2/11/2009 Psychometric Tests: Latest trends and best practice - - PDF document

2/11/2009 1

Psychometric Tests: Latest trends and best practice Presenters:

Cherie Curtis Head of Psychology Jason Blaik Psychology R&D Manager Melinda Wilkings Psychologist Kate Cervetto Psychologist (Provisional)

• Who is Onetest?
• What do we know about psychometric tests?
• Group activity
• Sharing of outcomes
• Best practice and recent trends in psychometrics
• 3 cases studies
• Summary
• Questions and answers

Agenda

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Who is Onetest?

• First Australian provider of online psychometric tests
• Brisbane based (Offices in Sydney and Melbourne)
• In house Psychology team
• Deliver 100,000 + tests per year
• Understand business implications of assessments and how

they fit with organisational processes

• Quality Assured Business – ISO 9001-2000
• A unique mix of Strategy, HR, Technology and Psychology
• Service SME’s through to Multi-Nationals across all sectors

What does Onetest do?

• Online Psychometric

Tests

• Verification testing
• Online Recruitment

Management System

• Employer Branding and

Sourcing Strategy

• Graduate Recruitment

Solution

• Skills Testing
• Online Psychometric

Tests

• Online Performance

Appraisal Solution

• Leadership & Team

Development Solutions

• Team Building Facilitated

Sessions

• Personalised HR

Consulting

• Exit Interviews
• Cultural

Analysis/ Values Audits

• Employee Engagement
• Job Satisfaction Surveys
• Organisational

Commitment

This includes the following products and services: This includes the following products and services: This includes the following products and services:

Some Onetest clients

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What does Onetest know about Psychometric Tests?

• Designed, developed, validated 6 test in 6 years
• Item development
• Report development
• Parallel form development
• Ensuring test security
• Candidate care
• Test maintenance (psychometrics and normative data)
• Established 3 large scale test integrations with international third

parties

What does Onetest know about Psychometric Assessment?

• Strong use of technology to add efficiency to the practical

application of psychometric assessment

• Have applied tests to 1000+ companies across Australia, US, UK,

NZ, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

• Manage daily candidate and client enquires
• Actively contributing to psychometric industry
• University lecturing
• Commercial marketing and mainstream media
• Conference attendance and presentations
• 1. Tests are one of the most common

applications of psychology to the workplace

• 2. Use of psychometric tests in workplaces is increasing

within Australia

• 3. Current economic market means HR is a hot topic
• 4. Psychologists are considered experts in psychometric testing
• 5. We are passionate about the topic!

Why are assessments important?

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What is your experience?

Have you administered assessments? Paper and pencil based? Online? What types of assessments? What context were they used? Recruitment? Development? Team dynamics? Leadership?

Group Activity

• Divide into 4 small groups
• Drawing on your experience, each group will discuss

the questions presented and record their answers

• Each group discussion will be facilitated by a

Onetest Psychologist.

• You will be asked to share your responses with the

larger group

• You will have 30 mins to complete this task
• 1. How often does your group use or facilitate the use of

psychometric tests in your work?

• 2. Which psychometric tests do your group have the most

experience in administrating?

• 3. What is the definition of a psychometric test?
• 4. What is the difference between a psychometric assessment and a

psychometric test?

• 5. What is the difference between a psychometric test and a survey?
• 6. Why would you use psychometric test at work?
• 7. Where can psychometric tests be used in an organisation?
• 8. What are the different types of administration options with psychometric tests?
• 9. What are the pros and cons of each option?

10.What do you think are the most commonly used tests in Australian workplaces? (recruitment vs development, online vs. paper, construct type)

Questions

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Definitions

Psychometric Assessment: A standardised way of sampling behaviour and describing it with categories or scores. Most tests have norms or standards by which the results can be used to predict other, more important behaviours (Gregory, 1996) Survey A gathering of a sample of data or opinions considered to be representative of a whole (Houghton Nifflin, 2000)

Latest Trends

Significant change over the last 10 years Initially:

• Limited use of testing
• Paper and pencil based or some software based
• Psychologist dependent

Now:

• Common HR practice (Most organisations use some form
• f testing)
• Candidates and employees are more comfortable with

completing psychometric tests

• Improved technology to support psychometric tests
• Psychology discipline establishing stronger business ties

Best Practice in Assessments

Considerations

• 1. Psychometrics
• 2. Appropriateness of construct
• 3. APS Professional ethics (Code of Ethics A1 A3 B1 B13,

Psych Assessment Guidelines)

• 4. Mode of delivery
• 5. Duration of tests
• 6. Combination of tests
• 7. Reporting
• 8. Feedback

2/11/2009 6 Case Studies

• 1. Onetest Work Safety Assessment

Key Numbers

 # Claims 89 to 48 (59.7% reduction)  Claims cost $790,000 to $300,000 (71.5% reduction)  Lost Days 2,767 to 1,256 (61.3% reduction)

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 # Claims $0 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $600,000 $700,000 $800,000 Claims Costs 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 Lost Days

12 Months Before Onetest 12 Months After Onetest

Return on Investment

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• 2. Savilles

Savills use of Onetest solutions has saved the business an estimated $350,000 annually in direct recruitment costs. In addition to cost and time savings, Savills staff turnover decreased from 28% in October 2007 (when Onetest was introduced to the business) to about 19% in April 2008. This shows the dramatic decrease in the employee turnover trend and the significant impact that Onetest is contributing to Savills HR capabilities. Susan King HR Manager Savills

• 3. StarTrack

"We engaged Onetest to create a profile of the ideal driver and to assess our ongoing short list of candidates to pinpoint the best fit. Our partnership with Onetest has seen us incorporate best practices into our recruitment process. Their expertise and product portfolio identifies candidates:

• Best suited to the company culture
• More inclined to enjoy their day to day tasks
• Most likely to perform like our best.

Results to date have far exceeded expectations; significantly reducing staff turnover and improving productivity. I am thrilled with their approach to the partnership and the impact on my key business metrics.“

Kevin Jamieson, Director of NSW Star Track Express

• 3. StarTrack

Star Track NSW Driver Recruitment 29.45% 21.05% 39.90% 24.60% 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 40.00% 45.00% Pre Onetest Using Onetest Turnover During Probation Total Turnover

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Your Responsibilities as an Organisational Psychologist

• 1. Experts in psychometric tests and its application to business.
• 2. Facilitator of how psychological principles can benefit organisations.
• 3. Strong business acumen
• 4. Demonstrate how our science provides ROI
• 5. Promote our discipline and ethics at all times

Thank you for your time…