role. Research has shown that assessing and appraising people is a highly complex and subjective process but by using psychometric tests provides an objective method of identifying “hidden” traits.

Some companies have also used psychometric tests to provide reliable data to help inform important decisions like promotion and retention of staff. Experience shows that if the tests are used in this was it is better to use the data not as the main reason for the decision making. Rather that the decision is made based on several forms of evaluation with psychometrics being a part of this process. Psychometric tests have been very useful when there are several candidates applying for a job and there is not much difference in the other criteria. Here psychometrics can provide extra detail around the nuances of personality that might be important when consider the dynamics of a team or role.

John Earls – Director Goodfoot