Aptitude (ability) and Personality Testing
Whether you are a believer or a doubter I would like to assure you that most of these are VERY well researched instruments and over the years have been proved to really work – when used properly.
When used as assessment tools they should complement and support other programmes and exercises. They should never be used in isolation.
Psychometric testing is based on either Aptitude (testing skills such as verbal and numerical reasoning and logical thinking) and Personality testing.
Selecting the right test for the right job is an important activity. many organisations make a mistake of ‘one size fits all’ – this does not work with psychometric tests.
Our consultants are accredited users of a wide range of personality questionnaires that can be included in your company; such as the:
- 16PF
- Belbin
- FIRO-B
- CPI
- Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
These tests may be used for the following activities:
- Career counselling
- Executive Coaching
- Management Development
- Recruitment (certain restrictions apply)
- Team Building
Other Instruments & Profiles
Psychometric ability & personality tests are useful but not universal solutions. We can also help you with a range of profiling tools that are not classed as psychometric ‘tests’ but which do provide valuable information. These include:
- 360 degree feedback tools
- Learning Styles Inventory
- Belbin & other team role profiles
- Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)
- Creatrix Inventory
- Culture surveys
- Leadership profiles etc.
Application for Recruitment and Selection
As a first step, it can assist companies, large or small, to understand some of the key personality traits of their existing high-performing employees. Armed with this information you can then decide to target potential candidates with those traits in future recruitment campaigns.
It may be that you can’t decide between two or three excellent candidates and would like some external support to build a deeper understanding of the individuals.
Benefits of Psychometric Testing (Profiling)
- A deeper knowledge of the individual
- Confirmation of gut feelings you may have had from face-to-face interactions
- Ability to benchmark candidates against each other, especially in aptitude testing in an objective manner
Test use and application
Personality & Behaviour | Per Person | Team (4) | |
16PFThe 16PF is an extensively researched and rigorously constructed questionnaire, designed to provide an in-depth measure and analysis of an individual’s personality. This measures each of the 16 primary personality factors, as well as several new scales such as Emotional Intelligence, Team Roles, Management and Subordinate styles and Counter-Productive Work behaviour. Various reports are available. These can be used to provide vocational guidance information to help match jobs to people and assist with staff selection and career development. | OK for recruitment | ||
CPIA sophisticated personality measure which is highly reliable and has many applications. It is multipurpose and used throughout the world to predict behaviour. Continually refined and updated, it translates well across cultures. The CPI is useful for:
| OK for recruitment | ||
MBTI – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Is a personality framework that will help individuals explore their preferences taking in information and making decisions. A powerful and versatile indicator of personality type. Widely used for individual, group and organisational development. Applications include:
| Not for use in recruitment | ||
FIRO-BIs a questionnaire that measures how a person typically behaves towards other people and the behaviours they want back. It can help people understand how they come across to others & why this may not be the ‘real’ them. FIRO-B is a unique, world-leading indicator of interpersonal style. Ideal for team building, development and coaching. Applications include:
| OK for use in recruitment | ||
SDI – Strength Deployment Inventory Enables people to understand the reason why others do things and identifies for individuals their personal strengths and motivations and how these relate to those of their colleagues. The SDI provides invaluable information on what motivates a person under two conditions; when everything is going well and when you are faced with conflict or opposition. This ensures we understand why certain people have the impact on us they do and how we may be impacting on them! Applications include team development and management skills development. | Not for use in recruitment | ||
Creatrix – Innovation Inventory The Creatrix is a tool to help identify strengths and weaknesses around innovation. It looks at two key factors – Creativity and Risk-taking. These two main scales are made up of seven drivers. The output from the Creatrix is a personal profile showing strengths and a comprehensive report. The Creatrix can be used as a coaching tool with individuals or as an organizational development tools with teams. Applications include individual development, team development, culture change and leadership development. | Not for use in recruitment |
Ability Tests– used mainly for recruitment/ promotion | Middle Mgr | Director | Per person | * Per group |
Verbal Critical Reasoning | Y | Y | ||
Numerical Critical Reasoning | Y | Y | ||
Financial Appraisal – Jobs requiring the ability to interpret financial data and use it to make business decisions. | Y | Y | ||
Commercial Reasoning – Anyone who prioritises commercial needs and allocates resources (people, products or services). | Y | Y | ||
Legal Interpretation – Jobs requiring an aptitude for understanding and interpreting complex legal documentation & regulations. | Y | N | ||
Business Decision Analysis – Is aimed at senior jobs where products and processes are paramount. E.g. line management, marketing, production etc. | Y | Y | ||
Critical Business Planning – Is aimed at senior jobs where the emphasis is on companies, people & inter-relationships of the organisation as a whole | Y | Y | ||
If only one person – you may choose any two tests for the price of one. The more people tested at one time the more cost effective it is. | ||||
Preparing for On-Line tests
Many organizations want applicants and potential employees to undertake some form of psychometric testing on line. In this section we will give you an overview of the types of tests, how they may be used and how to prepare. Lastly what to expect back.
MARTHA ROJAS says
18/09/2012 at 12:35RT @rapidbi: Psychometric tests – Aptitude (ability) and Personality Testing http://t.co/1SVOuCLm
Heather Townsend says
16/09/2012 at 21:57RT: @rapidbi Psychometric tests – Aptitude (ability) and Personality Testing: Aptitude (ability) and Personality… http://t.co/6CrqQ9T4
Sharon Gaskin says
16/09/2012 at 14:35RT@rapidbi Psychometric tests – Aptitude (ability) and Personality Testing: Aptitude (ability) and Personality T… http://t.co/XWEVSxFA