Workplace Wellbeing: Testing for the right fit at work  

Using psychometric tests to recruit the best candidate for a job vacancy benefits not only the employer but the employee too,

Psychometric tests are increasingly common - but neurodivergent people might be at a disadvantage. Picture: iStock

ARE you an inspector, a campaigner or a crafter? How highly do you score on neuroticism, extroversion and conscientiousness?

It’s likely you will know the answers to these questions if you’ve ever completed the Myers-Briggs or the NEO Personality Inventory tests.

Myers Briggs and NEO are popular examples of psychometric tests. According to Anne Pettit, a lecturer in leadership development who also works to support individuals who want to maximise their career development, such tests are widely used in Ireland.

“They make up part of the interview and assessment process,” she says. “The idea behind them is to test people’s cognitive abilities, behavioural styles and personalities in line with the role they are going for.”

Defined as a way of measuring the mind, psychometrics might sound like a new concept but it’s been around for a long time.

Cambridge University opened the world’s first psychometric lab in 1887 and the US Army used some of the first psychometric tests during World War I to try to predict which soldiers would suffer from post-traumatic stress.

These days, psychometric tests are used by employers to recruit the best job candidates. The Global Assessment Barometer in 2016 asked 2,776 HR recruitment practitioners in 14 countries for their views on these tests.

Some 94% used the tests during the hiring stage, and 81% said they expected to make more reliable and less risky decisions as a result.

Kate McCormack is head of assessment and development at Odgers Berndtson, an executive search firm specialising in recruitment and succession planning. She is also a trained psychometrician.

She explains there are different types of assessments. There are ability tests to measure the general skills appropriate to your education and experience; aptitude tests which assess your potential to pick up new skills; and tests in numerical or verbal reasoning, spatial awareness and inductive reasoning, your ability to work flexibly to find solutions to problems using unfamiliar information.

“There are also behaviour tests which look at your personality to identify your strengths, uncover how you feel about things, and evaluate how you might suit a particular role or fit in a team,” she says.

McCormack stands over the validity of these tests.

“The one we have developed at Odgers Berndtson has a grounding in psychology and scientific methods behind it,” she says. “Some free ones are not as reliable but those that are reputable and administered and interpreted by a qualified practitioner can provide employers and employees with helpful and valuable data.”

Role of psychometric testing

Research highlights the role of psychometric testing. A 2021 University of Arkansas meta-analysis found that personality traits predicted job performance differently across different jobs. Conscientiousness predicated performance in all jobs but its effect was particularly pronounced in jobs with low to medium levels of cognitive demand. Extroversion was associated with performance in jobs with medium levels of cognitive complexity. 

A combination of conscientiousness and extroversion was associated with leadership and agreeableness was linked to better performance in jobs in social and health care.

Such findings show why employers incorporate personality assessments into their job screening process. They want to check if employees have the traits that will allow them to flourish in a particular role.

Employees can also benefit from these tests. A 2019 University of Helsinki study of 22,000 employees across 25 occupations found that those whose personalities more closely matched their occupation were more satisfied in their jobs.

Pettit reassures employees that there’s no need to cram for these tests. There are no right or wrong answers.

“In most cases, you’ll have to answer something like 50 questions in 50 minutes,” she says. “It’s a quick-fire round in which you’re assessed in everything from leadership and problem solving to communication skills. You’ll be asked questions such as to give an example of a time you made a good decision and a not-so-good one or whether you’re a follower or a leader. The aim is not to find red flags or negative traits but to draw out your strengths and natural talents.”

McCormack advises people not to try to second-guess their answers.

Kathleen Lenihan

“It can be a good idea to practice answering sample questions but there’s no point in trying to give employers the answers you think they want to hear,” she says. “This is easy to spot ... there are controls built in so that we can see if someone is trying to game the test.”

She acknowledges that neurodiverse people may be at a disadvantage.

“The tests aren’t designed for them which is a problem as often people see neurodiversity as a disadvantage and don’t admit to it during the interview process,” she says. “If they do, we can make accommodations for them but if they don’t, their results may not be all that accurate.”

There are other circumstances in which results may not be accurate, such as when the tests used are not reputable ones or are administrated by people who are not qualified in psychometric testing.

This happens far too often, says McCormack.

“When used well, psychometric tests can be brilliant and people are constantly surprised by how effective and helpful they are. But they are misused by some HR people who don’t know what they are doing. Giving people feedback on data to do with their personality can make them feel very vulnerable and if it’s done badly or incorrectly, it can be damaging. When you’re dealing with people’s minds and their careers, that’s simply not good enough.”

It’s also important to remember that these tests are not intended to be used as the sole means of evaluating a candidate.

“They are one part of the picture and shouldn’t be used in isolation,” says Pettit. “If used in conjunction with an interview process, they can provide employers with more information to help make better hiring decisions.”

Making improvements

Kathleen Lenihan is the strategic director of human resources at Trigon Hotels where management recently introduced psychometric testing in hiring for senior roles.

“We use DISC which is a personal assessment tool used to improve teamwork, communication and productivity in the workplace,” says the strategic director of human resources at the hotel group.

“DISC stands for dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. We ask candidates to take the short personality assessment to determine where they would fit into these four reference points and this then helps us to determine how they would fit the organisation, the team and the role.”

The test also helps them to identify a candidate’s potential skills gaps.

“By being aware of these, we are better able to support and train candidates in their new roles,” says Lenihan.

“The data helps us to identify ways in which we can maximise our teams’ potentials.”

Lenihan is a qualified analysed which means she can administer and interpret the test herself.

Overall, she judges psychometric testing to have been a success for Trigon Hotels to date.

“From a business point of view, it reduces our risk of hiring and developing people who turn out to be unsuitable for the role,” she says.

“We all know the financial cost attached to a wrong decision on employment can be considerable, not to mention the emotional costs invested in the process by the employee.

“Psychometric testing helps us minimise the risk of this happening to us.”