Psychometric assessment tests get a bad reputation. Organisations at times consider assessments as discretionary spends and when it’s time to cut cost, assessments become a non-mission-critical item. And some organisations choose to not apply Psychometric assessments for their talent management activities. But unsurprisingly, findings from a study conducted by the Tata Strategic Group suggest adoption rate of assessments (psychometrics in particular) could increase to 87%.
So, slowly but steadily, assessments are recognised as tools to add significant value to selection and development systems. Psychometric assessments are multifaceted and with the correct usage can manage the demands and challenges that talent management face today.
If you find yourself sitting on the fence about the ability of assessments to produce a desired or intended result you look for, maybe the following reasons can help you decide
1. Data is King
Data is ubiquitous and every function of business now feels compelled to plan how they are going to use it to improve their operations. That’s also true for Human Resources (HR) department, which where most of the money is spent on the most valuable resource – we’d like to believe – is human capital.
Data allows you to curb biases (conscious or not, both) and make fair choices. It helps HR shift away from judgements and subjectivity to an objective-driven approach to making people-related decisions. Data from assessments can also help in building talent management strategy aligning with business goals and in-line with organisation’s competency framework.
2. Multipurpose Application
Be it selection for an entry sales role or individual development program for the next CXO, assessments support every time. Psychometric assessments that measure attitudes and behaviours can help HR identify an individual’s strengths and weakness and craft a development journey which is practical and has greater chances of success.
Assessment tests (especially predictive) can help determine the chances of an individual succeeding or failing in a given job role. Motivation is another crucial factor which assessments can help identify and generate insights to understand workplace behaviour and improve day-to-day work management.
3. Operational Bliss
There are alternatives to Psychometric assessments in the market out there. For instance, assessment centres allow you to observe & measure competencies in various situations. Although, assessment centres is an option, getting incumbents to free their schedule so they are at the same place and same time and attend a day-long activity which in their mind is only ‘feel good’. This can prove to be a costly and operational nightmare.
Assessments can be administered online and it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes to complete it. In some cases, the scores from these tests are valid for few years and re-testing isn’t necessary.
4. Saves Money
It takes money to save money (yes, you read that correctly). A single bad recruit can cost your company over Rs.20 lakhs. The cost of hiring, on-boarding, learning and development, and cost of time with the unfilled role has a significant impact your company’s financial performance. Assessments, when used appropriately (we suggest companies use the 30-30-30-10 model) in recruiting, can help minimise this risk.
So, if you are looking at making your talent management activities fair, cost-effective, and legally defensible; assessments are all right.