Psychometric testing can help recruiters pick staff with the X-Factor, reports Alex Turner

STEVE JOBS, the chief executive of Apple, talks of the “bozo factor” in recruitment. It’s the notion that, if you recruit staff who aren’t up to the job, eventually you have a company that is going to wither.

A worrying thought, but it is brightened by the flip side that selecting the right candidate can lead to a better future.

Selecting the right person can be fraught with difficulties, and the importance of the position for the company – whether it’s a senior manager of a large firm or a start-up’s first outside appointment – increases the trepidation with which the task is approached.

For the potential employee, it is also a demanding process, even if it is the traditional application-interview-offer route.

But there are plenty of other methods, including the more strung-out recruitment processes that involve a 12-week television show or a two-year campaign before a panel of 130m voters.

And although jobs like Sir Alan Sugar’s Apprentice or the American Presidency are rare, all companies can still be rigorous in their selection procedures.

Sir Alan Sugar, in choosing Yasmina over Kate, said: “I can’t put it into words why I chose Yasmina, it was just a gut instinct.”

Attempting a more scientific approach, Sir Siegmund Warburg, founder of SG Warburg merchant bank, which is now part of the UBS empire, relied on the services of a Swiss graphologist to analyse the handwriting of candidates to help select the best person.

Although graphology isn’t a popular method of analysing candidates, many companies use psychometric testing to get behind the well-rehearsed interview answers.

Simon Kerevan, joint managing director of Liverpool-based Iceburg Consulting, said: “There are lots of different reasons why firms choose psychometric testing.

“Most recruitment processes will use CVs and interviews but they are based solely on what the candidate wants you to know.

“Psychometric tests can make clear, transparent judgments on their abilities: numerical, verbal and personality.

“Looking at behavioural characteristics, in tests that might come out very differently.

“For example, when interviewing for a sales person, they might say they are a great networker, but their personality profile may say otherwise. It tests their abilities, rather than tests what they think their abilities are.”

Getting candidates to talk about a situation where they were under pressure, or in an unusual position, can help to reveal a truer picture of the interviewee.

“There are other assessment techniques, such as critical incident interviews,” said Mr Kerevan.

“We ask them to put themselves in a situation, for example that made them angry, and ask them to explain it. People drift away from their pre-recorded answers, you are putting them in a critical incident.

“What happens is you see below the surface, they get more animated and open with the language they use. We can start to understand a bit more about the person.”

But there is an “absolute balance” to be found between testing and instinct.

He said: “You can’t get any better than experience and instinct.

“Tools form part of the process, but all they are doing is giving an additional insight.”

However, many recruitment processes can be flawed from the start.

“The main error companies make is not understanding what they are looking for in the first place, so we make sure the client understands what the role requires,” said Mr Kerevan.

“Again, using a salesperson as an example, is the company recruiting what they think a salesman looks like or have they looked at the good sales people in their team versus their poor performers?

“If you are just back-filling, you will probably be recruiting again for those jobs soon.”

PHILIP HEMSTED, managing director of Newton-le-Willows business psychology consultants Psycuity, agrees that firms do not have a clear enough idea of what they want when they look for an employee, and highlights other errors made by recruiters.

He said: “We see an over-reliance on accuracy of CVs and associating the credibility of a candidate by brand names on their CV. A common fault is not checking factual statements such as employment dates, qualifications, references.

“We come across recruiting managers who aren’t very comfortable or competent at interviewing, and miss the opportunity to find out how candidates actually behave in the workplace.”

Predicting behaviour is where psychometric testing can be useful. In the book, Super Crunchers, Ian Ayres details how Asda owner Wal-Mart uses personality tests rather than ability tests because they prove to be a better predictor of employee productivity.

The retailer also uses the tests to judge whether a potential employee is more likely to stay with the company for a shorter-than-average period. For example, people who agree with the statement “there is room in every corporation for a non-conformist” are thought to be more likely to leave quickly.

However, Psycuity’s Mr Hemsted is clear that a balance must be struck between relying on interpreting test answers and the information garnered from interviews: “Psychometrics are a tool for measuring individual differences between people,” he said.

“They can be used to find what makes someone tick.

“Used correctly, they can provide an independent and objective prediction of someone’s likely behaviour.

“Psychometrics can guide the interviewer to ask the right questions, rather than relying just on instinct – who hasn’t behaved differently with someone similar to themselves, rather than with someone that is different?”

Companies must take care not to unintentionally discriminate against candidates during the selection process, warns Mark Dale, head of employment law at DLA Piper, Liverpool.

“Psychometric tests are a very useful tool in the rounded recruitment process,” he said. “However, a certain form of test may be a problem for a candidate with a disability, so the recruiter is required under the Disability Discrimination Act to make sure they make reasonable adjustments.”

He adds that recruitment can be a costly business – either by choosing the wrong person or by not having clear selection procedures.

“Companies must be careful to deal with recruitment in a fair and non-discriminatory way,” he said.

“Set out the requirements for the job clearly at an early stage.

“Sometimes, companies unintentionally make something discriminatory, for example insisting a job has to be done during certain times of the day may discriminate against people with childcare responsibilities.

“Flexibility and open-mindedness can reap benefits by not excluding good candidates.”

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