“We think, each of us, that we’re much more rational than we are. And we think that we make our decisions because we have good reasons to make them. Even when it’s the other way around. We believe in the reasons, because we’ve already made the decision.”
Daniel Kahneman
Psychometric assessments can bring rationality, objectivity and rigour to business decision-making. They provide a framework for selection and development decisions and initiatives and add value to talent management strategies. People are often sceptical, cynical even, about Psychometrics but, in the right hands, and used appropriately, they are a useful tool.
Admittedly for the uninitiated, Psychometrics can seem like a minefield; tricky to manoeuvre and likely to blow up in your face if you get it wrong.
Having used Psychometric assessment in many different organisational settings, here are some thoughts on what to do … and not to do… to get the most from Psychometric assessment…
Do:
Remember that you can assess many different aspects of ability and behaviour –clerical, numerical, mechanical and verbal reasoning can all be assessed as part of the selection process. You can also take an objective look at how individual’s compare in terms of traits such as perfectionism, rule consciousness and dominance.
Use tools to their full potential; get expert advice to select the best tool and the best report format for your needs, eg DiSC has a Sales style report, OPQ32 has an Emotional Intelligence Report and Belbin Team Roles has a Team report.
Ensure the Psychometric tool you select works in your organisational culture. In my experience DiSC with it’s 4 quadrants works really well in some organisations, whilst others prefer the 16PF5, OPQ32, MBTI, or Belbin Team Roles.
Take time to understand the range of ways in which Psychometrics can be used – to consider personality, abilities and behaviours in selection processes, to enhance interviews and to provide objective behavioural content for coaching or training initiatives.
Don’t:
Use them unless you are trained or have an expert to guide you.
Forget to provide quality feedback to recruitment candidates, employees or hiring Managers/HR.
Use the Myers Briggs Type Inventory for recruitment /selection – it’s only recommended for development.
Muddy the waters by measuring the wrong thing!
Julie McDonald
Director of People Solutions
www.whitecubeconsulting.com
