Posts tagged "objective"

5 Steps to Understanding Psychometrics

“Only those who respect the personality of others can be of real use to them.” Albert Schweitzer

Psychometrics is a field of study concerned with the theory and technique of educational and psychological measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits. It is a complex science through which we are able to quantify preferences in an objective and precise manner. This tool has a wide range of applications ranging from team building to benchmarking the personality of a candidate against  particular organizational cultures and environments. It also has a host of benefits which can be realized at both  personal and organizational levels. Outlined below are five steps to make your understanding of the instrument simpler.

1. Fundamentals: At the core of psychometrics lies complex research which revolves around a few main concepts. Reliability, which measures the consistency of the instrument Validity, which measure the characteristics, which it claims to measure. Standardization, which sets up protocols for conducting the test. To learn more about the fundamental of psychometrics please click here.

2. Types of test: Psychometric tests fall into three main categories. The first category measures personality & values of the candidate, this encompasses behavior, drivers and feelings, to name a few. The second category measures aptitude & ability which provides a gauge for the cognitive ability of the candidate. The last category is used for development & guidance used in team building, counseling and personal development. To learn more about different types of test please click here.

3. Personal benefits: Psychometric tests can be great stepping stones to accelerate the process of learning more about yourself. They can be particularly useful in identifying areas of  strengths, personal drivers and your own personal work based preferences. When used correctly under the guidance of a trained consultant you will be able to realize the benefits of this tool more effectively. To learn more about how you could benefit from psychometrics please click here.

4. Organizational benefits: Psychometrics is being integrated increasingly into organizations worldwide. With the increasing level of competition, reliance on productivity and ever growing demands of shareholders, organizations have integrated psychometrics to place individuals accurately, build stronger teams, specifically aiming to reduce the rate of attrition, which is a major issue in the corporate world today. To learn more about how your organization can benefit from psychometrics please click here.

5. Ethics: Psychometrics involves a collection of personal and private information. This information must be used in a manner which builds trust with those taking part in these assessments. A high level of confidentiality needs to be maintained, equal opportunities should given to all and the data from the assessments must be used and shared with the consent of the candidate. To learn more about ethical conduct in the world of psychometrics please click here.

Psychometrics provides a powerful medium to harness individual energy and that of the organization . When highly reliable and valid assessments are used under the supervision of trained consultants, maximum benefit will be derived. The results and reports provided at the end of assessment, can only do as much as you want to do with them. They provide starting steps which need to be taken further to realize any substantial gains. If anyone has questions regarding this subject, I will be more than happy to answer them for you.

* Our organization conducts private and public workshops on “Integrating Psychometrics At Your Organization.” Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about this program at enquire(at)innovogs(dot)com

 

Ethics and Testing

“Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling.” Valdemar W Setzer

Ethics and integrity formulate basic tenets for achieving a balanced, successful and happy life. Without them, we find ourselves on shaky grounds in life, akin to being without a moral compass to direct us. These principles also apply to the realm of testing, particularly to psychometric testing. This is due primarily to the fact that testing of candidates personality types and cognitive abilities involves sensitive information , in the wrong hands or if used with ill intent it can have extremely damaging implications. I have listed a few guidelines on ethical conduct and psychometrics below.

1. Confidentiality: When a candidate completes his/her test ,the reports of the test must be strictly viewed by authorized personnel only. These reports must not be shared with any third party without the consent of the candidate. Strict measures must be taken to control access to these reports and documents. Once a level of trust has been broken with a candidate salvaging the trust factor of this relationship is a difficult task and one which will severely impact the reputation of your organization.

2. Equal opportunity: At InnovoGS, it is our policy to work positively to reduce inequality with all current employees & potential employees, by ensuring that they are treated equitably, fairly, without discrimination and with dignity and respect, regardless of their age, gender, race, sexuality, disability, religion or belief. This helps in creating a level of trust and comfort with candidates, and eliminates any biases which could impact the assessments. 

3. Data usage: Large amounts of valuable data is collected when psychometric assessments are carried out. If you have a requirement to use this data for research purposes, you need to ensure that you take permission from the candidates on whether their data can be included anonymously as part of the research. It is absolutely essential that you take a transparent position when using psychometrics generated data to ensure the candidate that your intentions are clear.

Psychometrics is a very powerful tool which can be used both positively and negatively. It is the responsibility of the provider to ensure that they have integrated high levels of ethics and integrity into the evaluation process. Unfortunately psychometrics has multiple stigmas attached to it due to the fact that some providers have not been very transparent in their analysis, an aspect that continuously raises a level of suspicion. If you are looking into using psychometrics at your organization or planning on starting a business in this field, please ensure that ethics and integrity are tightly embedded into your corporate culture.

 

 

Psychometrics and Organizations

“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined efforts of each individual.” Vince Lombardi

The world is becoming smaller and more competitive by the day. As high quality resources become scarcer, organizations are facing a multitude of performance and productivity related issues. In the last decade or so there has been an ever increasing focus on human resources (HR) function in organizations, primarily because people are finally being seen as an organization’s most valuable asset. Psychometrics provides organizations with comprehensive information regarding understanding this asset. Listed below are some ways psychometrics could benefit organizations.

1. Better placement: Using a wide variety of tests available in the market place, helps to identify positions which are more suited to particular individuals. At work, most of the time we adapt to the environment, culture and the sort of work we do. Sometimes we get lucky and actually enjoy what we do, other times the clock doesn’t move fast enough. Through psychometrics, HR could essentially become more adept in placing individuals with greater accuracy, increasing productivity, efficiency and employee morale.

2. Team building: Tests such as the MBTi provide HR the ability to understand team dynamics with a greater level of insight. These tests provide HR with the ability to gauge interpersonal styles of an individual, how they like to receive information, what factors affect their decision making and how they structure their lives. Using this data helps create teams who are better able to understand each other, work more effectively and most importantly, execute. 

3. Decreased retention: When individuals enjoy the type of work they do, enjoy the people they work with, a natural increase in productivity, efficiency and morale is a natural outcome. I have personally noticed that when individuals or teams reach such a stage, attrition levels fall. This results in massive cost savings for organizations and can actually convert into a strong competitive advantage in the world we live in today.

Listed above are some reasons why your organization should look into psychometrics. It is important to note that the benefits listed above are not solely derived from psychometrics, they can be achieved when senior management makes a commitment to making their HR function more strategic. Training development and coaching are integral parts of the mix, together with psychometrics they help you form a strong bond with your employee and lay the foundation for a strong organization.

 

Psychometrics and You

“Personality is only ripe when a man has made the truth his own.” Soren Kierkegaard

Understanding oneself is a major step that has to be undertaken to create change in ones life. To be successful and achieve set goals, it is vital to identify one’s strengths, weaknesses and limitations. Psychometrics does not provide you with all the answers, but what it does, is help make the abstract concepts of personality more tangible. Listed below are a few ways that specific psychometric personality assessments could aid and benefit growth.

1. Identification of strengths: Tests such as strength finder highlight and bring greater emphasis to your strengths. From childhood, aspects of our lives which were weakest got the most attention, for example if you were exceptional at english literature and not the greatest at math, a lot of energy used to go into making your math skills better at the expense of developing your skills in literature further. Through psychometrics and targeted assessment we can identify areas of exceptional skills and focus on developing them further.

2. Identification of drivers: Tests such as the values & motives inventory provide specific reports which show what motivates you and what sort of entrepreneurial or career paths you may be more suited towards. These can be really insightful and help you focus your energy on paths where you may be more inclined to follow with more accuracy.

3. Work environment preferences: Tests such as the 15FQ+ provide tremendous insight into the sort of team player slot you are most suited for based on your preferences,the sort of leadership styles that are most effective with your personality and even how you can be more effective in communicating your thoughts and ideas. This provides a comprehensive picture of the sort of working environment that would suit you the most and how to be more effective on the path you take.

Listed above are just the few ways psychometrics can help you to understand yourself better in an objective and accurate manner. It is then upto you to use the results when you get them. Ideally you should talk them over with a trained consultant and get feedback on your report as also answers to any queries. Think of it as a giant stepping stone which provides you with the ability to understand aspects of yourself without the benefit of time and experience . 

 

Types of Tests

“At college age, you can tell who is best at taking tests and going to school, but you can’t tell who the best people are. That worries the hell out of me.” Barnaby C. Keeney

Psychometric tests can be classified in three basic categories. Each category assesses a particular aspect, whether it is personality, cognitive ability or basic interests. Listed below are the three types in some detail:

1. Personality & Values: Tests of personality and values provide a fair, objective and accurate method of predicting likely behaviour in a wide range of settings. They allow you to gather information which is not easy to gather from interviews or any other traditional means of evaluation. They give you much greater insight into character pattern of behavior, thoughts, and feelings.

2. Aptitude & Ability: These tests provide a comprehensive and in-depth measure of mental capacity. Tests in this category are designed to assess high level reasoning ability. This is a category which most of us have had more exposure to at school, entering colleges and now, even common place when applying for jobs. 

3. Development & Guidance: These tests are used to facilitate personal development, career guidance, team building and counseling. They provide candidates the ability to understand key concepts on how to interact with the rest of the world, take in information, process that information and eventually make decisions. These help greatly in areas for developing much stronger teams and making the candidate more productive and efficient.

Once again if you are asked to take or are taking a test for personal development, it is highly recommended that you ask the test provider for details regarding the reliability and validity of the test. This list will also provide you with reference for the sort of test to take to get the information you seek.

 

Psychometrics Fundamentals

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he think, he becomes.” Mahatama Gandhi

With the introduction of psychometrics into the recruitment and evaluation process, users of this instrument have to be extremely vigilant about the tests they take or have done for their employees. There are a number of psychometric instruments in the market and on the web which do not meet or satisfy the five core fundamental characteristics of a psychometric test. The five principals are:

1. Standardized: The test needs to be administered and scored using  standard procedures to avoid any biases in the test reports. The results need to be compared to a reliable norm group as well.

2. Reliable: The reliability of a test is based on the assessment and extent of the variation in test scores, due to differences between people on the trait(s) being measured. The test results need to be consistent across people, time & situations. So if a test says you have an extroverted personality type on your first attempt and on the next attempt says you have have an introverted personality type, the test is an unreliable indicator.

3. Validity: A test is said to be valid if it measures the characteristics, which it is claims to measure. A test used for job selection should predict job performance. A test of verbal ability should predict an applicant’s ability to read and comprehend written material and not some other characteristic. 

4. Objective: The results are not biased or skewed due to personal preferences towards the test taker. For example if the test administer scores the test according to the appearance of the candidate than this would be result in an un-objective assessment.

5. Discriminating: The test should provide you with clear differences between individuals, on the characteristics which are being tested. This will help the the reports to provide a much clearer, transparent and objective assessment of the individual.

These are the five characteristics you should be look for if you plan to implement psychometrics into your organization or for personal development. All reputable test providers have this information on hand for the tests that they administer. In order to gain maximum benefit from this , vigilance needs to be taken to ensure correct and accurate results.