An objective recruitment process should be informed by methods that are reliable and not based on subjective reasoning. Recruitment is the process of sourcing and acquiring the right applicants for an organisation. The recruitment process involves seeking and attracting a pool of qualified applicants using various feasible recruitment methods. According to Tong and Sivanand (2005), as global competition intensifies and industries become more intensive, recruiting qualified workers becomes essential and attracting the right applicants at the right time is getting tougher than ever. One of the greatest weaknesses of conventional recruitment is that it is not based on scientifically driven methods and hence lacks objectivity. Various modern methods of recruitment and selection include among other methods:
What are Psychometric tests?
Any progressive organisation that intends to hire the best talent must use psychometric tests as the first port of call when recruiting. Psychometric tests assess the candidate’s suitability for a role based on measuring the different dimensions of cognitive ability that include among others:
- Verbal reasoning: It assesses the ability to comprehend, interpret and draw conclusions from oral or written language.
- Numerical reasoning: It assesses the ability to comprehend, interpret and draw conclusions from numerical information.
- Abstract Reasoning: It assesses the ability to reason logically with figures or designs
- Logical Reasoning: It assesses the ability to solve work-related problems and to think clearly and logically in an efficient and effective manner
- Mechanical Reasoning: It assesses the level of understanding of everyday physical laws such as force and leverage involved in the use of tools and equipment
- Space Relations: It measures the ability to understand and interpret spatial relationships between objects
Why use psychometric tests when recruiting?
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- They provide a valid and reliable method of selecting the most suitable job applicants or candidates for any position
- There are rooted in scientific evidence and there add credibility and objectivity to the process of recruitment
- They predict about 44% of a candidate’s job performance
- There reduce recruitment costs by ensuring that candidates with the right capacity are employed.
- There unmask the hidden capacity of potential candidates
What are Comprehensive Personality Assessments?
The comprehensive personality assessment test determines the extent to which a person will have an appropriate work approach and strong/constructive relationships with work colleagues. In assessing personality, psychologists prefer to measure the following personality dimensions:
- Consciousness: It reflects the extent to which one is organised and exercises due diligence
- Extroversion: It measures the time to which one is outgoing and explorative
- Agreeableness:
- Openness to experience: It measures the extent to which one is receptive to new ideas, imaginative, curious, and open-minded.
- Service Orientation: A disposition to be helpful, thoughtful, considerate, and cooperative
- Ambition: It measures the extent to which one is motivated by competition and strives to achieve distinctiveness.
- Intellect: It measures the extent to which one innovative and creative
- Adjustment: refers to the behavioural process of balancing conflicting needs, or needs to be challenged by obstacles in the environment.
What is an Assessment Centre?
An Assessment Centre can be defined as \"a variety of testing techniques designed to allow candidates to demonstrate, under standardized conditions, the skills and abilities that are most essential for success in a given job. The assessment centres involve some exercises like :
- Leaderless group discussion
- Roleplay
- Presentations
- In-basket exercises
- Work samples
What are competency-based Interviews?
These are interviews that are designed in such a way that there are anchored on competencies required to excel in a particular job. Such kinds of interviews are more objective than interviews that are merely based on curriculum vitae. The interview questions attempt to measure specific competencies depending on the position like :
- Strategic orientation
- Leadership
- Business acumen
- Planning and organising
- Teamwork
Conclusion
Given this background, it is plausible to argue that a recruitment process that is not informed by scientifically driven methods does nothing other than hiring candidates who would turn out to be incompetent and there siphon the monetary resources of your organisation but not add any value to your organisation.