1. Psych Testing Seminar: Can you afford not to do psych testing?
Prue Laurence & Nicole Russom
Consulting Psychologists
September 2009
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2. Objectives of Today’s Session
To increase your understanding of psych testing and its use in the workplace, including:
The benefits of using psych testing
How psych tests can be most effectively used in the selection and development process
The types of tests available
The limitations of psych tests
What else would you like to get out of the session?
Sept 2009
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3. Who we are and who we work with…
Psylutions is a boutique organisational psychology consultancy that specialises in providing behavioural and psychometric assessments for selection and development purposes.
All Psylutions employees are registered psychologists.
We are not recruiters – we don’t have fees for placement, allowing us to be completely objective. We gather objective data to assist our clients in making selection and development decisions.
We work with both large and small organisations across a range of industries, including finance and banking, FMCG, professional services, logistics, hospitality and tourism.
Sept 2009
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4. What is an Organisational Psychologist?
Psychologists that specialise in applying psychology to the workplace to improve organisational effectiveness, productivity, job satisfaction, and matching candidates to roles, amongst other areas.
Organisational psychologists have been trained in evidence based approaches, to ensure that the tools and methods they use are effective.
Psychologists are bound by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics.
Sept 2009
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5. Mythbusters
Quiz on myths about psychologists and psych testing… can you separate fact from fiction?
Sept 2009
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6. Question 1 True or false: psychologists can read your mind. Sept 2009
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7. Answer 1
False!
While psychologists are good at reading behaviour, we are not psychics!
Sept 2009
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8. Question 2
True or False: Psych tests that are used for selection and development purposes determine how “crazy” a candidate is.
Sept 2009
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9. Answer 2
False!
Psych tests used for selection and development purposes are workplace specific, and examine the candidate’s capacity to perform a particular role only. We leave the “crazy” people to the clinical psychologists.
Sept 2009
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10. Question 3 True or false: Psych tests are perfect Sept 2009
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11. Answer 3
False!
Although psych tests are a valuable addition to the selection process, they are not perfect and we will discuss some of the limitations during this session.
Sept 2009
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12. Question 4
True or false: There is such a thing as a perfect profile resulting from a personality assessment
Sept 2009
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13. Answer 4
False!
There is no such thing as a perfect profile. Different profiles are more effective in different roles, and as we all know, no one is perfect. Psych assessments simply identify the candidate’s strengths and opportunities for development in relation to the role they are being assessed for.
Sept 2009
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14. Question 5
True or false: Good quality psychometric tools must be expensive.
Sept 2009
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15. Answer 5
False!
The cost of psychometric tools is actually quite small when compared to the other costs involved in the recruitment and selection process.
Sept 2009
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16. Question 6
True or false: Candidates who undertake unsupervised testing will cheat.
Sept 2009
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17. Answer 6
True/False
Some candidates may cheat, but they are usually found out either by scales built into the questionnaire, or at further stages of the selection process.
Sept 2009
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18. Answer 7
True or false: Psychometric assessments allow us to discriminate between candidates.
Sept 2009
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19. Answer 7
True!
By discriminate, we mean that they allow us to distinguish between candidates based on objective, job relevant data.
Sept 2009
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20. Your Experiences Has anyone done a psych test before? Sept 2009
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21. What value does psych testing add to the selection process?
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22. What is the cost of a bad hire?
Scenario – You have interviewed your preferred candidate. He/she looks good on paper, interviews well and seems to fit the role requirements.
You have been looking to fill the role for a while and are keen to make a placement.
BUT
This role has high exposure in the organisation, managing a large customer focused project.
You have been unsuccessful in finding the right candidate until now, the project is experiencing delays which is ultimately costing you money.
The candidate looks good and you choose not to invest additional cost and time into psych testing.
Sept 2009
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23. So, what is the cost of a bad hire?
Possible Outcomes
Best case scenario – Candidate comes on board, fits in well with the team, project is a roaring success and you get promoted.
Worst case scenario – Candidate comes on board, has a number of behavioural issues that emerge in relation to their management of others, management of clients, management of the project which were not obvious in the interview. Candidate leaves abruptly. Company loses money. Project gets shelved, you get fired.
So, what is the cost of a bad hire?
Sept 2009
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24. What is the cost of a bad hire?
Direct costs – advertising, engaging recruitment agency
Indirect costs – time spent assessing resumes, interviewing, training new employee
Loss of IP
payouts?
Performance lag time.
What if you could minimise these costs overall by using psych testing?
Sept 2009
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25. Client Testimonials Case 1:
Client was taking on a new employee who looked fantastic on paper and interviewed well, and decided not to put them through a psych test. Candidate lasted 6 weeks.
Case 2:
Client was made aware of a candidate’s vulnerabilities for a particular role through psych testing, but decided to proceed with offering the candidate the role regardless. Candidate’s vulnerabilities emerged on the job, and they were managed out of the organisation within three months.
Case 3:
Client reported that the strengths and development opportunities identified by the psych test were true of the individual in the role 6 months later.
Sept 2009
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26. How can you afford to not use psych testing as part of your selection and development process?
Sept 2009
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27. Benefits of using psych testing in the recruitment process
Adds rigour to the entire recruitment process
Psych tests will return the same results if a candidate takes the test now and in 6 months time. They are reliable.
Psych tests have been demonstrated to predict on the job performance.
Psych tests are a valid measure of behaviour, they measure what they purport to measure - on the job performance.
Sept 2009
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28. Benefits of using psych testing in the recruitment process
Provides a methodology for predicting performance against key competencies
Competencies refer to a set of behaviours required to successfully perform job tasks.
Psych tests are designed to objectively measure candidate’s behaviour in relation to the key competencies of the role.
Sept 2009
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29. Benefits of using psych testing in the recruitment process
Provides a measure of performance and potential
Performance refers to past behaviours as measured by interviews, references checks and resumes.
Potential refers to a candidate’s capacity to perform on the job and develop skills.
Although they can be measured separately, we recommend the combination of performance and potential which allows you to take a more holistic assessment approach to understanding the candidate’s fit for the role.
Sept 2009
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30. Below the Line Assesses Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other (KSAOs)
People are hard to read: Using psych testing is about getting to the “below the line” assets such as motives, attitudes, drivers
Psych testing can also be used in support of “gut feel,” to inform decisions.
Sept 2009
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31. Benefits of using psych testing in the recruitment process
Assesses a wide range of job relevant skills and behaviours –
learning & cognitive style preferences
emotional intelligence
personal & leadership style
team skills
sales skills
customer service skills
motivation
Microsoft Office skills
IT programming
values
derailers
Sept 2009
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32. Benefits of using psych testing in the recruitment process
Is resource effective –for volume recruitment eg. Graduates
Eg. Online abilities can save time and money in screening a large amount of candidates in an objective manner.
Sept 2009
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33. What psych tests are available?
Abilities (verbal, numerical, abstract)
Personality or work style preferences
Sales behaviours/preferences
Customer service
Motivation
Computer software skills
Or any other assessments you can think of!
Psylutions acts as a “one stop shop” partnering with many test publishers to access the most relevant assessment for your purposes.
Sept 2009
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34. Our Partners
We partner with test publishers including SHL, TestGrid, Previsor and Kenexa amongst others.
Psylutions see ourselves as mortgage brokers for psych tests – we don’t make our own tests but use our expertise to find the test that best meets your needs. This allows us to remain objective when recommending the most appropriate tests.
Sept 2009
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35. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL-x19ne-Cc
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36. What are the limitations of psych testing?
Poor quality tests and interpretation of tests.
Eg. Google IQ tests
Psylutions ensures that all assessments we use are reliable and well validated.
Importance of accredited interpretation of tests.
Sept 2009
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37. What are the limitations of psych testing?
Candidates can fake a good profile.
Many tests have consistency and impression management scales.
Candidates do not necessarily know what a “good” profile looks like.
Are usually found out at subsequent stages of the selection process.
Sept 2009
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38. What are the limitations of psych testing?
Candidates can cheat when they do unsupervised testing.
Cheating is difficult to do, and we usually find out.
Less than 5% of candidates cheat.
Speaking to the candidate beforehand adds that personal trust/psychological contract and increases their tendency to complete the assessment themselves.
If they cheat, they are only cheating themselves.
Sept 2009
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39. What are the limitations of psych testing?
Self report – based on candidate’s perception of themselves and may not be how others perceive them.
Depends on their insight into their own behaviour.
Sept 2009
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40. What are the limitations of psych testing?
One bad experience can put candidates off psych testing.
We ensure that we are clear with candidates about what the tests involve, who has access to the information, and that we can talk them through their results once the selection process has been completed.
One bad experience can put hiring managers off psych testing.
We make sure that all the data we collect is job relevant, and that we don’t collect any information that isn’t reported on.
We ensure that the data is interpreted in relation to the role and the “so what” factor.
Sept 2009
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41. Frequently Asked Questions about Psych Testing
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42. FAQs: How do I know which psych test to use?
This depends on the competencies that are important for the role, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to psych testing.
Cognitive abilities assessments are useful to assess verbal and numerical reasoning skills, as well as the candidate’s ability to learn new information.
Personality assessments can assess a number of competencies, including team work, relationship building, customer focus, planning and organising, and resilience.
Ask us! We are always happy to discuss what assessments will best assess the competencies you are seeking in a particular role.
Sept 2009
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43. FAQs – Where should I use psych testing in the selection process?
Psych testing can be used at different stages depending on your needs.
Volume recruitment – standard practice is to use abilities testing in the initial screening process.
Other recruitment – we recommend using testing between first and second interviews.
This will help explore areas of concern raised in the first interview
From a candidate care perspective, psych test as a last ‘hurdle’ can give the impression that they have ‘failed’ the psych test
Data from the psych profile can guide questions in the second interview to specific behaviours
Sept 2009
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44. FAQs – How do I sell psych testing into my organisation?
Explain the benefits in terms of costs for managers who are focused on the bottom line.
Introduce psych testing slowly.
Make the introduction of psych testing a consultative process – what do hiring managers find is missing from the current selection process? Can psych testing meet that need? What are their concerns about psych testing?
One of the best ways to get sceptics to believe in psych testing is for them to do an assessment and see that it works!
Sept 2009
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45. Why our clients choose to work with Psylutions
Our Focus on the Relationship : Psylutions are easy to do business with! We focus on providing an efficient and responsive service, and are flexible and innovative in our approach, tailoring our services to your organisational needs.
Competitive Pricing : As a small business, Psylutions has the power to adapt our pricing structures to fit in with your budget, as we are not bound to set pricing models and therefore have the opportunity to react in a flexible manner, in line with your needs.
Access to a wide range of Tools : Psylutions does not develop our own tests, and we are not restricted by exclusive relationships with any test publishers. This means we have access to a world-wide library of best practice tools and can access appropriate products in line with your needs.
We are Psychologists: Psylutions has a large team of consultants around Australia all of whom are registered psychologists. This means we bring expertise in psychometric and behavioural assessment and everyone who works with us is bound by the Australian Psychological Society Professional Code of Ethics.
Sept 2009
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46. Your Assessment
Abstract/conceptual reasoning assessment: measures preferred learning style and tendency to think ‘outside the square’
Norm group: Australian Managers
Range you scored in – what does it mean?
Happy to talk through your results individually if you have questions once the session has concluded.
Sept 2009
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47. Sept 2009
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48. Questions?
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