Psychometric tests are used in business to help identify an individual’s personality, behaviour, skills and competency. This helps provide useful insights for hiring new candidates, identifying and monitoring team dynamics as well as monitoring internal employees for potential organisational movement or individual promotions.
These tests are designed to help showcase someone’s true behavioural traits and underlying personality – illustrating whether they are suitable to perform a task, job or leadership role. They also reveal someone’s aptitude, testing how they answer, think and react to different situations.
The relatively efficient way of implementing psychometric tests along with a reduced cost compared to other forms of assessments mark them as accessible to most organisations. Psychometric tests are not to be overlooked, with many businesses all over the world engaging with them for key insights on their current or potential employees.
In conjunction with employee engagement surveys and other forms of personality assessment, businesses can use psychometric tests to develop a unique understanding of their workforce. This provides opportunity to put the right people in the right place, at the right time, and yield results that lead to growth and sustainable development for the business.
What do psychometric tests measure?
Psychometric tests measure the following to determine someone’s suitability for a role:
- Aptitude
Aptitude tests come in various shapes and sizes, from verbal to numerical and also abstract reasoning. These tests can look into a person’s ability to solve problems, think strategically and draw logistical conclusions using critical thinking. Again, depending on what a business wants to measure, certain questions and styles will be more suitable.
By matching candidates who demonstrate sufficient aptitude against the desired metrics of the position, businesses can be more confident that the employees they are selecting are going to be effective in their roles to drive the business forward.
- Personality/behaviour
There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to someone’s personality – but finding people whose personality fits in with the requirements of the job, the team in which they will perform and the culture of the business as a whole, is a big benefit. Especially when you can explore how an individual’s behaviour reacts to pressure.
Learning about your employee’s personalities is also great for employee retention and developing a thriving culture in the business. Being able to ensure each employee is treated and given responsibilities that reflect their personality is a great way to keep them happy and engaged in the business’s mission. This is a great way to become a more effective business by getting the best out of each employee as well as creating a culture that attracts the best potential candidates.
As a business, it is also important to understand what you don’t have or what is missing when it comes to personality, behaviours and skills. Within a team it is always beneficial to have a varied group of personalities and skill which complement each other and allow for different view points on issues and opportunities. By identifying what you have already, you can see what is potentially missing and focus on recruiting someone who call fill the gap.
Benefits of psychometric testing
It many instances, it’s difficult to accurately compare different individuals when considering candidates for a new role. Individuals will often have varied experience and employers might find it difficult to adequately judge who might be better to fill the role without having something to easily compare the applicants against. A universal psychometric test can provide a simple way to compare multiple candidates or employees based on the same questions. It also avoids any unconscious bias towards any particular candidates or employees. This allows the organisation to mitigate risks of hiring the wrong candidate.
It is not just the organisation that benefits but also the individual taking part and the team in which they may lead or operate in. By taking part in a psychometric test, the individual can ensure that they end up in positions and roles that suit their fundamental personality. This is evidently important in leadership roles. With giving leaders the tools to have a grounded understanding of their own personality, they can become better informed about the impact of these characteristics on their current behaviour especially towards their team as well as their potential for future development. By understanding how their personality affects their behaviour, they can actively change their behaviour to suit different situations to ensure the best outcome for themselves, their team and the organisation.
How to use psychometric testing in business
Psychometric tests can be used at any time, for any purpose in business. From recruitment to gaining a deeper understanding your current workforce to developing leaders and dynamic teams. Psychometric tests and efficient, effective and accessible. They can be easily set up and monitored online allowing you ease of access to the process and results.
If you’re looking for help in leadership or team assessment, then make sure you learn more about what we can offer here at Edgecumbe Consulting. We combine assessment and performance analytics with leadership coaching and facilitation, to maximise the value delivered from leaders within organisations. We study leadership impact, behaviour and performance outcomes, providing insights to inform the formation, composition and development of leadership teams.
If you would like any further information, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
