How to Identify, Develop, and Retain the Right Talent with Psychometric Tests

As HR professionals and business leaders, finding the right talent is only the first step to building a high-performing culture. Equally important is developing and retaining your skilled employees. Fail to do this, and all your previous efforts are wasted. 

Psychometric assessments (or tests) offer a data-driven way not only to make informed hiring decisions, but also to support long-term employee growth and satisfaction. With insights into cognitive abilities, personality traits, and behavioural tendencies, these assessments enable your organisation to build, nurture, and sustain a high-performing workforce.

In this article, Tatenda Zigomo, Management Consultant, Industrial/Organisational Psychologist, and Psychometric Assessment Team Leader at The Human Touch, explains how.

Table of Contents:

• What are Psychometric Assessments?
• How Psychometric Tests Identify the Right Talent
• The Benefits of Using Psychometric Tests in Recruitment
• How To Use Psychometric Tests for Employee Development
• How To Improve Employee Retention with Psychometric Insights
• Common Misconceptions About Psychometric Assessments
• Our Approach to Psychometric Assessments 

What are Psychometric Assessments/Tests?

Psychometric assessments are just one tool for talent acquisition. They measure an individual’s mental abilities and behavioural characteristics and are most effective when used holistically to support your overall business goals. 

Unlike traditional interviews or resumes, which primarily focus on past experiences and qualifications, these assessments delve deeper into a candidate’s potential by evaluating key psychological traits that influence workplace performance. These insights prove vital at all stages of the employee experience, beyond simply recruitment. 

“A CV tells you what a candidate has done, but psychometric assessments give you a glimpse of where they are in relation to what you are looking for and their future potential.” –  Tatenda Zigomo. 

At their core, psychometric assessments are comprised of three main components:

• Cognitive Ability: This measures an individual’s problem-solving skills, logical reasoning, and ability to process information. It helps determine how quickly and effectively they can learn new concepts or handle complex tasks.
• Personality Traits: This aspect focuses on understanding the individual’s inherent qualities, such as their level of extroversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. These traits are critical for predicting how an individual interacts with colleagues, manages stress, and fits into the company culture.
• Behavioural Tendencies: These assessments gauge how a candidate will likely behave in various workplace scenarios, including their approach to teamwork, leadership, decision-making, and conflict resolution.

The Benefits of Using Psychometric Tests in Recruitment

Top companies already widely embrace psychometric assessments. According to multiple reports, 80% of Fortune 500 companies use psychometric tests in hiring (Psychology Today, 2008). 

And for good reason. According to a Society for Human Resource Management study, 67% of companies that utilise psychometric assessments report improved candidate selection quality (Society for Human Resource Management, as cited in Vorecol, n.d).  

“Psychometric assessments, when coupled with interviews and case studies, become powerful tools that bridge the gap between candidates with similar skills and experience, revealing the deeper traits that determine the best fit for the role and the business – ultimately, you want to make the best investment that drives retention.” – Tatenda Zigomo.  

Improves Hiring Accuracy

Psychometric tests provide a reliable way to predict how a candidate will perform on the job by evaluating core attributes directly linked to success in specific roles. For example, a candidate who scores highly in problem-solving and adaptability is likely to excel in fast-paced, dynamic environments. 

By measuring critical factors such as cognitive abilities, personality traits, and behavioural tendencies, these assessments ensure that candidates not only possess the required skills but also align with the role’s demands and your company’s long-term objectives.

Reduces Bias in the Selection Process

One of the biggest challenges in hiring is mitigating the influence of unconscious bias. Traditional methods like interviews and resume reviews are often influenced by personal biases related to appearance, communication style, or background. 

However, psychometric assessments offer an objective, standardised way to evaluate candidates. This helps to level the playing field, reducing the risk of overlooking strong candidates due to biases that may unconsciously affect decision-making during interviews.

Identifies High-Potential Candidates

Psychometric tests are particularly useful for identifying candidates with long-term potential, even if they don’t have extensive experience on their CVs. For roles that require leadership or growth potential, these assessments can highlight individuals with the right blend of cognitive abilities and personality traits that suggest high future performance. 

Whether you’re looking for future managers or team leaders, psychometric tools allow you to spot candidates who have the aptitude and characteristics to grow into leadership roles. This allows you to invest in talent that can evolve with the company.

How To Use Psychometric Tests for Employee Development

Psychometric tests are powerful tools not only for selecting the right talent, but also for unlocking an individual’s potential throughout their career within an organisation. 

cesses as per the HR value chain, they can make more informed decisions regarding succession planning, career management, and retention.” – Tatenda Zigomo.   

Here’s how to leverage psychometric assessment insights:

1. Identify Individual Strengths and Development Needs

Psychometric assessments provide data to help managers and HR teams understand each employee’s innate strengths – whether in problem-solving, interpersonal communication, or resilience – and areas where they may need support or development.

For example, an employee who excels in critical thinking and adaptability may be suited for dynamic problem-solving roles. At the same time, those who exhibit strong interpersonal skills and empathy may thrive in client-facing roles.

2. Improve Leadership Development and Succession Planning

By assessing personality traits and behavioural tendencies, companies can determine which employees demonstrate decisiveness, resilience, and team-oriented behaviour – traits that are critical in leadership positions.

With these insights, organisations can create targeted leadership development programmes that prepare future leaders for the challenges and responsibilities of advanced roles. This proactive approach to succession planning ensures a steady pipeline of qualified leaders.

3. Facilitate Better Communication and Team Dynamics

Understanding personality and behavioural traits helps managers improve team dynamics by tailoring their communication styles to match individual preferences. Not everyone communicates, learns, or works in the same way. Psychometric assessments provide the data to justify why a different approach may be necessary for different employees.

These insights empower managers to communicate more effectively with their teams, reducing misunderstandings and building stronger, more cohesive relationships. 

4. Motivate and Retain Talent Through Role Alignment

Psychometric tests allow organisations to match employees with roles that suit their current abilities, long-term career aspirations, and intrinsic motivations. For example, an employee who scores highly in conscientiousness and detail orientation might thrive in roles that require a meticulous, structured approach, such as project management.

Aligning roles with individual preferences and strengths increases job satisfaction and boosts retention by reducing the risk of disengagement. 

5. Provide Ongoing Feedback and Support

Psychometric tests offer an objective foundation for ongoing performance reviews, enabling managers to provide constructive feedback rooted in specific personality traits and cognitive skills. 

Psychometric insights also facilitate regular check-ins beyond surface-level performance metrics. Managers can support employees’ mental well-being, engagement, and overall job satisfaction. This holistic approach to feedback builds trust.

How To Improve Employee Retention with Psychometric Insights

Psychometric tests offer data-driven insights that help organisations understand what keeps employees engaged, fulfilled, and committed. Armed with this data, you can take action to improve your employees’ work experience. 

1. Align Roles with Employee Motivations

Psychometric assessments reveal what truly drives each employee – whether it’s achievement, relationships, or independence (for example). With this understanding, companies can tailor roles and responsibilities to align with individual motivations. 

2. Create a Supportive and Inclusive Culture

Psychometric data helps managers understand how employees prefer to communicate and work. By adapting to these preferences, leaders can build a culture where each person feels valued. 

For instance, independent workers may appreciate fewer check-ins, while those who enjoy collaboration can be assigned more team-driven projects. These adjustments contribute to a more inclusive and engaged environment.

3. Identify and Address Potential Retention Risks

Psychometric data often reveals early indicators of disengagement or potential turnover, such as misalignment with the role or dissatisfaction with work dynamics. 

By monitoring these insights, managers can intervene proactively, offering new challenges, changes in responsibilities, or additional support to re-engage at-risk employees. This proactive approach strengthens retention efforts and demonstrates a commitment to supporting each team member’s satisfaction and well-being.

Common Misconceptions About Psychometric Assessments

While psychometric assessments are valuable tools in talent management, common misconceptions can lead to misunderstandings about their role and effectiveness. Consider the following to ensure you’re using psychometric tests strategically and objectively:

• Over-Reliance on These Assessments. One misconception is that psychometric assessments alone can determine an individual’s suitability for a role or development path. 

While these tools offer deep insights into cognitive abilities and personality traits, they’re most effective alongside other methods, such as performance reviews, interviews, reference checks, and work samples. A comprehensive approach ensures a well-rounded understanding of each employee.

• Accuracy and Fairness of These Assessments. Some organisations hesitate to use psychometric assessments due to concerns about their accuracy or fairness. It’s important to understand that modern psychometric tools are rigorously tested for reliability and designed to be both fair and objective. 

When properly administered and interpreted, they help reduce bias and provide consistent, standardised evaluations across individuals. However, it is essential to select scientifically validated assessments and apply them uniformly across all participants.

Our Approach to Psychometric Assessments

At The Human Touch, we take a holistic approach to recruitment and talent development. We use psychometric assessments to select and develop key talent. 

With a deep understanding of your business’s strategic goals and role requirements, we tailor and administer assessment batteries suited to each role’s level, required competencies, and value system. Our reports provide decision-makers with a detailed view of talent fit and development needs, empowering informed choices on employee selection and growth.

Whether you’re looking to enhance your selection process or develop your internal talent, our team of experts can guide you.

“The Human Touch’s tailored assistance enabled our business to achieve its strategic objectives by ensuring the necessary talent, competencies, and capabilities were in place. Their wealth of knowledge and skills was invaluable to our success.” – Elaine Kleinhans, Senior HR Business Partner at Harith General Partners (HGP).

Ready to empower your employees with data-driven insights? Contact The Human Touch today to discover how psychometric assessments can support a high-performing workforce.

About Tatenda Zigomo 

Tatenda Zigomo is a registered Industrial/Organisational Psychologist and Management Consultant who helps organisations become more effective and efficient by diagnosing, designing, and implementing sustainable people solutions. 

She holds a Master of Arts in Organisational Psychology (with distinction) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her core competencies include change management, organisational design, talent management, competency design, HR value chain management, leadership development, diversity and inclusion management and project management. 

Tatenda has four years of experience as a consultant working with executives in organisations. Her greatest ambition is to implement innovative and practical people solutions that support organisational transformation and performance through new ways of working and high-performing workforces.

Connect with Tatenda.

References

1. Dattner, B. (2008, June 23). The use and misuse of personality tests for coaching and development. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/credit-and-blame-at-work/200806/the-use-and-misuse-of-personality-tests-for-coaching-and 
2. Vorecol. (n.d.). The impact of psychometric testing on employee performance and retention. PsicoSmart. https://psico-smart.com/en/blogs/blog-the-impact-of-psychometric-testing-on-employee-performance-and-retention-167352