Ultimate Guide to Psychometric Tests
Psychometric tests are the standard and logical method used to measure the behavioral capacity and mental capabilities of people. These assessments are primarily intended to gauge whether the person is suitable for a particular role based on two core skills – personality and ability.
They are used to measure the unseen skills which cannot be accurately evaluated during a face to face interview. They are actually the complementary weapon which is used to select people for hiring and training. Using these tests for hiring any person will be effective and aid in better and precise decision making.
James Cattell was the pioneer of the psychometric test. The first term that was labelled to psychometric test was mental test because the first psychometric test was on intelligence. Psychometric assessment is a way to measure the mental capabilities, personality, and behavior of an individual.
There are different types of psychometric assessment, but they are broadly divided into two categories that is, assessment of typical performance and assessment of maximum performance. Assessment of typical performance will measure that one tends to adopt in different situations.
This will help in picturing the behavioral style, preferences and the choices one might take. The behavior of the person is all about the way he/she looks at things or the way he/she approaches things. These tests follow the 5-personality model which is the Ocean model of Openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
In organizations when we want to understand the candidate’s behavior whether they would perform well in a team or strive for better or not be able to cope with criticism, personality assessment is the way out. These tests are the ones which assess the behavior, motivators and thoughts of a person.
On the other hand, assessments of maximum performance will determine the best one can do under restrictive conditions. For example, aptitude tests, ability tests are assessment of maximum performance because they determine an individual’s capability under restrictive conditions.
This a way to check how an individual will work under pressure. The aptitude and ability tests measure the cognitive capacity of a person. In these tests, each question has one right answer and people need to solve them in a time frame. These tests measure the fluid intelligence of a person which defines the ability to think, reason and solve issues. These tests also measure how people learn from past experiences and apply those to a given situation.
Psychometrics can play a pivotal role in broad-based talent development. Companies want to hire employees who have the right skill and attitude. They want employees to fit in the job role and work efficiently. It will be very valuable for the companies to hire people who can work effectively and productively and help organizations to grow more.
There are psychometric tools which can accurately assess the personality and skills of employees. Test like Workplace Big Five Profile helps in understanding the personality of potential candidates and helps in making decision during recruitment. Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) can be used to measure organizational culture preference.