PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING HELPS IN MOST SUITABLE RECRUITMENT/ SELECTION : EXPERTS

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 16^th April:-- Sharing that a psychometric testing helps employers in selecting the most suitable job applicants or candidates for promotion, Dr. Shivani Khurana, Associate Professor OB/HR, IILM Institute for Higher Education, New Delhi said, that such tests aim at measuring aspects of a candidate's mental ability, aptitude or personality, besides being used as part of the recruitment or selection process. Dr. Khurana was speaking during an advanced workshop on "Selecting the Right Person through Psychometric Assessment" organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany, under its Cooperation Project organised, here today.

Delving into the details, Dr. Khurana said, that occupational testing by employers is becoming a popular and an effective tool in selection of personnel at all levels. Tests normally consist of a standardized set of questions or tasks, which are used to measure the comparative skills, knowledge, abilities and other characteristics of individuals in an employment context. There are appropriate tests for all types and levels of job selection, from the unskilled factory worker to senior management positions. Most of the usage has been in large organizations, not only because they select staff more often, but also because tests can provide a comparative, standardized assessment between candidates where multiple unit recruitment exists.

Aparna Kaushik, Assistant Professor OB/HR, IILM Institute for Higher Education, New Delhi said,that employers should use Psychometric Test to sift to reduce applicant pools to manageable sizes, for a more detailed assessment of candidates besides being a reliable method of selecting the most suitable job applicant or candidates for promotion. Ms. Kaushik further said that while there may be a requirement of functional testing for specific jobs, the most common occupational testing is psychometric standardized behaviour sampling which can be described by a category or numeric scale. The three most common psychometric tests are ability, personality and personal interest tests.

Underlying the importance of these psychometric tests, Dalip Sharma, Director, PHD Chamber shared that already such tests are being used by 80% of Fortune 500 and 75% of Times Top 100 companies. Recruiting and keeping good people, said Sharma, is seen as the prime driver of competitive advantage.

 The workshop covered various psychological tests and their application in the industry besides covering in detail, the relevance of psychometric assessment in organizations, advantages and disadvantages of psychometric tools, Identifying and choosing the right psychometric tools – personality, aptitude, ethics in psychometric assessment, test construction, reliability and validity, relevance and assessment parameters, test administration and aspects of interpretation.