At Platinum People Group, we encourage many of our clients to add psychometric testing to their recruitment process. This is a really useful tool (which we even use internally) to help you gain clarity in your hiring process, and set you up to manage your new recruit effectively.
In a nutshell, it involves your candidate(s) filling out a series of questions or completing a set of small tasks. These short, online tests are tailored depending on what information you’d like to find out. For example, a brokerage hiring a Broker Analyst may want to confirm that a candidate has strong speed and accuracy skills. Based on this, the test will develop a report that shows the recruiter how a candidate has performed in that area.
So why would psychometric testing be worth the extra effort and investment for you?
It can help you make a decision
Resumes, interviews and case studies can only reveal so much about a candidate. And in many cases, you’ll find several candidates all that seem to fit the bill. So how do you decide between them?
If you’re on the fence or trying to decide between two or more excellent candidates, psychometric testing may help you dig a little deeper to find the candidate that really possesses the skills you need in your business. It’s amazing who can stand out from the crowd on a psychometric test report.
The results can be shockingly accurate, but of course should be taken with a grain of salt as some candidates can baulk at a testing scenario. The best way to ensure you’ve covered all bases is to have an open and honest discussion with your candidate about how they thought they went.
It can give you confidence in your hire
Hiring someone is a big investment, and one you want to make based on more than just a ‘gut feel’. With the evidence provided by psychometric testing to back you up, you’ll have actual data and insight into how a certain person will operate in the workplace.
Of course, recruitment decisions aren’t based purely on skills like speed and accuracy, but also on things like cultural fit and personality. We generally recommend implementing psychometric testing at the end of the recruitment process, after your candidate has impressed you in an interview and displayed their abilities by completing some sort of case study.
That said, some of our clients prefer to introduce it earlier on in the process to ensure they only move ahead with candidates who’ve displayed the core skills they’re looking for.
It can give you insight into your candidate’s strengths, weaknesses and ideal management style
People can say anything in an interview under pressure (“My biggest weakness is that I work too hard!!”), but when it comes to knowing what they’ll actually be like in the workplace, psychometric testing can shed some light. It allows you to drill down into the type of worker your candidate is. Not just what they can do, but how they go about doing it – whether that’s making snap decisions and working rapidly, or laying information out carefully and taking time to come to a decision.
Having this testing done will be a great starting point from which to develop your new hire’s development plan, so you’re entering into a relationship with information on how to manage them to perform their best.
In the video below, our Managing Director Roland Youakim shares his unique take on the value of psychometric testing.
We’ve worked with our trusted, high quality psychometric testing provider for many years and would love to introduce you to them. Get in touch to learn more about Psychometric Testing and how it can add value to your business’ recruitment practices.
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