In an age where every decision needs to be justified, backed up and informed by data, psychometric testing contributes a key element of science in an industry that has often relied on gut feel and synergies between the recruiter and jobseeker when making important hiring decisions. In fact, more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies utilize psychometric profiling in recruitment.

Here are the top 5 reasons leading HR artisans rely on psychometric tests in recruitment

1.    Testing beats gut feel

Human instinct is little better than rolling dice and having the stakeholders absorb the cost of a bad hire. To replace a skilled position, research indicates it can cost up to 150% of an employee’s salary in lost productivity; making bad hires is a cost every business should strive to reduce. Psychometric testing adds a level of standardization and objectivity to the traditional art of recruitment by helping to remove the unconscious bias that comes along with many selection decisions. Meta-analyses have shown that including psychometric assessments can improve recruitment outcomes by 24% over traditional selection methods, such as resume screening and unstructured interviews.

2.    The results are measurable

Quantifying human behavior and its associated impact on the bottom line is one of the most difficult challenges facing organizations. With the coming age of Big Data, pre-employment assessment is one of the most simple and cost effective ways you can clearly quantify people-related ROI. Correlating assessment and recruitment results with outcome variables such as core job performance, turnover percentage, engagement and commitment is the way for HR departments to transform their image of being a cost center to an accountable, profit driving, business critical function.

3.    You don’t need a psych degree

Gone are the days of complex reports where a psychologist was needed to interpret esoteric psychometric test results. Psychometric test providers are slowly adopting a ‘design first, data second’ principle. Beautifully designed, data rich and easy to read reports can now be instantly accessed online. Simplified real world language and graphics that tell you exactly what you need to know are becoming the norm. Delivering a well designed psychometric test report to a hiring manager is now an empowering moment that helps them to make confident hiring decisions.

4.    It presents a positive company brand

The use of standardized and objective selection processes can create a powerful first impression of an employer’s brand (Sinar, Reynolds, & Paquet, 2003; Richman-Hirsch, Olson-Buchanan, & Drasgow, 2000). Applicants are attracted to modern recruitment and selection processes and they often cite the objective approach to assessing their capability as a key reason behind their satisfaction with the recruitment process. This is especially true for individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as psychometric testing provides a level playing field where everyone’s merit is equally judged.

5.    It helps shape your HR strategy

Quality data is essential to shaping a truly effective HR strategy. Remember the old adage “garbage in, garbage out” – you need to be able to measure what actually does and doesn’t work in any business initiative. HR relies on a number of different inputs to make decisions with company-wide effects. Psychometric tools are another important objective data point that can help shape HR strategy. When linked to individual job performance data, psychometric test results can produce lead indicators to help organizations with selection, talent management, assessing workforce capability, employee engagement, understanding organizational culture and succession planning with a high degree of confidence.

The Bottom Line

Psychometric testing is an essential part of modern best practice recruitment. Organizations that are serious about attracting and retaining the best talent should take advantage of these tools rather than rely on subjective selection methods.

Matthew Clarkson is the Chief Marketing Officer, Onetest. You can find Matthew on LinkedIn and Twitter. Onetest’s psychometric assessments, skills tests and employee surveys offer great levels of clarity on issues ranging from current organizational health and performance to job applicant suitability and existing employee potential.