Psychometric assessments are increasingly becoming standard part of the recruitment process as they can help accurately identify and select employees with favourable traits, who are competent and have good cultural fit.
1 Combine
Psychometric assessments should be used in conjunction with other recruitment techniques such as reviewing CVs and conducting interviews. It’s important they make up part of the recruitment process, as they enable you to find out different aspects of candidate through varying methods. You may believe candidate is good cultural fit when you meet them, and discover through an assessment they can also solve problems, influence others, adapt well and cope with challenges. These kinds of results can’t be measured purely by traditional recruitment techniques.
2 Pick the right time
Conduct all psychometric assessments after the first interview. This provides you with information to analyse and discuss in the second interview and will help you determine whether the candidate will be right for the position or not.
3 Inform
Once you have conducted the first interview, let the candidate know they will be taking psychometric assessment as the next step. It’s best practice to keep potential employees well informed and comfortable with each step in the recruitment process. Provide them with sample questions and background information about psychometric assessments so they know what to expect.
4 Think of others
It’s important to make the right choice for your team. Psychometric assessments can identify ‘red flags’ relating to candidate’s personality and potential performance. They can also benchmark what makes successful employee, and this can be useful for future hires for your business. Psychometric assessments can save you time, money and stress by helping you select the right candidate, so it’s wise to use this tool for every new hire.
5 Pick the right tool
Ensure the assessment tool is right for your organisation’s industry and analyses the right characteristics as well as producing indepth reports which are meaningful. Tests that are robust, reliable and have valid predictors of performance are the best.
6 Give feedback
Providing feedback whether candidate is successful or not is important, and it also protects your organisation’s reputation. Many employers don’t give feedback as it comes at an extra cost. Entitle the candidate to feedback and they will feel like they were looked after during the interview process. M
Paul Robinson is director of specialist recruitment and HR services provider Randstad New Zealand.
