Advantages of Psychometric testing
The use of psychometric testing has
increased within the recent years (Bartram 2001; Taylor, Keelty and McDonnell
2002; Anderson 2005; Wolf and Jenkins 2006). There are several possible reasons
that explain the vast usage of psychometric testing. First, the wide range of
the resources spread through out the internet has reduced the cost of testing
and ease of testing has been increased. Further, there is a growing awareness
that the test is an integral part of best practice for selection (Guest et al.
2003). In addition, there is an improved awareness of predictive validity and
reliability of the specific tests(Cascio and Aguinis 2005; Wolf and Jenkins
2006).Among the benefits of the test, it has unbiased approach which has no any
favoritism is involved and much more fair and simple. As these tests
are doled out to the candidates in the groups, it saves lot of money and time
for the company. If a candidate is not selected, it gives an opportunity to the
concerned person to make a complete review about themselves and provide
opportunity to rectify the mistake. With these tests, the right person to the
right job is picked up. Further, it shows what individuals’ motives and mean
time, applicants can find the right job which they love. Not only it improves
efficiency, but also it can be used at any stage of the recruitment process
(Reddy 2016)
It is argued in several occasions
that this increased professionalism in Human Resources Management and their
involvement in strategic decision making has implied that they have more
influence in Organizations and this may have increased the use of psychometric
testing (Wolf and Jenkins 2006; Farndale 2005). Use of psychological test is
greater in organizations that have Human Resources specialist compared with
that other do not (Hoque and Noon 2001; Wolf and Jenkins 2006).
Disadvantages of Psychometric Testing
Using the psychometric testing for
the recruitment purposes offer clear recommendations about the general
assessment issues such as reliability, validity, norm groups and feedback to
the applicant (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
2003). On the other hand the guidelines offer very limited practical advices
and guidelines about how psychological testing data should be used to make
selection decision.
Often, many companies are conned into
buying the non-psychometric as the necessary psychometric, and as a result,
many companies fail to achieve the desirable results (Reddy 2016).These tests
can make the candidates nervous and if used with the conjunction with the other
information, these tests are unable to produce the exact results as they are
incompatible with the other tests in the same kind. There is no complete
psychometric that is applicable to interviews in all kind and differs
completely from one sector to another (Reddy 2016).Meantime, the base is a
small population and there are cultural barriers. Another disadvantage is that
the candidates tend to give fake answers (Reddy 2016).At the time of interview;
they would try to diminish their negative thoughts and try to enhance their
positive aspects, and get through the interview. The results of a psychometric
test can label a person as an introvert, but in general, the specific person
can be having both introvert and extrovert personalities. In this scenario, the
results can be false. These psychometric tests are complex to be handled and
the administration requires training to handle the same (Reddy 2016).
(Source - GCC Module Career Counselor, 2018)
References
Anderson, N. (2005), ‘Relationships between Practice and Research in Personnel Selection: Does the Left Hand Know What the Right is Doing?,’ in The Blackwell Handbook of Personnel Selection, eds. A. Evers, N. Anderson and O. Voskuijl, Malden, MA: Blackwell
Wolf, A., and Jenkins, A. (2006), ‘Explaining Greater Test Use for Selection: The Role of HR Professionals in a World of Expanding Regulation,’ Human Resource Management Journal
(Source - GCC Module Career Counselor, 2018)
References
Anderson, N. (2005), ‘Relationships between Practice and Research in Personnel Selection: Does the Left Hand Know What the Right is Doing?,’ in The Blackwell Handbook of Personnel Selection, eds. A. Evers, N. Anderson and O. Voskuijl, Malden, MA: Blackwell
Bartram, D. (2001), ‘The Development of International Guidelines on Test Use: The International Test Commission Project,’ International Journal of Testing
Cascio, W.F., and Aguinis, H. (2005), ‘Test Development and Use: New Twists on Old Questions,’ Human Resource Management
Farndale, E. (2005), ‘HR Department Professionalism: A Comparison between the UK and other European Countries,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management
Guest, D., Michie, J., Conway, N., and Sheehan, M. (2003), ‘Human Resource Management and Corporate Performance in the UK,’ British Journal of Industrial Relations
Hoque, K., and Noon, M. (2001), ‘Counting Angels: A Comparison of Personnel and HR Specialists,’ Human Resource Management Journal
Reddy C.(2016)Wise Step Advantages and Disadvantages of Psychometric Tests Available at: https://content.wisestep.com/advantages-disadvantages-psychometric-tests/ (Accessed: 07th December 2018).
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. (SIOP) (2003), Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures (4th ed.), Bowling Green, OH: SIOP.
Taylor, P., Keelty, Y., and McDonnell, B. (2002), ‘Evolving Personnel Selection Practices in New Zealand Organizations and Recruitment Firms,’ New Zealand Journal of Psychology
Wolf, A., and Jenkins, A. (2006), ‘Explaining Greater Test Use for Selection: The Role of HR Professionals in a World of Expanding Regulation,’ Human Resource Management Journal
Despite the popularity and increase in the usage of psychometric testing in recruitment, there is still some debate in the organizational psychology field as to whether the personality measures should be used in recruitment and selection or not (Morgeson, et al, 2007). Many researchers believe that psychometric testing used in the recruitment process is not valid and can be fake (Scroggins, et al, 2008).
ReplyDeleteDear Anne,Fletcher (1991) stated that like any other selection procedure, the psychometric tests can be used well or badly. But it would be silly to dismiss all the evidence of the value of personality assessment in selection on the basis of some misappropriation. Definitely the majority of applied psychologists feel the balance of the evidence supports the use of personality records. Personality tests can provide interesting additional information about candidates that is free from the biased responses that often occur in face-to-face interviews. But they have to be used with great care. The tests should have been developed by a reliable psychologist or test agency on the basis of extensive research and field testing and they must meet the specific needs of the user(Armstrong,2006).
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ReplyDeletePsychometric tests are to be advantageous as indicators of shifts in the demand for skills, then it is important that organisations’ use of tests is linked to their wish to measure the skills of eventual employee (Jenkins, 2001)
ReplyDeleteFinding people with the right skills and attributes is paramount to all victorious businesses in both the private and public sectors. Therefore, how the employees perform in tests plays an important part in whether they are eventually chosen for the position or not (Institute Of Psychometric Coaching).
DeleteHi Ganga, A disadvantage of a Psychometric test is the inability to predict future performance. As Armstrong 2014 states "The most important criterion is the ability of a selection method or combination of methods to predict future performance"
ReplyDeletePsychometric testing is a selection tool that actually measures intellectual abilities and behaviors of the candidates, that are vital for the future job performance. Organizations depend on the results of these tests to take the major decisions for hiring and sometimes promoting as well. Its popularity among appointment of managers as a recruitment tool lies in its ability to whittle down candidates, making the recruiter more confident about the hiring process(Ozyer & Akyuz 2018)
DeletePsychometric test is one that estimates some characteristic of an individual's mental working to convey a score that can empower decisions to be made with the scores of other individuals and empower extrapolations to be made concerning future behaviors and performance. Psychometric test are therefore clearly of utilization for determination reason to recognize people and to expect which will be the most fitting to work necessity as far as recruitment, promotion, redeployment and training potential. (Hill 2001)
ReplyDeleteYes.As explained by Toplis et al (1991), a psychometric test such as one on mental ability has correct answers so that the higher the score, the superior the performance
DeleteHi Ganga, in addition to what you have mentioned, the psychometric tests are also applicable for testing mental health based on findings of Andó, (2015), and to assess if the individual is undergoing any severe clinical
ReplyDeletestates, which cannot be seen from outside, such as bipolar or addictions that can directly impact under working conditions. Under some broader circumstances such as during selection for specialized job tasks that requires mental stability; to establish an objective and impartial psychological testing, the process of operationalization can be used, which uses measurement of a phenomenon that is not directly quantifiable, (Rózsa, 2009).
Yes. Likewise, Sectors which require specific technical aptitudes sometimes have their own very precise tests, and this is a trend that is increasing. For example, employers in the city area might ask candidates to complete a simulation exercise where they interact with a energetic trading screen, or employers within the IT industry sometimes use the Berger Aptitude for Programming test to measure whether non IT graduates have the potential for programming skills(University of Wolverhampton)
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