Behavior-based / Competency-based Interviewing 
Increase the science in your selection process by conducting valid behavioral interviews.
Hong Kong: May 24 | Singapore: June 21
COURSE WEBPAGE REGISTER  CONTACT US

British Psychological Society Level A Psychometric Assessment Certification
Learn foundations of psychometric testing plus Aptitude Testing and become internationally certified.
Hong Kong: August 2-4 | Singapore: August 17-19
COURSE WEBPAGE REGISTER  CONTACT US

British Psychological Society Level B Psychometric Assessment Certification
Focus on personality tests – including Identity and Apollo in this advanced qualification.
Hong Kong: August 8-10 | Singapore: August 22-24
COURSE WEBPAGE REGISTER CONTACT US 

BPS Psychometric Test Administration Training and Certification 
Choose from face-to-face training in Singapore or Hong Kong or Live Online Training.
Hong Kong: August 2 | Singapore: August 17
Live Online Training: June 1-3 from 5pm-6.30pm each evening
COURSE WEBPAGE REGISTER CONTACT US 

Identity Self-Perception Questionnaire Training and Accreditation 
Learn to use the most comprehensive personality test on the market.
Hong Kong: August 9-10 | Singapore: August 23-24
COURSE WEBPAGE REGISTER CONTACT US

Saville Consulting Wave Training and Accreditation
Learn to use the 21st century’s revolutionary personality assessment.Beats other tests in predicting performance at work!
Singapore: July 4-5 or August 25-26  | Hong Kong:May 30-31 or August 11-12
(Level B holders need only attend first day)
COURSE WEBPAGEREGISTERCONTACT US

We also have a FREE Saville Consulting Wave webinar on 26 April at 12pm – Register Here

For FULL details, syllabus, factsheet, fees and delegate reviews on any of the above courses and more, please see http://dates.psyasia.com.

 The WRONG Questions to ask when HR is “Evaluating” Psychometric Tests

Is it a popular test?

A number of poorly developed internet tests are VERY popular but highly UNRELIABLE and not at all VALID!

Likewise, many tests on the market either have low validity overall, or lower validity than a competitor test but may have been adopted by HR for various reasons.

Tests which have been on the market for many years may have become very popular – but do you really want to use tests developed 20 or so years ago?

 Can I see a list of clients who use this test?

This may break privacy and confidentiality agreements that test distributors hold with clients.

Some distributors may be happy to break confidence in order to get a sale – do you want to work with such people?

A new test will have a small client list and yet be the best test on the market!

Perhaps a very good test is rather pricey and only used by the most elite?

 How long have you been selling the test?

If the test is new then the distributor may only have been selling it for a few months. This has no bearing upon the test’s validity.

Likewise, if a distributor has only just started to sell a well known, established test it has no bearing on the test’s validity.

 Is it an easy test to understand?

This question may have some utility in that if the test is hard to understand, you may make selection mistakes. However, the easiest tests to understand usually are based on very simple models that may be unfair to use in predicting human workplace performance. It would be better to opt for more advanced tests that assess a broad range of human aptitudes, talents, motives and competencies and to commit to the necessary training to ensure you can use the test properly.

It’s expensive, perhaps I should go for a cheaper test?

Often, the more expensive tests are so for good reason!  They have been developed well by the best in the field over a number of years and have been appropriately validated.

Always ask yourself about the ROI (return on investment). If you could pay $100 and get a 10% chance of choosing the right candidate or $1000 and have a 60% chance of getting the right candidate – which would you prefer? Most CEOs would opt for the $1000. Likewise, paying a little more for a better test will result in a higher likelihood of getting the right candidate as the test will be more reliable and valid.

 Can I have a free trial?

Free trials don’t assist at all in evaluating the technical properties of a test.

Sometimes, when given free trials, clients reject a test because it is too long or does not have the questions they were expecting. This is subjective. In order to properly evaluate whether a test will predict the work competencies of importance, one needs to assess the test’s technical properties statistically.

 Is it possible to “evaluate” without being trained to do so?

The clear answer is no!

To properly evaluate a test one needs to understand how to assess reliability and validity among other things.  This is a difficult issue – in order to buy into a test and get trained on it you want to know it is a good test, yet you can’t fully evaluate a test until you’ve had training on how to evaluate it! You could have a look through PsyAsia’s blogs and psychometric training sites or attend a general psychometric course though.

 More information

www.psyasia.com Knowledgebase

www.psychometricassessment.com/blog

www.psychometricassessment.com/training

http://dates.psyasia.com – all psychometric test training course dates in Singapore & Hong Kong as well as Online Training in Psychometrics

Hong Kong(+852) 8200 6005

Singapore (+65) 6521 3131

Malaysia (+60) 03 2782 6928

HR_Psychometric_Tests_PsyAsia.mp4 (10449 KB)
 

Download now or preview on posterous

HR_Evaluates_Psychometric_Tests.pdf (475 KB)
 

PsyAsia is pleased to advise clients that we have extended our special 50% discount offer for those who register for our Psychometric Test Training Course: BPS Level A & B in Singapore until the end of January. Any client who registers for the Level A and B course will be offered a 50% discount on the Saville Consulting Wave accreditation course that follows the day after the Level B training; and/or, 50% off our Behaviour-based Interview Course which is confirmed for the day immediately before the Level A training.  Furthermore, we are pleased to continue to offer a 50% discount off the Behaviour Based Interview Course for any client who registers for our 4-day Human Resource Management Course in Singapore on 22-25 February. 

Training places are limited and courses are now beginning to fill, so please register asap to ensure your place. The above discount offers will expire on 31 January.

If you are in Hong Kong, you can also avail the offers by joining our Hong Kong Psychometric Assessment Level A and B course in March.

All course dates and details as well as email links can be found from here: http://dates.psyasia.com

Kindly contact us on Singapore +65 6521 3131 or Hong Kong +852 8200 6005 for full details.

Professor Peter Saville recently appeared on BBC TV to discuss the Saville Consulting Wave Psychometric Personality Assessment. The BBC’s Technology Correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones underwent the Wave questionnaire and then received feedback from Professor Saville.

The Leadership Report discussed by Professor Saville is powered by Wave Professional Styles and based on Saville Consulting’s brand new Leadership Model. It has been validated both against theoretical leadership constructs and empirically using international workplace performance and effectiveness criterion data.

It combines styles, situations and underlying leadership potential to assess the impact of leadership on people, tasks and the growth of the organization as a whole. As it is based on the Wave model, the Leadership Report can also distinguish between motives and talents and highlights areas of potential over or under-rating.

The Leadership Report has a wide range of applications including in selection, succession planning, coaching or development and in assessing a leader’s fit to their environment.

PsyAsia International is offering a 15% discount on Saville Consulting Wave training for anybody who registers after viewing this video and before 15 December 2010. Use promotion code BBC when booking your place. The next courses will run in March 2011 in Singapore and Hong Kong. Full details at http://www.psyasia.com/saville-consulting-wave-training-module.php.

Identity is a self-perception personality
questionnaire that measures important individual differences
between how people prefer to behave in a workplace setting.
It was developed specifically for the world of work
and is supported by robust research proving its effectiveness
for use in many areas of business and personal development.
The questionnaire is available in English, simplified
Chinese and traditional Chinese.

Developed to be the most comprehensive personality assessment
tool, Identity measures 36 Primary Scales – which
are specific areas of personality related to the world
of work. It is fully validated for making sensitive
selection decisions and found through scientific
research to be more predictive of leadership performance
than even ability tests or interviews.

Sample Cover Page

The PsyAsia logo can be replaced with your corporate
logo if you have your own Identity System. Also note
the PTC logo that confirms Identity is a quality
test registered with the British Psychological Society
Psychological Testing Centre.

Narrative Report

This report is written in second or third person depending
on whether you are using it as a feedback report for
the candidate or for the decision-maker. Text-based
narrative reports are the only type of report available
to untrained users. All other reports/graphics require
a certification.

Quick Look Page

This gives an indication as to the accuracy of the candidate’s
responses and shows you where you need to focus for
additional probing in an interview. For this fake candidate,
the report tells us we need to probe on every competency!
For other candidates you may see “Strong”
and/or “OK” in place of “Further Probing”.

Profile Chart

This is the first page of a 2-page chart which provides
the candidate’s score for each scale in Identity. Labels
and descriptions on either side assist in accurate interpretation
of each scale score.

Pre-Interview Report

This is a sample page from Identity’s Pre-Interview
Report. Personality test reports should be followed
up with a good behavioral interview. This report assists
in this process by providing example questions to ask
the candidate based on their profile.

Derived scales

Assess aspects of the person such as Jungian Type, Learning
Styles, EQ, Team Roles, Leadership Style and so on.
All of these charts come at no additional cost.

The above are just a few examples of
pages from Identity reports. Identity offers a number
of different reports: Pre-Interview, Comprehensive,
Career Focus and Candidate Feedback. Unlike other psychometric
personality tests, clients only pay once for the candidate
rather than for each report generated.

To download full sample reports, please click here

Free Online Psychometric Testing System

All qualified users of Identity get a FREE online system
- so, you can set up test sessions and produce reports
whenever you want – even at night and on weekends!

View our multimedia Identity Sales Presentation

Click here to view all current public training course dates

In this session we will explore the following:

1. Computer-based scoring of psychometric tests
2. Hand-scoring of psychometric tests
3. Norming of test results
4. The link between scoring of tests and reliability

Converting raw scores to standardised scores and using representative norms will be covered in a later session.

Once a psychometric test has been properly administered, it needs to be scored.  Depending on the test chosen, you may have a few options. 

a. You can opt for computer-based scoring.

This would work if you had administered the test using computer software or if you had asked your candidate to complete an online test. For online tests, this option is good because it is less likely to involve scoring errors! Your candidate completes the test online and then the system immediately and automatically scores the test. There is no additional input required and hence less chance for error. This pre-supposes the publisher has used the correct scoring algorithms of course. Whilst most reputable test publishers will, we do know of one who had an error in a test battery that was not spotted until one of their distributors pointed out that his partner had done poorly on a test for which she was a subject matter expert!!

If you administer the test to your candidate using desktop software, you should be able to automatically score it in the same way as above. 

b. You can opt for hand-scoring or a bureau service or keyed input followed by computer-scoring. You are most likely to use this option if you administered the test to your candidate using hard-copy test booklets and answer sheets. 

Firstly, you’ll need to double-check the answer sheets to ensure that there are no irregularities. Ensure that it’s obvious which answer the respondent selected. Be careful with any “blobs” that may have appeared from ink or pencil smudges etc.  If a respondent has changed their mind after selecting a response and has crossed it out, ensure that you only use the most recent response in scoring. 

For hand-scoring using a scoring key, you’ll next need to align the scoring key with the answer sheet. The exact requirements will vary based on the test you are using, so ensure that you read and fully understand the instructions provided by the test publisher. 

Once you have scored the responses, double-check your scoring. You then need to record the score. The score you calculate at this point is called the RAW SCORE.  On its own, a raw score means nothing. If I tell you that you scored 54 on a numerical reasoning test or 75 on the extraversion scale of a personality assessment, you’ll need to ask me more questions before you truly understand your score. The most important question to ask would be how your score compared to others.  The comparison of your score with others is called norming. 

It is called norming because we compare a candidate’s score to a group of others (called the norm group) who completed the test in the past.  To undertake this comparison, you can do it by way of a simple calculation or through the use of norm tables either developed by yourself or, more usually, supplied by the test publisher.

Norm tables allow us to use a standard vocabulary for expressing a candidate’s score in relation to others who have taken the test and it is for this reason that we call your new score a standardised score.  A standardised score is simply your candidate’s raw score, compared with the norm group and expressed in terms of how the candidate scored in relation to others.  We’ll consider standardised scores in more detail in a later lesson.  You’ll see by now that your objective is to calculate the candidate’s standard score as this is the way to achieve maximum meaning.  If you opt for paper and pencil tests and hand-scoring, the process can be lengthy. So are there other options?

We have already seen above that we can simply have the candidate complete an online test. However, you may not wish to do this if there are many candidates.  This is because you will need as many computers as candidates if you are going to supervise them.  If you are using an unsupervised test, the candidate can complete on their own PC, but you may be concerned about possible cheating and so on.  This is why you may end up using paper and pencil tests (in a supervised environment).  However, there is an alternative to arduous hand-scoring if you have used paper and pencil tests. 

You can use the bureau service of your psychometric test distributor. You just need to check that the answer sheet is properly completed, clear and free from any irregularities and then send the answer sheet to the distributor by fax or scanned email.  The bureau service will then score the test for you and send you a report. 

Furthermore, you may have another option yet.  If you have access to a computer or online test system, you can probably also enter the candidate’s responses to each question into the system and have the system produce the report. This is essentially what the bureau service above does for you.  Doing it yourself should work out cheaper.  Do be careful when you transpose the responses though – accuracy is far more important than speed unless you want to invalidate the whole process!!

Self-scoring answer sheets: Some psychometric tests are supplied with self-scoring answer sheets. These are much easier to use than non-self-scoring answer sheets. In this case you usually need to open up the answer sheet by tearing off some perforated card. Inside the answer sheet, the candidate’s responses will have been duplicated via carbon or similar onto a scoring card. Usually, you add up the number of responses (often black circles) that appear inside a circle. Those outside of a circle represent incorrect answers so don’t get counted. Once you’ve added up correct responses, you have your raw score.  Slightly different procedures obviously apply for personality assessments and fewer personality assessments provide self-scoring answer sheets due to their scoring complexity.  When using self-scoring answer sheets you need to be especially careful to ensure that the candidate presses hard on the answer sheet when completing the test. If they are light-handed their responses may not come through onto the scoring card!

Finally, let’s consider the link between psychometric test scoring and reliability/validity.  As you know, the test administrator can have a huge impact upon psychometric test reliability throughout the whole process. At the scoring stage you can affect reliability simply by scoring incorrectly. This might happen because you miss the fact that a candidate crossed out their answer and changed their mind. It may also happen because you try to score fast and just don’t add up correctly.  Perhaps you use the scoring key incorrectly or perhaps the scoring is so arduous (often the case for personality assessments) that you simply get lost in the scoring or incorrectly use your calculator! 

Ensure therefore that you fully understand how to score the test, use the scoring key as per the publisher’s instructions, score slowly and double check or have someone else double check your scoring. If possible, use computer based scoring or self-scoring answer sheets. Incorrect scoring reduces reliability and of course that means that a valid test can become invalid and a waste of time or money!

Interested in learning more about psychometric testing for HRM? Keep reading – your next free session is not far away! To ensure you don’t miss a single instalment, we suggest you follow-us on twitter as each new post will be announced there. You may also like to join our face-to-face psychometric training courses in Singapore or Hong Kong – these range from simple introductory courses through to Certification Courses such as the BPS Level A and BPS Level B Certificates of Competence in Occupational Testing. Not in Singapore or Hong Kong? No problem – we also offer both recorded and live online training in psychometrics! For full details please see here or email us.

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Yesterday I was watching a program from the UK which fights for consumer rights. A segment of the program was reporting on a sofa that was not fit for purpose and this led my mind back to psychometrics.  We’re always looking for easy ways to define some of the more technical aspects of psychometrics and this was a good example!

The sofa looked absolutely fine. In fact, it was beautiful leather and looked very expensive.  To relate this back to psychometric testing we could say it had FACE VALIDITY. The sofa looked as if it would do the job it is supposed to do (on the face of it).  Likewise, a test, be it personality or aptitude, which looks like it will do the job it is supposed to do is said to have face validity.  We assess face validity simply by looking at the test. However, face validity is not very important in the grand scheme of things! It’s important for candidate buy-in of course. If you are given a test as part of a selection process and that test doesn’t seem relevant to the job you won’t be happy with the process and may not take it or the company too seriously!!

The sofa, despite looking great, had some major problems.  The first time its owner sat on it, it fell apart. There were lots of flaws in the design and so on. Likewise, some of us may have experienced similar examples with second-hand cars. They may look excellent on the face of it, but then they break down on the way home!  In other words, the sofa or the car are not FIT FOR PURPOSE. This is a major problem.  You use psychometric tests to help discriminate between candidates and to help you select the best. If there is something fundamentally wrong with the design of the test that causes any problems, then the test will not be fit for purpose. It will not be valid, even if it has face validity.

It’s for this reason that it’s not a good idea to ask a test supplier for a free trial to “validate the test” as some of our clients ask! Often this is similar to a second-hand car buyer looking at the paintwork on the car and ignoring the mechanics because they know little about them.

If you are interested in learning how to evaluate the “mechanics” of the many psychometric tests out there and knowing how to choose good from bad based on critical information, please consider attending either our face-to-face psychometric training courses in Singapore and Hong Kong or joining our live online or distance learning in psychometrics. Full details here: http://www.psyasia.com/psychometric_training.php