Psychometric Testing:

Employers

Individuals

Employers

Personality Profiling

You can't afford to make a mistake...

...and hiring new people for your business is definitely one of those times. Putting the wrong person in the job can have expensive and time consuming consequences. How can you be sure that they are the right person for your needs before you hire them?

A review of selection techniques by Anderson & Shackleton in 1993 indicated the following popularity of selection practices, basing the analysis on the number of respondents to a survey who used each practice:

Other research, principally that of Mike Smith at UMIST, has looked at the accuracy of selection practices.

Based on the premise that the practices should be aimed at predicting actual job performance, his research looked at the correlation between predicted job performance based on each practice and the actual performance.

A perfect prediction would then score 1 and absolute chance score 0.

His research came up with the following results:

Thus, the most valid techniques are not necessarily the most popular - take references for example. A low accuracy, yet a high popularity.

DISCUS, a completely computerised personality behavioural analysis and assessment tool, will help you understand exactly what drives your people and can give you a valuable advantage in recruitment and management.

The effectiveness of any personality profile depends on how easy it is to put to practical use. DISCUS can be used not only to enhance recruitment but also for employee development and motivation, career guidance, team building and a host of other applications.

DISCUS generates a detailed report for each candidate containing graphs, a trait summary highlighting strengths and weaknesses and a textual report. The four main personality traits that DISCUS evaluates are Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.

This is a fascinating concept that really can make a difference to the way you operate your Personnel and Management functions.

For more detailed information please contact Jeralie Pallot or Kate Allan on 01534 626777.

Individuals

Psychometric testing is now a fundamental part of recruitment. Even so, every day more companies are integrating it as part of their process in getting the right people for the job. Rowlands Recruitment is now offering you the chance to create your own behavioural profile.

A psychometric profile can be an excellent addition to your CV. Employers will get a better understanding about what makes you tick and how you behave.

You will also understand what information an employer will be looking at if you are asked to complete a psychometric test as part of an application.

There are many forms of psychometric analysis. Rowlands uses the internationally recognised DISC version.

Create your own profile from £19 (plus VAT as this service is hosted and operated by a UK company) with

What does DISC measure?

DISC measures four factors of an individual's behaviour: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. They can be characterised as assertiveness, communication, patience and structure.

DISC also interprets the relationships between these factors. For example, a highly Dominant person with a high level of Influence will behave quite differently to an equally Dominant individual with a low level of Influence. The factors combine like this to generate (theoretically) around one million different profiles.

Using this information, DISC can be used to describe a person's general working style, their motivations and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and some of the basic assumptions they make about other people. It can also go far in helping to predict how a person will react or perform in various circumstances.

• Using behavioural profiling tools helps candidates understand more about themselves and the roles for which they are most suited
• myDISCprofile will map your behavioural style and motivations to help in job matching
• Gain benefits in terms of CV writing and interview preparation
• A DISC profile will also help you focus on your strengths and differentiate yourself from others at interview
• Generate easy to understand profile reports which can be passed on to prospective employers