Have you had a bad experience with psychometric assessments? Did you blame the assessment? Was it the provider’s fault? Did you ask enough questions when you appointed them? Or did you inherit them from a predecessor? Did you stop using assessments? (SPOILER ALERT: These are NOT the questions!!)
The truth is there’s no such thing as a bad assessment. Just assessments that weren’t designed to do what you’re using them for.
Sometimes that happens because users misuse them. But sometimes, it’s because the assessment provider overpromises and underdelivers.
Imagine your company needs a van to deliver its orders for around 100 miles a day from your office. If you went out to the market to find the best delivery vehicle, you’d probably twig that a bicycle with a basket on the front wasn’t a reasonable replacement, even if it WAS cheaper.
Assessments are the same – it’s just not as easy to work out whether what you’re looking at will give you what you need. And it can be made much more difficult when the person you’re buying from could be overpromising to get the sale.
It’s important that you undertake due diligence about your new provider and confirm their assessments REALLY meet the need you have. But what should you ask? At Great People Inside we’re open to every question you might want to ask – and we’ll put our answers in writing. And we pride ourselves that if we can’t do what you want us to do, we’ll be the first to tell you.
So, in the spirit of openness and honesty, we’ve provided a checklist of questions you may want to ask when you’re looking at a new provider (even if it isn’t us!!).
And if you’re already using assessments, but not getting the results you were promised, you could easily use the same questions to your existing provider.
Happy asking!!
1. Are the assessments Ipsative or Normative (don’t panic – we’ve explained it below)?
Ipsative means “of the self” (effectively, how I see myself). It refers to a type of assessment that compares a person’s performance to their own past performance (for example, DISC assessments). If they understand how these assessments work, it’s very easy for candidates to come up with the answer you’re looking for.
Normative means “relating to a norm” (how I match up to a reference group). If you don’t know what you’re being measured against – or how the questions will get the assessor there – it’s hard to ‘fake it’ to be the person they’re looking for. You’re as likely to talk yourself out of a role than into it.
It’s important to know what type of assessment is on offer because:
Ipsative assessments are designed for development/team building, NOT recruitment. They don’t evaluate the person’s performance against the specific requirements of the role.
Normative assessments are used to recruit or develop people because they’re designed to compare their performance against that of a known group. BUT beware that you check the norm group your provider uses is one that will work for you (see below re norms).
2. How do the assessments perform against the key requirements of the British Psychological Society (or your local representative body, elsewhere in the world)?
- Validity: How well does the assessment measure what it claims to measure?
- Reliability: How consistent are the test results over time?
- Norms: What population is used as the norm group and is it representative of the population our candidates/employees come from?
- Validation Reports: Can provider supply Validation Reports to evidence what they are capable of?
3. What specific assessments are being offered?
- Are the assessments tailored to the specific outcomes I am trying to achieve (e.g., cognitive ability, personality traits, emotional intelligence, strengths-based)?
- Can they be used for recruitment and development?
- Are there assessments for different industries or roles?
4. How are the assessments delivered?
- Are the assessments web-based, paper-based, or both?
- How do candidates access assessments? What devices can they use?
- Are they available in multiple languages?
- Are they accessible to diverse groups (e.g. people with disabilities)?
5. What is the time required for participants to complete the assessments?
- Does the provider offer a single assessment template?
- How long does/do assessment(s) take for candidates to complete? Are they too long for entry level roles, too short for senior roles?
6. What is the scoring and reporting process?
- How quickly are results available, and what format are they in (e.g., detailed reports, executive summaries)?
- Are the reports usable by untrained line managers?
- Do reports use complex, psychological/technical language?
7. How do you ensure fairness and minimise bias?
- What steps does provider take to ensure that the assessments are free from cultural, racial, gender, or other forms of bias?
- Are the assessments tested and validated across different demographic groups?
8. What training and support do you offer for administrators?
- Are the assessments quick and simple to use for administrators?
- Do administrators need to be level A and B certified?
- How much training do administrators need? How much will it cost?
- Does provider offer training for HR teams or managers who will be using the results? What will it cost?
- Is there ongoing support available if any questions or challenges arise?
9. How scalable is the solution?
- Can the assessment be used for small-scale projects and large-scale recruitment or development programmes?
- Could assessments be used by SMEs and/or multi-national corporations?
- Are there options to integrate the assessments with existing HR or recruitment software systems?
10. What is the cost structure?
- What is the pricing model? Is it per assessment, per user or based on volume or subscription?
- Are there any hidden costs, such as report generation, analysis or training?
- How much do the assessments cost?
Of course, it may not be necessary to ask every question every time (but if you’re conducting a real market check, you could create a pre-qualifying questionnaire for all potential suppliers before you speak to them). But, as you would when you’re buying anything, it’s really important to ensure what you’re buying is fit for the purpose you intend it for.
In any event, whatever answers you get, make sure you get them in writing. If your experience turns out not to be quite as you were told, you have something to fall back on in your ‘discussions’ with your provider.
