Does psychometric testing work? By Sarah Fletcher

Sarah Fletcher looks at whether psychometric testing improves the efficiency and quality of the recruitment process and how to implement it within a company.

The purpose of psychometrics

There has been a long history of debate over the validity of psychometric testing. Royal Mail has fuelled this by announcing that the 125,000 applications it receives each year will be vetted using psychometric testing. The purpose is to identify the most unsuitable applicants, reducing the volume of candidates to a manageable size to take through to the next stage of recruitment. Richard Alberg, Chief Executive of the organisation selected to deliver the programme PSL, says the strategy "is more about what we’re trying to avoid than what we’re looking for; it’s who should definitely be eliminated from consideration."