Perhaps understandably, modern employers prefer not to trust their instincts in this matter. These days, they don’t just want to see a well-constructed CV and feel a firm handshake. So, depending on the seniority of the appointment, candidates are subjected to a range of psychometric examinations that might include aptitude tests, questions that explore a candidate’s situational judgement or preference tests to try to tease out personal qualities.
Globally, organisations affirm that psychometric tests are the most effective selection technique at the first stage of recruitment. Almost one in ten major companies use them, so no wonder the personality testing industry is worth about $2 billion. Tests range hugely in quality, from free online tests to expensive branded surveys that are rooted in Psychology and administered and interpreted by trained staff.
But at the receiving end, many of these tests can prove baffling. Candidates are given a battery of statements to rate. These may range from the practical: ‘I usually finish what I start’; to esoteric questions about diversity, to more personal probes about their social behaviour. The challenge comes in choosing statements that are most like you and least like you. Should you say that your strongest quality is respect for the boss, or the ability to make new friends easily? And how will your answers be interpreted?
From the employer's perspective, most are careful about hiring based solely on test reports. Like Market Research, testing can provide new perspectives and insights but the hiring decision remains a human judgement. Some tests help with screening, while others can inform later decisions about promotion. But, for the latter, it’s much better to track individuals’ work skills and emotional competencies over time, rather than subject them to apparently random tests at unexpected intervals.
If you are hiring, and you are supporting your decisions with some form of testing science, beware of two things. Firstly an innate human tendency towards confirmation bias may lead you to use test results selectively to confirm the hiring choice that your ‘gut’ wants you to make. And secondly, some advice for bosses who like to hire in their own self-image. Don’t.
There’s nothing more limited than surrounding yourself with mini-Me’s. To paraphrase the advertising genius David Ogilvy: ‘If each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.’
Chris Harrison leads The Brand Inside
www.thebrandinsideafrica.com
