Utilising Psychometric Assessments in Your Business - Part Two: Interpreted vs. Computer-Generated Reports
Karyn Gould, Katrina Kemp
In today's competitive business landscape, you need every edge you can obtain to get ahead. Psychometric assessments can be a powerful tool to unlock potential, improve team dynamics, and ultimately boost your bottom line. But what exactly are psychometric assessments, and how can they benefit your business? We have created this 4-part series to give you greater insight into what they are, what we offer and how they can benefit your business – ‘better together’.
Generally speaking, hand-written answers or inhouse supervised assessment sessions are a thing of the past. Assessments are most commonly completed online and autonomously. With the outcome methods for psychometric personality assessments being:
Interpreted reports
Where qualified psychologists and certified practitioners analyse the raw data and generate detailed reports tailored to the specific context and in comparison, to both validated norm groups and roles requirements. Whilst the pros of this personalised approach is that it offers deeper insights and interpretation of the data for use in business, meaning less room for manager mis-interpretation, the main con is that they require more financial investment.
Computer-generated reports
These reports are automatically generated based on the test results and provide a standardised overview of the individual's profile compared to a norm group. While less expensive, as it is without the thorough interpretation of data, they may lack the nuance and specific recommendations of an interpreted report and be open to more misinterpretation by managers, as the report is generic, and cannot account for the specific situation (e.g. industry, culture, etc.). The reports lack the level of understanding and interpretation that a qualified practitioner details in their reports.
Whilst, with the emergence of AI, we expect to see improvements in the variable data that can be assessed in computer-generated options, whether they will be able to match the human touch that qualified and experienced practitioners bring to interpretation, is yet to be realised.
At K3 our practitioners are qualified in a range of the most reliable and validated assessment offerings on the market, enabling us to offer our clients assessment options that are tailored to their needs, and presented in formats that deliver the best value for their investment - and have proven results.
Ability Assessments
Most ability assessments are delivered via online platforms, where the results are automatically pulled into computer generated reports. Most ability assessment results provide a percentile score against a norm group, and other additional information such as the speed, accuracy or number of questions answered in total or correctly. Results vary based on the ability for each ability assessment tool to provide validated and non-biased information.
Key when selecting ability assessments is to understand the norm group options available to compare your candidates to, ensuring that you are providing as level a playing field as possible.
Norm groups often differ based on the level of experience, or complexity of the role, whether candidates would likely be qualified or responsible for leading others, and even where English may be an additional language. A good assessment provider will be able to provide you with a breakdown of the data and statistics for the norm groups they offer to aid in selection of the most appropriate option.
As can be seen above, there are pros and cons for the differing types of assessments. We recommend working with a qualified practitioner to determine exactly what your needs are and the tool/s that will best deliver to those needs.
