Business owners so often agree on the need to strive for success, sustainability, and overall growth, yet fail to recognize the importance of selecting the correct staff to support and realize the company’s end goal. Much has been said and done around the move toward online or e-recruitment. However, effective hiring goes much further than getting people to apply for a particular vacancy or headhunting those who have proved to be successful in their current or former positions. It is not enough for an applicant to have matching qualifications or fulfill a quota requirement. The question remains: would this particular applicant suit your business’s environment, culture, and day-to-day dynamics?
There is no better way to determine this than to conduct psychometric assessments. Unfortunately, some people have formed negative associations with psychometric testing based on bad experiences when being assessed, not receiving feedback, or the commonly termed “tests” (which are in fact assessments) being misinterpreted or misused. Many companies tend to use generic or free online assessments to assess potential hires irrespective of the level of seniority or the complexity of the role in question. Companies do so in an attempt to save money and speed up the selection or recruitment process, all the while not realizing that it may cost them much more in the long run (in terms of staff turnover, disciplinary action, CCMA cases, incompetence and counter productivity, rising conflict, and low staff morale) than the initial investment in proper psychometrics done by a qualified professional.
Choosing the correct battery of psychometric assessments to determine a “person-job match” can easily determine the applicant’s actual fit to the company, their current and future competence in line with job requirements, and the risk for counterproductive behaviour, as well as the growth potential with a view to succession planning. Even though psychometric assessments should not be considered the proverbial alpha and omega, they can add great value by formalizing the selection process and serving as a guide in support of other determining criteria such as interviews, CVs, and background checks. It is of further importance to include management in the process, both in determining the competencies needed and to provide feedback to afterwards.
In addition, psychometric assessments have value beyond their use as a screening method during selection. Conducting assessments has proved to be instrumental in individual employees’ growth journeys, as well as in team building, succession planning, and leadership development.
Psychometric testing adds science to the selection and recruitment process and constitutes a fair and reliable method of tracking performance over time. Should you wish to find out more about how it can benefit your business, please do not hesitate to contact me on mj@marlijooste.co.za.
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