Psychometric testing, a tried and tested method, has been a staple in the arsenal of businesses and recruiters for years. While its primary use is to facilitate improved hiring processes to determine the right employees for a company, the tests themselves hold a multitude of benefits for business owners when used correctly.
Firstly, what are psychometric tests? These tests, developed using rigorous scientific and psychological benchmarks, provide an objective assessment of employees and candidates. They assess various aspects of the applicant, including their emotional intelligence, aptitude, behavior, and skills.
But why should you be using these tests as an employer, and what are the benefits?
1. Improved Hiring
By conducting psychometric tests on potential new hires, you can assess their suitability for the company based on their personality, soft skills, knowledge, and acumen, as well as their level of education, experience, and qualifications required for the role they’re applying to. This attention to detail can help you avoid making costly hiring mistakes, ensuring that you build a cohesive team that works well together.
2. Improved Internal Promotion Opportunities
As these tests assess a person’s emotional intelligence and behavioral traits, you can gain a better understanding of how they will act or handle certain situations and whether or not they are suitable for high-pressure roles or leading teams. While everyone can be a manager who typically oversees tasks and ensures they are completed, not everyone can be a leader who inspires and motivates their team to achieve a common goal. Determining who is best suited for each available role can help you make the right decision that benefits everyone.
3. Improved Performance and Engagement
Using psychometric testing will enable you to identify areas and employees who can benefit from development and utilize their skills in the most effective way possible. Determining where people are best suited within the company or what they excel at allows you to tailor their job role to utilize their best assets and maximize their potential. Some people are better at problem-solving behind the scenes, for example, while others excel at finding creative solutions. Additionally, some individuals shine in public speaking and taking charge.
However, if you’re unaware of this about your employees, chances are you’re not leveraging their natural skill sets. Having each employee complete the questionnaire can provide valuable insights into their characteristics, enabling you to assign them to roles where they will be better suited, potentially boosting their employability and job satisfaction as well.
On top of this, you can improve engagement and collaborate better with each employee and the company, as well as within teams and departments, by ensuring you put people together who can work well and deliver the results you need. You can also offer increased performance and feedback to help you keep building on what you’re doing.
As you can see, there are many reasons why organizations benefit from psychometric testing of all employees, both new and existing, and it can be just the catalyst to get things moving nicely.
