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Many clients will question the need for psychometric testing as part of the senior recruitment process. Barron Williams will advise that you include it, if we feel it is valuable for that role and/or your organisation. At the senior executive level you will often find the margins are fine, you could potentially have 2 or 3 candidates who are more than capable of doing the role to a high standard. However, in any role where personal attributes are imperative, where you need to find that perfect blend of skill and fit, psychometric testing can be invaluable. Our process is designed to ensure we find the best available candidate, on our off the market, to match people to brief. If we feel these tests will help us to do that, help provide a better overall evaluation of a candidate, then we will advise our client to include them as part of the full recruitment process.
Why Barron Williams utilise psychometric testing
We want to identify the best fit for each role, and the interview process alone can be fairly subjective. The majority of the clients we work with can assess skills and experience accurately, and evaluate aligned values and personality fit with the rest of the senior management team. However, whilst education, skills, experience, appearance and punctuality are often relatively evident from first interview, the behavioural traits and core personality of a candidate can be much more difficult to assess during the interview process. Many senior executives are seasoned interviewee’s, you get their professional-self, but do you get the real person? Are we relaxed enough in that situation to actually reveal our true selves?
At Barron Williams we use psychometric testing to enhance the traditional recruitment process that most companies follow. A CV that lists experience, education and skills doesn’t quite provide a well-rounded view of the candidate. It hints at personality, but cannot truly asses how they’ll react to the trials and tribulations they’ll face in their day to day working life. Our process is designed to establish a more complete picture, our testing and multi-layered video and interview processes, help our clients make a fully informed selection decision. Leaving nothing to chance, we use the best tools available to us.
Psychometric testing is particularly beneficial in senior executive recruitment
The inclusion of psychometric testing at the senior exec level can also have a significant impact on the cost of hiring by reducing hiring errors. They allow you to better understand if candidates are the right fit for the role and your organisation, enabling the ranking of the suitable candidate short list. You get to the ‘right’ people faster and with a deeper understanding of how those people will fit into your company, how they’re likely to interact with the rest of the senior management team, and how they’re likely to react to various situations that will arise in your industry/organisation. You need to know if that candidate not only has the right level of skill and experience, but take confidence that they also have the personality to meet the demands of the role and culture of your organisation.
An integral part of the overall recruitment process
We fully appreciate that psychometric testing is an important approach to understanding the complexities of the human mind. However, they are an extremely useful part of the overall recruitment process, a way to bring objectivity to a difficult decision-making process. They mitigate bias and allow us to identify the most suitable candidates much quicker. It is impossible to truly understand a candidate from a one off test, however, they do provide some additional objectivity into the recruitment and selection process. A good psychometric assessment should confirm your observations of a candidate, whilst also identifying areas for further discussion at interview.
We use industry leading experts
At Barron Williams we work with experts in testing and analysis. Our partners are highly skilled, and trained to interpret the results, we can build the best overall of picture of each candidate, compiling for our clients comprehensive profile. We have worked with Thomas International for many years now, and they are leaders in the field. They help us to recruit, retain and develop the right people for our clients. After all, the more structured and objective were can make the selection process, the more likely our clients will able to make the best long-term hiring decisions.
If you’re looking for your next role, then please feel free to Upload Your CV or Call Us for an exploratory conversation. If you’re looking for a senior executive for your organisation, please use our Client Upload Form or Call Us now.
