Virtual Hiring – It’s Psychometric!

In the last article, it was noted that the use of psychometric assessments in the hiring process has accelerated. Much of this is due to remote working conditions for both employers and job candidates during the pandemic, however, it appears the trend will continue. Adding to this demand, Prudential conducted a survey in March 2021 that revealed one in four American workers will look for a new job after the pandemic ends; additionally, one in three workers don’t want to work for an employer that requires them to be fully in-office, all the time. Clearly, the need for assessments and other digital evaluation tools will significantly increase by demand.

In the previous post, it was noted in a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, that it is estimated that “18% of companies use psychometric testing in the hiring process. This is expected to increase by 10-15% per year.”

HR professionals need to be prepared to apply digital hiring tools for effective interviewing, evaluation, job matching, and onboarding. Assessment surveys and tools can be used to measure personality traits such as temperament, style compatibility, and decision-making styles. They can also be used for career development as employees evolve in their duties and responsibilities into the future.

Assessment Tools

There are numerous types of assessment developers and surveys available to serve hiring needs. Many tools exist now that help HR professionals to better understand the individual involved in the hiring process. Harnessing this power, using human capital analytics and assessments, can accurately identify job fit, skills, and potential development areas like never before. TTI Success Insights, an early pioneer of human behavior assessments, measure social and cognitive psychological traits that serve to match the right person to a job. They regularly employ a job benchmarking process that accurately identifies and measures the behaviors, motivators, and skills required to be successful in the job.

Three TTISI Recruiting and Selection Assessments

TTI Talent Insights® — Talent Insights uncovers a person’s “how” and “why” by analyzing natural and adapted behavioral factors and the things that motivate the person to action every day. It gives the hiring manager additional information about a candidate’s natural behavioral tendencies for dealing with people and tasks, as well as their drivers.

TTI TriMetrix® DNA — This tool measures 25 competencies or soft skills, 4 core behavioral characteristics, and 12 Driving Forces. TriMetrix DNA uncovers a person’s 25 job-related skills in combination with their behaviors and drivers. The advantage of the DNA profile is that it allows hiring managers to quickly assess the level of mastery of many competencies and whether each skill is either crucial, important, or somewhat important to job performance.

TTI TriMetrix EQ® — This tool measures 5 core dimensions of emotional intelligence, 4 core behavioral characteristics, and 12 Driving Forces. For evaluating potential leaders, the ability to influence others is greatly enhanced through increasing awareness of a behavioral model using emotional intelligence (EQ) factors. Combined with personal drivers, it can be determined what sort of work will increase engagement and performance. Management strategies can be tailored to suit the individual needs of a team or organization.

As you can see, there is no right or wrong assessment, and they all offer different perspectives for different hiring applications. For example, Talent Insights® is typically a good measurement tool for staff-level positions where behavioral and motivational styles are key to team compatibility and performance. TriMetrix DNA® and TriMetrix EQ® offer a more comprehensive view using three sciences for managerial or leadership positions where emotional intelligence or personal skill sets are critical for success.

In Andy Hill’s 20 years as a business coach and leadership consultant, he has used dozens of assessments for different organizational purposes. Many of which require background and certification to properly debrief and train others on their use and meaning. Solutions At Work’s recommendation is to reach out to Andy Hill who is a skilled, certified consultant for help in determining the type of assessment to use and how to integrate them into your hiring practices.