A recent study of over one thousand HR professionals from companies throughout the world showed a significant proportion of businesses are using psychometric tests as part of the pre-hire process. For example, 62% are using personality assessments.*

Indicators organisations look to when determining validity of an assessment:

1. Quality of hire
2. Productivity
3. Retention / Staff turnover
4. Process efficiency
5. Financial metrics
6. Training effectiveness/cost
7. Legal compliance
8. Performance ratings
9. Employer brand

Yet, according to a 2014 study (registration required) only 14% of organisations have data to prove the positive business impact of their assessment strategy.

A validity study is key in helping determine the effectiveness of your assessment strategy. You might remember validity from a previous blog article. A buzzword in psychometric assessment, it shows that the tests used go beyond something that looks relevant, ensuring they provide true value. The key questions a well designed validity study can help you answer are:

• Can you be confident that the prediction of a psychometric test is accurate for your situation?
• Can you be confident the investment you are making in pre-hire assessments is providing a worthwhile return?
• Is the test truly enhancing your ability to predict future performance?

Running a validity study: Is it a hassle?

No it is not. Especially, if you compare the potential benefits it can bring to your organization to the efforts it takes from you to run the study. In a nutshell, the process goes like this: The aim of every validity study is to let expert psychologists look into how well your chosen psychometric, or any other, assessment tool is performing. To carry this out, first, data that characterizes the on-the-job performance of candidates who has been previously assessed with the tool in question is gathered. Then, test results are compared to on-the-job results and the link between the two is scientifically demonstrated and translated into real business terms.

So how could a validity study help you?

• It will be created bespoke to your needs and your company.
• A validity study demonstrates the value you will get out of using psychometric tests, proving how they work for your own unique workplace environment.
• This provides you with solid ROI information to support your use of such tests – you won’t just be telling people you use them because others do or because they usually work, but because they work for you.
• The analysis will let you know exactly what to look for in each candidate’s results – to ensure you pick the best people for you.
• With the right data, candidate attributes can even be modeled into your future reports.
• You want more specific predictions about how well someone will meet your competency requirements? Given competency performance data, this is possible.
• Want to know whether someone has the characteristics of a good salesman in your team? If you have appropriate sales data, future sales performance can be predicted for each new candidate.

A validity studies are essential parts of data-driven HR processes, and great tools to prove you are using the right tools to select, develop and retain talent.

Talentsift offers psychometric selection tests and the best online assessment centre solution on the market. Our validity studies are complementary to all our tools, to ensure you make the most effective use of psychometrics. Contact us for more details!

*CEB Global Assessment Trends report 2014

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Although there is evidence that many HR professionals don’t always know everything about the hiring process, will HR professionals, or anyone with suitable experience understand exactly what they’re being asked? And if so, does that mean we cannot use psychometrics when recruiting for these roles?

Testing people’s abilities

Let’s start with tests with right and wrong answers first. The argument against an ‘expert user’ being able to beat psychometrics is weakest against ability or reasoning tests, as well as tests of skills or knowledge. For tests of skills and knowledge, the aptitudes a person needs to complete the test will be the same aptitudes they need to perform in the role, so this is not a concern.

For ability tests, there are dozens of websites out there that help candidates prepare for online assessments. The candidates can take these tests over and over until they perfect them. And HR professionals? They would be ideally positioned to have hundreds of practice runs.

When it comes to reasoning tests, they are designed to provide a pure measure of somebody’s raw underlying ability. What this means is that they focus on ability that a person cannot learn or develop. As a result, even with lots of practice, it is impossible for someone without the raw intellectual horsepower to answer the questions quickly and accurately.

To expand on the above point, the purpose of practice websites is really to help nervous candidates understand the type of experience they are going to face and think about how to prepare for it, but they won’t let someone ‘beat’ a test that they just don’t have the ability to do. Practice and example questions beforehand can help some inexperienced candidates to more accurately demonstrate their ability meaning that their performance is as reflective of their actual ability as possible.

Personality measures: Beatable by an expert user?

Personality questionnaires are increasingly being used in the hiring process and could be viewed as more of a concern for being ‘beaten’ by an experienced test user. If you know what an organisation is looking for, can’t you just agree with the statements that fit in with this? Does this logic can also apply to other similar questionnaires, such as those looking at personal values or motivations? Let’s take a deeper look.

Quality of questionnaire

There are many personality tests on the market, but providing you have selected a well developed psychometric questionnaires they won’t be as transparent as to make ‘gaming’ them an easy job. Good tests are built around questions that show mathematical links to behaviour, not around questions that psychologists (or informed test takers) think will work.

Such a test won’t let you be perfect at everything.

Even though some questions may seem obvious, they may not measure what people think they measure. Good tests will have a number of questions, with many designed to identify the same factor. What each question is actually measuring is hard to spot, and over the course of the personality questionnaire even the savviest test user won’t be able to predict what most questions are after – or have a good enough memory to remember their faking patterns!

Forced choice questions

Psychologists have built in several countermeasures to prevent people painting the perfect portrait of themselves. One example of such a device is forced choice questions (the psychologists here at Talentsift call them ‘ipsative’ questions). For example, do you prefer working in a team or seeing a job through to the end? Are you more likely to plan ahead or to remain resilient in tough situations? These are crude examples, but illustrate the idea that such a test won’t let you be perfect at everything.

Social desirability scale

Another countermeasure that is found in quality questionnaires is a social desirability scale, sometimes known as impression management. These are carefully crafted questions that check someone is answering honestly and not creating an overly favourable impression. HR Professionals or otherwise experienced test takers can be aware of the presence of these questions but given their liberal and carefully crafted inclusion many will find it difficult to spot all of them, so they’ll want to be as honest as possible to avoid scoring high on this measure.

The cost of a bad choice

A final, key reason HR professionals are not likely to try faking the test is, that of all people, HR professionals are probably the most aware of the human impact of making a bad career choice. They appreciate the value of maximising their fit to a role, and although they migt have some insight into the competencies that a company is looking for, will know that a dishonest approach could well put them into a role they are ill-suited to and may not enjoy.

A company should know their own culture and values and determine what traits will be most successful in any given position. Psychometrics are a strong input into this process, particularly if they are corroborated with other sources of evidence and key areas are probed via other methods too.

This is no different for HR roles. Knowing the strong predictive power of psychometrics when used well, you may well have difficulty persuading a competent, data-driven HR Professional into your team without them! They show a commitment to creating a well-rounded recruitment process.

Talentsift offers psychometric selection tests and the best online assessment centre solution on the market. If you would like to know more about psychometric testing, read our introductory guide on psychometrics, or get in touch and our occupational psychologists will readily answer your questions.

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In reality, smaller businesses offer many advantages big businesses cannot, and there are some great articles describing how they can capitalise on these to become more attractive for talented candidates. We collected experts’ advice on small businesses’ specific hiring challenges, and looked at how using psychometric testing can help small firms put this advice into practice and become more effective not only in attracting but also in identifying top talent.

You could ask how psychometric testing is a new tool. It is not. What’s new, is that nowadays valid, quality tests running on online platforms are both easily accessible and affordable without the need for a large budget.

Whom to hire?

Small companies on the rise often face the dilemma of deciding which positions are most critical to fill first. Bob Marshall in the Wall Street Journal recommends small firms should first select candidates who are flexible enough to accomplish different kinds of tasks: “In a start-up, there are no set jobs. Everyone does everything.” But, how are you going to find out if someone can cover tasks across different fields? It is already a challenge using interviews to learn if a candidate will perform well in roles that are more specific, but in these cases checking previous projects or having the candidate to complete a work sample task can give some insights. However, what sample tasks are you going to give if you are looking for someone with an “all-rounder” profile?

Psychometric reasoning tests appear to be an appropriate tool for assessing the kind of mental ability and speed of thought you are looking for and can complement interviews and CV checks effectively. Different reasoning tests can give objective insights into how a candidate deals with numerical data or written information, and whether they can evaluate information quickly and apply logic to solve tasks in novel situations. Alongside this, amongst other traits personality tests can assess if someone is ready to work independently or to take on responsibility with little supervision. These are all vital assets in a small company.

High stakes hiring decisions

Decreasing the risk of bad hires is the strongest claim for using psychometrics in any organisation independent of its size. A company of 1000 employees would also want the best performing candidates to boost profits and strive for low staff turnover rates to keep replacement related costs low. However, for a 5-person business one or two bad hires can literally bring the company down.

At a 5 person business every hiring decision is of high stakes

Psychometric tests are not behavioural crystal balls telling a candidate’s future with 100% certainty, but research shows that they are much better predictors of future work performance than traditional selection methods.

Scarce HR resources

Without dedicated HR departments, or lacking many people working on recruitment full time, small companies often lack the time and resources to sort through a high volume of resumes, run dozens of reference checks and conduct telephone interviews to pre-select suitable candidates. One way of getting around the issue is finding a way to reduce the number of CVs you receive. Experts at the WSJ advise small businesses to avoid big job boards and focus on niche boards or LinkedIn groups in their area or industry where fewer, but only relevant job seekers will find their job postings.

While it is always a good idea to target your message, if you narrow down your audience too much you are risking not having a big enough candidate pool to choose from and not reaching the talent you are looking for. Psychometrics can be applied as a complementary and less time-consuming method to solve the problem of sifting out unsuitable candidates. One common way of using psychometric testing is to set a benchmark score for each test type and have only candidates scoring above the benchmark qualify for the next round. Using an online test platform, sending out the test invitations and having a quick look at the results takes no more than 5 minutes per candidate. When set properly, these benchmarks provide a clear, relevant standard that candidates need to reach to be considered.

You may be surprised how much resource spent on CV sifting, reference checks and other pre-screening methods, such as phone interviews, can be saved by omitting low performing candidates. To spare significant resources, your benchmark score does not have to be very high. Once you decide to go with psychometrics, your test provider will be able to give advice on best practices in order to get the most out of them.

Hiring freelancers and remote workers

One of the biggest advantages small businesses have over large businesses is their flexibility. This is highly appreciated by people who want to escape the corporate culture of rules and regulations and an asset small companies can capitalise on when competing for talent. Flexibility comes in many forms from no dress codes to flexible working conditions.

Fabio Rosati, Elance CEO and president, on the American Express Open Forum argues that an innovative way for small businesses to level the playing field is to embrace the ever expanding workforce of freelancers and people who prefer working from home or from remote locations: a talent pool rarely accessible for corporations due to their more rigid processes and organisational structure.
Having access to a large and unexploited candidate pool is a great thing, but still here, you do not just want to attract candidates – you want to identify real talent. With some freelance specialists, online reviews and trial projects work well, but if you want to hire permanent off site staff, you are practically back to square one. You have to deal with the CV sifting and reference checks again, only this time, in some cases, you do not even have the option of a personal interview.

Online psychometric tests work the same way in this case as they work with hiring on-location staff. They can be completed from home, and given that less information is available, the extra insights they provide on candidates are even more valuable in these special cases.

It can be challenging to compete for top talent with the bigger players, but small businesses are definitely not in a losing positon. With many advantages over large corporations, they need to find the ways they can rely on them to attract, identify and retain top talent. Implementing psychometric testing into their recruitment process is one way for them to pick up the gauntlet, and a potential solution to some of the HR challenges they are facing.

Talentsift offers psychometric ability and personality tests and the best online assessment centre solution on the market. If you would like to know more about psychometric testing, read our introductory guide on psychometrics, or get in touch and our occupational psychologist experts will readily answer your questions.

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In this second part, we will discuss the benefits to look for and the pitfalls to avoid when it comes to applying psychometrics and understanding the results.

The major benefit of psychometric tests lies in their ability to help you make more objective, data-informed decisions. It was said that the first step in choosing the right psychometric tool is knowing what the problem is you are trying to solve and identifying what characteristics (e.g.: competencies, skills, personality traits) need to be assessed in order to help you solve this problem. Having done this, you can pick a valid tool that actually measures what you want to measure, and can accurately predict the outcomes of your decision. This latter is of paramount importance in a business environment, so let’s take a look at a key aspect of validity a little closer.

Psychometric testing: Effective but not stand alone tools

The “accuracy” of a tool is referred to as predictive validity. It is a statistical term describing the extent to which a score on a given assessment correlates with future success when measured against job performance indicators such as supervisory ratings. Predictive validity is typically measured using correlation. It is scored on a scale from 0 to 1 and tools with r scores closer to 1 have higher probabilities of predicting future performance effectively. This is why predictive validity is important when choosing a test!

Conventional selection methods like interviews, reference checks and biodata all have lower predictive power than psychometrics. While conventional employment interviews have predictive validity scores between 0.2 and 0.3, for cognitive ability tests these scores are around 0.5. Putting it into a business context: without considering other factors for the sake of simplicity, these scores mean that for a high performer on a traditional job interview the likelihood of being an above average performer in his future role is approximately 62%. This same probability for cognitive ability tests is around 75%. Do not forget that if you hired the next person you randomly met on the street, the chance of her being a high performer is 50%. It is like flipping a coin. Either yes or no, but you have absolutely no a priori idea of how it is going to be. So 62% is already good, 75% is very good.

It is important to note that psychometric testing works best when used in combination with other methods. Tests greatly enrich the information you can gather about an individual but, as with other selection methods, they only show part of the picture. Interviews and reference checks can show things tests cannot and vice versa. When different methods are used in conjunction it increases the overall predictive force of your selection process, giving you a higher confidence that you are choosing the right candidate.

Is psychometric testing going to turn my HR processes upside down?

It is up to you. Psychometric testing has the potential to help you reengineer your HR processes, but it is absolutely not a must. Well considered psychometric tests will compliment your existing methods and it is your decision how much to rely on them. You can use the insights gained by psychometric assessment as a guide to structure your interview questions. However, you can also choose to replace existing methods by psychometric testing. It is a common practice to abandon phone interviews in favour of psychometric testing to preselect candidates for the personal interviews or assessment center. Placing them well within the process can save significant time and resources.

It is always good to know in advance what the intended use of the test is and you should discuss with your provider how they can fit into the rest of your process. This is true for the technical aspects as well. Check if your provider offers an online psychometric test platform or if the tests will be running on your own infrastructure. Check what IT integration is needed, because this can be costy. Check that results are reported in a clear format and that they can be fed into your existing system easyily.

Easy to use?

The question of ease of use is not only important from the HR or the IT departments’ point of view. Keep in mind who is going to take the tests eventually and to see if the user interface, the instructions, the platform’s stability and accessibility make the test easy to use and let test takers concentrate on doing their best. This can reflect very well, or very poorly, on your recruitment process. Try a demo test or request a trial, and if you do not like what you see just try another one.

Price is not an indicator of quality anymore.

It could be argued that test interface design will not improve any core value of the test. However, think about who is going to take the test? If you are using psychometric testing for selection, chances are that completing a test will be one of the first experiences a candidate has with your company. The test platform will be part of your company’s image. A well designed, highly user-friendly platform strenghtens your reputation the same way a good customer service interface does.

If the system is counterintuitive or ugly, it will demotivate candidates and lower performance. The flipside of this is that a clean, intuitive system will reflect well on your company and make them want to perform as best they can. Test providers recognized the additonal value candidate’s experience of psychometric testing can create in building your brand, and some of them offer you the option to brand the online test interface your candidates will be using.

How much all this is going to cost me?

Psychometric testing is used to make down to earth business decisions, so financial considerations are critical. Used as a workforce science it leads to lower staff turnover rates, helps you to identify talent, and foster organisational efficiency, which will all increase your bottom line. Therefore, if you believe in the values behind psychometric testing, and I hope by now you do indeed, your first concern should always be the quality of the tool. Using a badly designed test will cost you much more in lost revenue and wasted resources than what you can save on the price.

However, price is not an indicator of quality anymore. Thanks to the wonderment we call the internet, well researched, valid and reliable tests running on online platforms are available today at prices affordable for every company. New pricing models are also appearing on the market: now you are not obliged to pay per individual candidates or assessments, you can also choose subscription based plans if those fit your needs better.

Reading the results and providing feedback

The meaning of the results varies by test types. Ability test scores can be given in percentiles comparing the candidates’ results to a norm group, or in absolute values. Usually the overall scores are expanded upon and separate scores for speed and precision are also shown, which provide important insights in some cases. With personality tests, the interpretation is even more delicate, as there are no right or wrong answers. These tests show how the individual would typically behave in certain situations, and “good” or “bad” are relative to the specific job or team fit requirements.

Read a sample report before you start using any tool. Make sure it details for each test type how the results are to be interpreted, what they mean and what they do not. If any questions remain, someone from your provider should be available to talk you through the report. In most cases, this will be sufficient to prevent misuse while keeping administration costs low. When using a particularly technical or complex psychometric tool, earlier in the process a trained assessor or psychometrician might be necessary to help you correctly interpret the results. However, after a few rounds of consultations you are likely to become more independent in these as well.

Feedback can be an important motivator, thus a good way of keeping participants engaged during the testing process. Whether existing staff or new candidates, feedback promises test-takers that they can learn new things about their favourite subject: themselves. If you provide feedback, make sure candidates understand how their results should be interpreted, as both intelligence and personality tests can touch sensitive points.

Summary

We began the first part of this guide by asking: Should I be using psychometric testing? Hopefully, by now you too have an answer for it, but here is ours as a conclusion: Yes, you should. However, know what you need it for, find a trustworthy provider, pick the right tool, use it right and make the most of the data it provides you with.

Talentsift offers psychometric ability and personality tests and the best online assessment centre solution on the market. We help you in your decisions throughout the selection process. Try our tests. It’s free!

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And these are impressive numbers indeed. Yet, they do not really answer the question you are asking: Should I use them? Can they bring real added value to my organization?

There are well over a thousand different kinds of psychometric tests and instruments on the market to assist you at all stages of workforce management. From selection, through engagement, to talent development and organisational planning there are several tools you can use to make more informed, more objective decisions. If you want to improve your talent management processes by starting to support your decisions with proven data-informed methods, the question is not whether you should be using psychometric tests or not, but rather: When and how to use them? What is the best tool for you?

Walking hand in hand

Picking the right tool goes hand in hand with picking the right test provider. Unless you want to develop your own tests, which would be quite a hefty investment to start with, you do not have to become a psychometrics expert yourself. However, you will need a basic understanding of how psychometrics work and knowing what to look for when selecting your partner in implementing psychometric assessment into your workforce management process. This guide was put together to help you with these challenges.

Measuring the mind – But what exactly?

Psychometrics means: measuring the mind. These tests are designed to measure complex psychological phenomena objectively. However, different test types measure different things. So, the first thing you have to ask yourself is: What is the problem you are trying to solve?

Transparency is a good indicator of quality here.

Say, you want to build a new creative team and want to predict how the members would work together. You‘d probably use a motivation test and mix and match profiles to get your A team, but may not need to back up the same decision with numerical reasoning test results. On the contrary, when selecting a new payroll officer, numerical reasoning scores can be very good indicators of candidates’ future work performance. A good tool ties closely to the problem you are trying to solve and yields relevant data to support your decision.

Am I measuring what I think I am measuring?

Another, more technical, aspect of the same question is the test’s validity. Validity shows that a test really measures what it is said to be measuring. A math test on addition, for example, is valid if it measures your ability to add up numbers, and not your reading or drawing skills.

It should be noted that there is no such thing as a 100% valid test. This is especially true when looking at complex phenomena. Even with the most basic maths test in our example, your reading skills will influence your results to some extent, because you will have to read the questions before you can start doing maths. Furthermore, there may well be other factors in play when the test taker has to use her mathematical skills, such as her motivation for example. However, in a well-designed test these effects are minimised, well understood and documented.

A trustworthy test provider has to be able to present you, amongst other technical data, with a series of validity studies. This should include information about how the test was developed, how many people it was tried on, and scientific evidence on how much you can trust the results and what they tell you. The best providers will even offer you advice and support in conducting a validity study in your own organisation. This step is always the ultimate test of the tool’s validity, as it controls for factors specific to your organisation, so you do not have to solely rely upon what another organisation has shown works in their setting.

An occupational psychologist should also be available to consult you anytime on choosing the ideal test suite for you. If something is not clear, go ahead and ask questions, look for client testimonials, case studies, try a demo test, or request a free trial if available. Transparency is a good indicator of quality here.

The second part of the guide on pitfalls to avoid and benefits to look for when applying psychometrics is coming next week. We’ll cover some technical and financial aspects to consider and discuss what the results can and cannot tell you.

*The number of test publishers is estimated to be in the thousands, but only a small number of them conduct proper validity studies. Hogan, R. (2005). In Defense of Personality Measurement: New Wine for Old Whiners. Human Performance. 18(4), 331-341.

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The study walks the reader through the process how a medium-sized tech company effectively implemented psychometric testing in their selection method for the first time. It describes the different aspects of the cooperation between an external psychometric tests provider and a client from the SME sector from the first steps of selecting the ideal test suit, till the final reporting phase and the follow up of the successful candidate’s later work performance.

This study is intended to be an introductory material, an example case for enterprises using psychometric testing for the first time.

If you would like to dig deeper in the subject matter, you might also want to read about the financial aspects of introducing psychometric testing into your recruitment process, or our experts’ tips on what to consider when choosing your test provider.

Click to get the study in pdf!

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As it transpires, there is no universal “startupper profile” that founders would need to live up to or otherwise be doomed to failure. Each project and each team is different, therefore so are the competencies/ personalities required by them.

So how can investors and project owners decide who they need on the team?

First, you need to define the challenges the members of the team are likely to face. You can start off this exercise by looking at the various roles the members of the team will take and define the requirements against each of these profiles. You then need to match these requirements against a competency framework (like Talentsift’s) and pinpoint the personality traits you deem most relevant.

These competency scales are likely to differ for each position. For example, when assessing a member of the software design team, one would probably place emphasis on their logical/abstract and numerical reasoning skills, while verbal reasoning abilities are probably less important. On the personality side; analytical thinking, quality focus and resilience are all personality traits desirable for someone in such a role. Following the same logic, the company’s CEO will need very different competencies; including skills in directing others, negotiation & influencing, setting vision & strategy, etc. Being an intensive early stage venture, probably all members of a startup team need to bear competencies like drive & determination, adaptability, or developing skills & knowledge.

Once you have defined the individual profiles you would like to see on your team, you need to double-check whether these cover all competencies you would expect from the team as a whole. If not, you may wish to consider filling those competency gaps by adding new roles to the team.

The final step is running an individual level appraisal for each of the team members, matching the individual against the “ideal” personality profile. Based on the results you can then consider each candidate’s distance from the “ideal profile” and assess where development or support is needed. You can also consider how the group matches against your ideal mix by plotting on a grid where the team is on the scales that have been deemed relevant. This will help you identify the scales where none of the group members are strong and pinpoint where the biggest clashes are likely to be between individuals who are very different.

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These are the things HR professional expect from a modern sifting tool:

Relevant norm groups: who wants to compare today’s candidates to graduates of the eighties or nineties?

Clean and modern interface for taking the test: too many of today’s sifting tools are built on legacy systems whose design is laughable to candidates ‘trained’ by the products of companies such as Apple that consider design crucial in everything they do.

Flexible and easy-to-follow pricing for easy planning of that recruitment budget: you shouldn’t have to rely on Excel formulas based on test types, time limits and a bunch of other factors just to estimate a campaign budget?

A comprehensive solution that can measure a range of skills used in various industries and for selecting people into diverse positions

#1 – Comprehensive Solution

When we developed Talentsift’s psychometric tests, we thought long and hard about a balance between keeping things simple and being able to measure everything important: this led us to develop three test types:

- abstract reasoning, measuring candidate’s ability to perform in unfamiliar situations and to connect the dots

- numerical reasoning, to measure basic mathematical logic, which is increasingly a requirement in even non-technical jobs due to the all-encompassing presence of technology in everything we do

- and verbal reasoning, measuring the ability to comprehend written information and make logical conclusions

Since using any or all of these test types comes at no extra cost, you have the freedom to use them in any combination and give them any weight you feel is suitable without having to worry about the budget. If you’re not sure about which ones to use, a trained occupational psychologist can help you decide.

#2 – Norm Groups

It sounds like the mother of all common places, but it’s true: technological advances have changed and will repeatedly change the workplace to such an extent that we all have to re-learn the use of the tools of the trade multiple times in our lifetimes. This is why it is important to find employees that really perform above average when compared to their true peers, and this is why an up-to-date norm group is so important. Talentsift’s tests were trialled using a 2013 norm group that was representative of the UK recent graduate population by age, gender, place of residence and ethnicity.

#3 – Clean and modern interface

What many HR providers forget is that the candidates that will use their testing platforms are technologically savvy and use and expect beautifully and cleanly designed tech products and web applications from the likes of Apple and Google. They expect to see the same when they are invited to a job test, and they are often sorely disappointed. We decided to change that and have the most beautifully designed testing platform on the market. In addition to helping candidates concentrate on the test and give their best performance, this is one of the most effective ways for an employer to make a good first impression.

#4 – Flexible Pricing

We know how frustrating it is to get lost in  a multi-page proposal and desperately try to figure out how much it will even cost to use the given service. This is especially true for HR services where industry customs call for pricing models based on the number and types of tests used, the number of candidates tested and the duration of the campaign: in other words, on factors that are next to impossible to predict when evaluating a potential supplier.

We decided to radically simplify things for the busy professional we know you all are: if you know how many positions you need to fill, you immediately know how much it will cost.

Interested in how this works or more details? Get in touch – we have case studies and examples of how this would work in your organisation.

The post Four Things That Set Apart Talentsift’s Psychometric Tests appeared first on Talentsift.

Details that an invite for interviews or assessment days should include:

Date and time of the interview

Name and position of the interviewee

Contact number of a person who may be contacted on the day

Location, ideally attach a map

Approximate length of the interview and/or AC

The type of questions and exercises candidates should expect

Ask whether the candidates need any special assistance on the day

Confirm the candidates’ contact details through which you may inform them about any unforeseen changes to the schedule

#1 – Be specific of your requirements.

Avoid statements like ’sufficient experience in a relevant role is required’.  Instead, give examples of what constitutes as ’sufficient experience’ (e.g. minimum of two years in the field of IT project management) and provide a concise but detailed description of the tasks. When candidates are fully aware of the recruitment criteria, their self-selection is more likely to be accurate and the ratio of suitable applications increases.

#2 -Be honest with your candidates.

Be honest with candidates and give them a realistic preview of the scope of activities and tasks the role would entail. For instance, if it is a highly repetitive role, be very upfront about it, otherwise you might face high rates of staff turnover not talking about the associated costs. If the job is not a typical full-time permanent position, make sure that your candidates are well aware of it (e.g. highlight information on the lengths of the contract, any evening or weekend shifts and the amount of travelling that may be involved).

#3 – Be clear and transparent on the recruitment process.

In terms of online applications, sending an email to confirm that an application has been received and is being reviewed can make your candidates feel welcome and valued. Advising your candidates that they would be shortly contacted regarding the status of their application and/or enabling them to track the progress of their application online can decrease the volume of enquiries and make a positive impression of your company.

There is quite a competition for talents where time is a crucial factor in retaining the best candidates. If you face difficulties with processing the applications in time, let your candidates know that their applications are still being considered, apologise for the delay and thank them for their patience and interest in the position. First, this gives the impression that your company does value its potential future employees; second, this may reduce the amount of inquiring correspondence you are likely to receive upon delay. Do not forget that the best candidates are fairly unlikely to be sitting at home all day long waiting for you to come back to them, but are rather involved in multiple recruitment campaigns and can get an offer in any minute.

While in the very early stages of recruitment it is acceptable (although not desirable) contacting only the successful candidates, once an applicant has been interviewed or attended an AC, they deserve and will expect to be informed about their results. Giving timely and sufficiently detailed feedback is of primary importance to contribute to a positive candidate experience.

Talentsift tools provide candidates with instant feedback on their performance. Contact us to learn how we can help your recruitment process.

#4 – Positive recruitment experience is the best marketing for you as an employer.

Small things like providing detailed and timely responses to candidates will make them feel valued and respected, and provide a positive recruitment experience with your company.

Many of your candidates may be employed full-time, thus it is important to give information on the provisional dates for the different stages of the recruitment process (e.g. telephone interview, psychometric testing, assessment centre day, panel interview), enabling the applicants to plan well in advance. Outlining the next steps of the process and the associated deadlines may help the candidates reduce the amount of stress due to the uncertainty involved in their job hunting and it also helps reduce the volume of enquiry regarding the different stages of your campaign.

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These tests allow accurate measurement of the applicants’ abilities in areas such as verbal, numerical and conceptual thinking and thus help to match people’s skills to role requirements. Assessing whether a candidate fits the organisation is not only beneficial for the business in terms of higher productivity, long term retention and reduced rates of employee turnover, but is also important in relation to job satisfaction and well-being of the employees.

Key features of psychometric tests

Standardised: everyone completes equivalent (but not the same) tests under the same conditions

Objective: reduced degree of bias and subjectivity

Reliable: results are consistent over time and are fairly resistant to outside factors

Valid: psychometric tests measure job relevant factors that can predict future job performance

Ability tests are standardised meaning that every applicant is required to complete items of the same difficulty under the same conditions ensuring a fair assessment. This is a distinct advantage over interviews, which are subject to bias. Psychometric tests are reliable, which means that a person’s scores are unlikely to vary over time. Thus, we can be sufficiently certain that differences in candidates’ scores reflect real differences and are not artefacts of the testing situation.

Candidates’ scores can be easily compared to one another by using comparison group data (which detail how well people have done who have taken the test previously). Furthermore, online tests allow candidates to complete the tests at any location and at a convenient time. If they are invited to the next face-to-face stage, a second testing session can occur to ensure they were the ones who filled out the original test.

Online testing is also beneficial to the organisation, as there are no associated costs with administration such as supervision, hiring a venue or compensation for the applicants’ travel expenses. Having a comprehensive selection process that relies on information drawn from multiple sources (e.g. interview, references, tests) demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to fair and professional testing processes and will pay dividends in terms of the quality of people they hire.

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