Do You Perform Psychometric Tests on Employees?

Human resource is an invaluable asset in any organization. It refers to all the people that work in the organization to make it operational, as well as all the development and management of your employees to increase performance and business success.

The right human resource, when placed in the right environment and in the right role, based on the competency and abilities of the employees, helps organizations reach greater heights and achieve goals and objectives on time.

You cannot rely only on tools and technology alone to run successful organizations—it is the human resource, the people who work with the tools and technology that enable you to take the organization and business to success.

So, finding the right employees for any given job is a critical aspect for business success. As such, it is vital that you evaluate the abilities and personalities of the persons you are hiring or assigning roles in a business before giving them the responsibility to perform those tasks.

In an ideal situation, a job specification should match with the employee’s abilities and qualifications. The employee should possess characteristics that suit the job profile well. For example, from a human resource management perspective, it is important for employees to possess good communication skills, decision-making, and teamwork, depending on the vacant role or position in a business. 

All those traits are among the most highly coveted qualities by human resource managers and organizations. But how do you analyze and evaluate a person’s capabilities and personalities to ensure they are a good fit for a given role in a company, business, or organization?

Well, you can take the candidate through a psychometric test.

Why You May Need to Take Job Candidates through Psychometric Tests

Psychometric Tests (also sometimes referred to as Aptitude Tests) are common in job interviews in many companies across the world, including Fortune 500 firms.

These tests come in a variety of forms and entail the theory and technique of psychological measurement to unearth the behavioral aspects of the candidate and profile the candidate’s personality to help in judging the suitability of the candidate for a job role.

Interviewing candidates alone is not enough to understand their psychological aspects. Psychometric tests by their very nature are unbiased, scientific, and designed to help in accurately gauging the abilities, personality, intelligence, and behaviour of the selected candidate. 

An employer needs to understand the true qualities of a candidate as a wrong matched employee can negatively impact the business as a whole and affect operational efficiency of said business.

Common Types of Psychometric Test

To help you get a better understanding of these tests, it's important to list the most common types or categories of psychometric test available:

• Ability tests - These tests help in understanding the various skills the candidate possesses, ranging from communication, to problem solving, and manual dexterity. The tests also help to understand how a person thinks (critical thinking), makes decision (decision making), and more.
• Personality tests - These tests help to determine the likely reactions of the candidate in particular/various situations. They help you know the perspectives, openness, agreeableness, etc of the candidate and give you an indication of how the candidate will react to situations and how they will cope with challenges and hurdles, as well as how that will further affect their performance and decision-making. It reveals the behavioural aspects of the candidate.
• Motivational tests – These tests help to identify and understand the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of an individual, including the five primary motivation factors:  fear, recognition, peer pressure, pride, and money. They can help you learn the suitableness of the candidate based on their intrinsic drives and motivations.

A combination of psychometric tests, say, ability tests and personality tests can bring out all the traits of the ideal candidate you are looking for. And the employer will clearly see whether a candidate fits into a job or not.

Also, by conducting psychometric tests, you can more accurately predict whether the candidate will adjust well to the working environment and fit in your organization’s workplace culture.

Psychometric tests can also be done on existing employees in an organization to know whether they are a good fit or need further training and development to improve performance.

Why You May Want to Do Psychometric Tests on Existing Employees

Some of the main reasons you may want to do psychometric tests on your current employees include:

• Assess their potential ability - Psychometric tests can help in determining the potential ability of employees to perform a job. It helps the organization to know whether an employee due for a promotion will be able to adjust in the new role or not. These tests can also help to identify the right candidate and their dedication towards the new role and their responsibilities.
• Evaluate a variety of skills - Psychometric tests help employers and the organization to measure the variety of skills already present and in so doing they can make the decision to either hire new employees to fill deficits or train current employees to develop skills and competencies.
• Identify training needs - Psychometric tests help employers identify training needs for current employees. Skillset requirements evolve over time due to the dynamic nature of businesses and tech advancements. Psychometric tests will help you know where new training is needed.
• Evaluate training efficiency – With psychometric tests, employers can measure the efficiency of any training done on existing employees. You will know whether the training was effective from the test results, as well as from the performance and improvement level of your employees.

Ultimately, psychometric tests help you understand how your people fit, work, and behave in job positions. It provides you with objective, measurable data that give you a better all-round view of a candidate's (and even employee’s) suitability in your business.

So, are you using psychometric tests in your business or company?