Strategy Managment Definiton

There is growing evidence indicating that the use of psychometric tests for selection purposes has increased in recent years. All types of organizations are using tests and are using more of them. The results of a survey conducted in 2009 across a wide range of organizations are shown below.

Main Reason Additional Reason

To predict candidates performance 41% 73%

To assess whether candidate will fit-in 34% 67%

To obtain information prior to interview 25% 48%

There are several reasons for the increase in the number of organizations using tests:

Increased Regulation and Legislation

Increased test use can be seen as a defensive strategy, adopted in response to regulation and legislation. The single most frequently given reason for increases in testing was the need to have a selection process which would withstand legal challenges. Tests offer two advantages in this situation. They can be seen to be objective measures of how a candidate's skills align with the 'competency profile' for the job in question. These competency profiles are themselves seen as promoting access and equality of opportunity as well as reflecting the organizations skill requirements. Most if not all of the widely used tests have been proven not have adverse impact on minority groups, and are therefore fully compatible with equal opportunity policies.

Test Results Are More Useful Now Than Previously

It is important to understand that the tests themselves have not changed very much over the past few years. In fact, some widely used personality tests have been in use for over 30 years. However, the political and cultural environment in which organizations operate has changed significantly. The difficulty of dismissing staff means that decisions to hire are seen as increasingly high risk, and the placing of low-paid staff in customer facing jobs, or with health and safety responsibilities, is treated with increasing seriousness. In addition, some organizations have expressed concerns that using qualifications as a criterion for selection may create barriers to access and be viewed as contravening equal opportunity policies.

Increased Costs of Training Staff

Changes in the economy have raised the cost of training and developing staff. It is a fact that organizations with larger training expenditures use psychometric testing more than those with smaller training expenditure. This may be because the cost of staff development increases the value of all relevant selection information, and in particular justifies the additional cost of testing.

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