Key psychometric tests: do they really work in personnel selection?

Psychometric tests are a common part of the job interview process at many major companies, and more and more companies from different parts of the world are choosing to incorporate this type of test into their selection processes thanks to the objectivity they offer.

Among the large companies that have successfully incorporated psychometric tests into their recruitment and selection processes are Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Ernst and Young, Citigroup, E.ON, Bank of England and HSBC, among many others.

Use of psychometric evaluations

One of the most common ways to find out whether a candidate is the right person to fill a position in a company is through application forms, resumes and interviews. However, due to the amount of time an interview requires and the low effectiveness of resumes in predicting a candidate's performance, psychometric tests have become a great relief for recruiters and employers, as they provide objective information, in a relatively short amount of time, on aspects that are often difficult to evaluate by other means.

That is why many of the major companies include psychometric tests as a tool in personnel selection. Psychometric tests help the employer significantly reduce workload, as they can quickly identify a smaller group of candidates who might have the potential to perform well in the job.

Currently, approximately 80% of the companies on the Fortune 500 list in the United States and 75% of the companies in the Times top 100 in the United Kingdom use them in their recruitment and selection processes. But that is not all: according to the Association of Test Publishers, in the United States the rate of use of tests grows between 10 and 15% a year.

Pros and cons

As mentioned above, psychometric tests can give you a more objective result when evaluating a candidate, but this is not the only advantage of this type of test, as the list of benefits is quite extensive. However, like other personnel selection methods, they also have some drawbacks. Below are the pros and cons that an employer should take into account when implementing psychometric evaluations in their selection processes.

Pros

1. They provide deeper insight into how the candidate would perform in the position before hiring, minimizing the costly risk of hiring someone who might not perform as originally expected.

2. They help the employer save time. By using psychometric tests at the beginning of the selection process, the employer can discard candidates who might not be suitable for the position.

3. Rather than focusing only retrospectively on the skills and experience a candidate has accumulated to date, psychometric tests seek to predict a candidate's future potential, which is often very difficult to determine within the limitations of an interview.

Cons

1. They must be accompanied by other methods such as interviews, role-playing exercises or references in order to guarantee truly effective results.

2. The result could be affected by the state the candidate is in at the time of answering. Therefore, if the candidate does not feel well when taking the test, their full potential may not be reflected in the final result.

3. In some cases, they must be administered by professionals trained to administer and interpret them.

Most commonly used types of tests in selection processes

There are many different types of psychometric tests, but among the most commonly used in selection processes, and those for which there is the greatest consensus on their correlation with a candidate's future performance (always depending on the position evaluated), are the following.

Personality questionnaire. It is designed to understand how the subject prefers to work, and to predict how well they will fit into a particular work environment or team. The format of the test includes a series of statements that ask the subject to agree or disagree, as well as to choose the statements they identify with most and least.

Verbal reasoning. It measures the candidate's ability to analyze texts in order to understand their meaning and draw conclusions. The format of the test involves reading a passage of text and then answering a series of questions related to it.

Numerical reasoning. It measures the candidate's ability to analyze and understand numerical information and use it appropriately. Topics covered include proportions, percentages and trends. Tables, diagrams and graphs are generally included in this type of test, and the format is usually multiple-choice.

Abstract reasoning. It measures the candidate's ability to understand and work with unfamiliar information to find solutions to problems, with the aim of discovering how well they can think analytically and conceptually. The format of the test involves looking at a series of symbols and determining how to complete the sequence.

Are psychometric tests really effective?

Over the last decades, Human Resources professionals have concluded that psychometric tests can be very helpful in predicting employee performance. However, their effectiveness depends on several factors, such as the type of test used and whether it is used in conjunction with another recruitment method.

According to an article published in the Irish Independent, Sean Howard, Managing Director of SHL, one of the world's most important psychometric test companies, states that psychometric tests assess how a person might behave and perform at work. This type of test shows whether the person is collaborative, a persuasive communicator, attentive to detail, rule-abiding, dominant or controlling. Howard also states that psychometric tests, accompanied by other selection methods such as the resume and the interview, reduce the likelihood that the employer will choose the wrong candidate for the job, adding that "these tests have been statistically proven to work".

Currently, psychometric tests can be combined with job-specific tests, which assess particular skills for a position. For example, there are tests to objectively evaluate and measure programming skills in which candidates must solve problems by writing real code.

In conclusion, psychometric tests are a tool that allows the employer to predict how a candidate might perform in the job for which they are applying. However, it should be taken into account that, to obtain truly effective results, it is recommended to accompany this type of test with other methods such as the interview, to determine whether the candidate is truly the right one for the position and the company they are applying to.