Psychometric Tests are failing companies and candidatesî

Established psychometric tests, used by many companies when assessing potential recruits, are no longer effective according to Caroline Dunk, principal at cda, the organisational development and change management consultancy. She also suggests that not only are the standard tests outmoded, but in response to the increasing demand for something new and relevant, the market has also seen an influx of poorly designed and validated personality tests.

ìI believe that personality research is unable to deliver a sufficiently useful or comprehensive model for contemporary working styles,î states Dunk. ìThere has been a dearth of well-researched new ideas since the advent of the ëBig 5í theory of personality in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the corporate world has moved on.

ìFlatter hierarchies, the increase in remote working and project-based teams, and a focus on objectives such as empowerment, ongoing change, lateral development, innovation and continuous improvement have rendered the existing psychometric models obsolescent. To support these changes, we need personality tests that provide new perspectives on behaviour at work.

ìTo be useful, new tests must be carefully developed to high standards of validity and reliability. Unfortunately there is nothing to stop someone designing a test on the proverbial íback of an envelopeí and taking it to market without putting it through a rigorous (expensive and time-consuming) programme of validation.

ìPoor quality tests trap the unwary and contribute to the growing concerns about the misuse of psychometric tests. The well-respected Steve Blinkhorn, chairman of Psychometric Research and Development, commented recently on ëthe great underworld of psychometrics: shoddy personality tests and 10-minute quickies that tell you everything you need to knowí.

ìReal damage is done to individuals and organisations by poor tests, which deliver inaccurate and misleading information. The companies and the candidates are being let down.

ìBusinesses need something innovative and reliable that that gets away from the traditional ítick boxí test format. I suggest the personality testing industry needs to look at using a more radical approach - such as speech patterns - to identify personality traits.

ìThe time is ripe for a change. Itís time the UK psychometrics industry delivered something new to meet the needs of todayís working world.î