26 March 2010

Unions put psychometrics in the spotlight

Unions in Australia have called for a ban on psychometric testing in public sector agencies, after a railway worked was sacked after failing a psychometric test.

The test was later found to be an invalid and unreliable way of predicting how safely train drivers could operate on the job.

A union leader said RailCorp was breaching Government policy through psychometric testing and then allegedly standing down workers on the basis of test results.

However, assessment firms have been quick to defend psychometric testing, saying that any psychometric assessment processes should be called into question if best practice is not adopted.

Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, SHL said that using tests that don't accurately predict job performance against specific job criteria thwarts the issues raised.

Organisations must be discerning when selecting the most appropriate psychometric tests, a spokesperson for the company is reported as saying.

The case highlights the dilemma faced by many employers as the world emerges from recession. Relatively high unemployment means more people than ever are chasing available jobs and it can be difficult select the best candidate from so many applications.

Psychometric testing has an important role to play as one element of a thorough and robust recruitment process.

 

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