How to make psychological testing pay off
In the game of attracting and retaining the best employees, psychological testing can offer a competitive edge, provided they’re used correctly – writes Paul Clifford from the National Leadership Institute.
“Sorry – too hard basket.” “That’s a luxury we can’t afford”.
These are often the first responses of senior managers when asked whether they use psychological testing in their recruitment and employee development processes.
But with the right independent advice, using psychological tests can fast become a value-adding tool that improves both performance and the bottom line.
Many questions
Many employers are intrigued by the possibilities of psychological testing. Too often they get stuck at the mechanics of implementation. Which tests should we use? When should we use them? How do we ensure our managers use the results appropriately?
These are all good questions and many managers find that it is not an easy process to answer them.
It’s worth persisting, however, as good tests can provide valuable information that you may not be able to discover through other means, and their results can open very interesting and useful discussions.
When used effectively, psychological tests can uncover information that enhances your candidate selection decisions, leading to the hiring of candidates who are more productive for longer, and as a consequence, improve your business results and lower your costs.
Psychological tests can also assist in the development of existing employees by creating a catalyst for greater self-awareness, and subsequently, performance improvement.
The following are recommendations on how to best implement psychological testing into your organisation and achieve maximum benefit.
Use tests that are valid, reliable and functional
A good psychological test measures what it says it measures and does it consistently. In order to determine whether a test does that, each test author (the person who originally designed the test) should have conducted studies into the validity and reliability of their tests.
However, comprehending these studies and making a judgement of good or bad is quite complex. As such it is good to get advice from a party independent from any test provider who can give you an objective assessment of the best tools to use for your specific requirements.
As an example, you would want to avoid using tests that may alienate test takers by asking seemingly silly questions. Equally, don’t use tests that alienate test administrators by producing reports that lack sufficient, specific and/or clear information.
Use multiple methods of candidate assessment
A psychological test such as a personality profile is only one piece of the candidate pie. Some personality profiles will tell you about a person’s natural style, but you also need to know how their behaviour may change in certain situations due to skill development, motivation and environmental context.
Role plays, behavioural interviews and reference checks are useful to tap into this, and when combined with psychological testing, you obtain a more complete picture of the person.
Ensure the job is defined accurately and that tests are chosen accordingly
Not all psychological tests measure the same things. A third-party independent advisor will help you define quite specifically what you are seeking to measure and choose a test designed to measure that specific behaviour or skill.
For example, requiring a prospective employee to be intelligent is too broad a concept, and choosing a numerical reasoning test to determine intelligence is not appropriate if numerical reasoning is not required in the role.
Focus on the behaviour you want to see prospective employees demonstrate on the job and choose a test that specifically measures that behaviour.
Ensure managers are sold on the benefits and aware of the limitations of psychological testing
Train hiring managers to understand the value of psychological testing. Demonstrate how tests can generate useful information to help make better candidate and employee decisions, and show the link between these decisions and reduced costs and greater profitability.
It’s also important to ensure they keep in mind the limitations of any one test. Ensure that only appropriately trained and qualified employees conduct test interpretation and that results are explained in context. Make it standard practice that the results are interpreted in conjunction with, rather than in isolation from, other multiple data points.
The pay-off
Deciding the best methods for assessing candidates and employees against well-defined requirements, and interpreting the assessment results carefully, all require skill and patience.
Managers will only display the necessary skill and patience if they think it’s worthwhile. If we can show them that good candidate and employee assessment practices do result in meaningful benefits to them, then they will see it as worthwhile.
Valuable information can come from the use of psychological testing, but it requires a disciplined and informed approach. The pay-off for the organisation in time and money saved and productivity and profit gain can be significant.
If you would like independent advice on the best assessment methods for prospective and/or existing employees please contact Paul Clifford at the National Leadership Institute:
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