The Role of Psychology in HR Recruiting

When hiring for HR positions, it is absolutely vital that companies find professionals who are a model of the company’s culture and values. HR professionals have an enormous impact on hiring, organizational development, employee morale, productivity, and much more. Unfortunately, many companies end up with mediocre and ineffective HR talent due to flaws in the recruitment process.

To ensure smart, effective hiring decisions, more companies are incorporating psychometric testing into the interview process—especially for high-level HR roles.

How a Psychological Approach Can Help

Skills and experience are easily identified from a resume and the initial screening process—determining one’s true behavior and work ethic is more difficult to assess through interviews. Effective hiring managers know great questions to ask to scratch the surface of candidates’ personalities and how they would fit in the company, but psychometric testing allows hiring managers to evaluate candidates’ true motives, strengths and weaknesses, behavior in high-stress situations, problem-solving style, and communication style. These are crucial elements to understand before making an impactful hire in any department, but exceptionally necessary for recruiting HR professionals who will lead talent acquisition and have a substantial impact on the company’s culture, productivity, and efficiency.

An organization’s HR department represents the company to potential talent and handles employee education, organizational development, change management, and more. All professionals on an HR team must be prepared and able to implement strategies for the betterment of the organization’s workforce and processes in alignment with the overall short and long-term goals. Psychometric testing should be used to ensure that the entire HR team is on the same page and communicates with optimal efficiency.

Implementing psychometric testing also helps hiring managers and company leaders determine which personalities are the most successful at their organizations. Many hiring managers do not narrow down a comprehensive, detailed candidate profile for each role and rely on instincts throughout the interview process—this often leads to disappointing, ineffective hiring decisions.

3 Types of Psychometric Testing for HR Roles

1. Personality Assessment

Personality assessments are the most common form of psychology in recruitment. Most personality assessments are based on the Five-Factor Model of Personality, which is broken down into five “super traits:” openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Companies determine the right personality for each specific role and evaluate candidates’ results in comparison.

2. Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning tests are utilized to measure one’s oral and written verbal abilities. Superb communication skills are necessary when conveying vital information to potential employees and conducting company-wide communication.

3. Abstract Reasoning

Abstract Reasoning assessments are designed to measure a candidate’s problem solving and conceptual reasoning skills. The best Human Resource professionals are continuous learners and avid problem-solvers who have the ability to analyze research and data and apply that to work-related problems. Through abstract reasoning assessments, an employer can test a candidate’s ability to think quickly and efficiently adapt to surprise or change.

Though personality assessments are the most common form of psychometric testing in an interview process, a combination of all three tests is recommended for upper-level HR roles that have a substantial impact on the company. Companies should use all of the available resources to ensure that they are hiring top talent who is capable of developing an HR strategy and leading the company’s workforce to success.