How organisations benefit from Psychometric testing
Psychometric testing for recruitment
Psychometric testing is traditionally utilised by organisations to examine the compatibility between a job vacancy and a potential employee. It allows the company to assess a candidate’s suitability by testing factors such as their abilities, personality, and motivation. The knowledge obtained from these tests offer decision makers valuable insight in choosing the right person for the job by ultimately comparing the job requirements to the mental and emotional capacity of the candidate.
More than one use
Finding the right person is only one of the scenarios in which psychometric assessments can be utilised by a company. The information obtained from this testing can also be used during the daily functions of an organisation. This knowledge brings with it an increased level of understanding with regards to human behaviour and allows us to make better decisions. It enables us to see how people relate to one another and allows us to make educated predictions of how others will react when confronted by various situations. For an organisation seeking to better manage their staff for example, gaining additional knowledge about employees and using that information to effectively lead them can ultimately be an organisation’s most valuable weapon.
Knowledge about employees such as their abilities and value systems not only allows leaders to effectively delegate tasks, it allows them to group individuals together to maximise synergy and productivity, predict possible areas of conflict, identify capabilities that are either over or under fulfilled, and will ultimately align all of the employees with the organisation’s overall pursuit of its objectives and goals. Psychometric assessments allow the organisation to recognise the elements of the individual employee as a whole, and not simply as a means to an end. By accepting that each employee is made up of their own unique abilities, beliefs, values, preferences, and personality traits, leaders are able to alter the work environment and approaches to foster innovation, unity, and productivity amongst their employees.
Building teams
Psychometric assessments are not only useful in managing employees on an individual level, they can also play a pivotal role in the formulation and development of effective teams. These tests can be used to predict possible personality conflicts, predict how the team members will interact with one another, and identify any pitfalls so that they may be addressed by providing them with additional resources or training programmes. Whilst this may not influence employees on an individual from the onset, understanding the dynamics of the teams will enable management to create a conductive environment that supports the activities of the team and its members. Operating in an enabling setting will eventually filter down to the individual level and ultimately improve their engagement and job satisfaction.
Looking at the benefits that psychometric testing can have on a team is a small scale indicator for the potential it holds for the organisation as a whole. As useful as psychometric testing can be however, it like any other resource is only effective as well as it is utilised. The information obtained from these efforts can have endless uses and value, it is the responsibility of the top members of the organisation to generate the necessary adjustments and changes before the full potential worth of psychometric testing can prevail.
Organisations can derive great value from psychometric testing and can utilise these types of instruments to gain a better understanding of their employees. This will help create an organisation that is better equipped to optimize the capabilities of their staff and generate a more cohesive workforce to drive the pursuit of overall organisational success.