| To serve the dual purpose of ensuring quality as well as saving time, more and more companies are using psychometric tests in recruitment and evaluation. Companies deploying these psychometric tools claim this has actually helped them improve their talent pool. |
| These tools identify and measure the competencies required for a job, in order to get a closer fit and permit hiring managers to be more efficient and productive. The most widely used tool and the flagship of SHL Pvt Ltd"" a company that conducts objective assessments in the workplace"" is the occupational personality questionnaire (OPQ32). |
| Apart from these there are various ability tests and personality tests. These include advanced managerial tests (suitable for senior managers and directors), the Graduate Item Bank (for junior and middle level managers), motivational questionnaires and other tests. |
| The most recent test developed by SHL is the online 360 Degree Assessment and Feedback, which handles the entire process of 360 degree assessment online. However, since it involves assessment of an individual by subordinates, there is always the issue of confidentiality. |
| "In the normal paper-based 360, the subordinates (raters) are worried that their boss may come to know as to who gave what type of feedback. However, in our online assessment, the identity of the raters is completely anonymous. The consolidated report is also generated online and the information is provided in a colourful, easy to comprehend graphical format," says YVL Pandit, managing director of SHL (India) Pvt Ltd. |
| Research by SHL shows that fewer than 18 per cent of Indian companies deploy these tools, while as many as 85 per cent do so in Belgium, 60 per cent in the United Kingdom and 75 per cent in the Netherlands. |
| Though the number in India is small, Pandit says it is gradually increasing. SHL's clientele in India, he says, has grown from a mere six companies in 2003 to 45 today. |
| Organisations such as i-flex Solutions Ltd (provider of IT solutions to financial services firms) and Perfetti Van Melle India (manufacturers of confectionery and chewing gum), for instance, deploy these tests for management development. |
| "Psychometric tests are used for corroboration or for further investigation during interviews. They are rarely, if at all, used as an elimination tool. At times we have used tests like 16 PF and similar copyrighted devices. The idea is to gain some insights into the alignments of managers in different situations and assess likely decisions in simulated situations," explains Sugato Palit, head of human resources (HR) at Perfetti Van Melle India. |
| "OPQ really supports our assessment of people in the development centre exercise that we do. We have found high positive correlation with our other assessments of personality with specific reference to occupation fitment," says KK Davis, general manager- HR, at i-flex Solutions Ltd. |
| ICICI Bank Ltd has been using these tools for recruitment for over five years now. "These tools give us structured insight into people and their preferences on a standardised framework. The information collected in one hour would be equal to six-seven hours of personal interviewing. It makes it easier for young managers to describe, interpret and decide based on the information," says Saurabh Kant Singh, deputy general manager-HR at ICICI Bank Ltd. |
| Most user companies feel that though these tools are supportive and not decisive, their usage will increase in future. "They cannot replace the role of a manager, yet these decision supporting tools are of great help," Singh adds. |
| "Psychometric tools are well established and respected, because they provide 'below-the-surface' information. They will be relied upon to ensure culture fit and find out more about the interviewee's way of thinking, which will help organisations reduce the risk to themselves in hiring completely unknown people on the basis of a meeting and reference checks," concludes Palit. |
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