We are accredited to administer and interpret SHL Psychometric tests, one of the best psychometric testing tools around.
Why is psychometric testing so good for leaders?
Leadership isn’t just about a job title; it’s about influence, decision-making, and guiding others. Using psychometric testing for leaders, or those aspiring to lead, brings huge benefits:
- Targeted development: Everyone has strengths and areas to grow. These tests highlight a leader’s natural talents (like strategic thinking or influencing others) and pinpoint areas where they might need a bit more support (like delegation or resilience). This means your development budget goes exactly where it’s needed.
- Boosted self-awareness: a great leader understands themselves. Psychometric feedback gives leaders a clear look in the mirror, helping them see how their natural style impacts their team and decisions. This self-awareness is key to growth and becoming an even better leader.
- Smarter hiring and promotions: Interviews can be tricky. Psychometric tests add an objective layer, helping you pick the right person for a leadership role by showing if their natural strengths match what the role needs. Make better decisions and fewer costly mistakes.
What exactly is psychometric testing?
Think of psychometric testing as a scientific (and super simple!) way to get a clear picture of someone’s preferred (or fallback) behaviours. The word ‘psychometric’ just means ‘mental measurement’.
Instead of relying on guesswork or just a feeling, psychometric tests give you solid data. This helps you understand what makes someone tick, providing a much deeper understanding than a resume or interview alone can offer.
These aren’t crystal ball readings; we use well-researched, reliable tools designed to give objective insights into things like:
- How people think: Are they good at problem-solving, logical reasoning, or understanding complex information?
- Some personality traits: Are they naturally collaborative, resilient under pressure, or more introverted/extroverted?
- How they work in group situations, or how well they work with others.
Using psychometric tests to find hidden potential
Finding your next generation of leaders early is vital for any business. Psychometric testing is incredibly powerful here because it looks beyond just experience. They are also extremely useful when you see someone who has fantastic technical skills in their current job and you’d like to understand if they are, or importantly are not, ready to lead.
- Beyond the resume: Sometimes, the best potential leaders are quietly excelling in non-leadership roles. These tests can uncover hidden gems by revealing innate leadership qualities. Examples include strong problem-solving skills, resilience, or a natural ability to influence. This is helpful if they haven’t had a chance to lead yet.
- Assessing future potential: Some people have amazing technical and job-related skills and it’s tempting to promote them to leadership. But leading is very different to doing. Psychometric testing helps you to understand who has the skills to lead, and who is more likely to adapt to leadership. They uncover what behaviour traits need to be worked on so that someone can transition to leadership successfully.
- Uncovering key traits: Traits like emotional intelligence, a proactive attitude, and strong communication skills are crucial for leaders. Psychometrics can accurately identify these in individuals, giving you a clear indication of their leadership readiness.
- Building your leadership pipeline: By using psychometric data, you can objectively identify individuals with high leadership potential across your organisation. This helps you build a strong “bench” of talent, ready to step up when opportunities arise. This ensures your business always has capable hands at the helm.
In short, psychometric testing isn’t just about assessing who’s ready now. It’s about seeing who has the potential to lead your organisation into the future. It’s a smart investment in your most valuable asset: your people.
Ready to unlock the full potential of your leaders and identify your next generation of talent? Let’s chat about how psychometric testing can benefit your business.
We recommend pairing psychometric testing with social intelligence measurement and training.
Frequently asked questions about psychometric testing
I’m nervous about my upcoming psychometric test. Can I practice first?
Yes you can! Practice tests give you the chance to see what the psychometric test is like. It’s not going to give you the ‘answers’, because there is no correct answer!
You can access the SHL practice tests here.
Can people cheat the tests?
Sometimes people will answer the questions with what they think are ‘socially acceptable responses’. The test results can pick this up. Your consultant will see a ‘consistency score’. A low score usually indicates that this person hasn’t been honest.
How will I know who has completed a test?
To ensure that tests are completed personally by employees, we recommend that they do their test in work time, and ideally on your premises. That’s the best guarantee that they are going to personally complete the tests.
If someone completes a test on behalf of someone else, it’s likely to come out in the test results. When we deliver the results, some items might not resonate with the employee, which may give us a clue about whether they completed the test themselves.
What equipment do I need for psychometric testing?
All you need is a computer, tablet or smartphone.
We also recommend that you have a quiet space and make yourself ‘uninterruptable’.
Who delivers the psychometric test results?
Ideally, we meet with each employee to deliver their test results and help them to understand them. After that, we would normally meet with each manager to give an overview of results. We can then facilitate development planning, and coach everyone through what to do next.
What reports are available?
There are many reports available, and we will discuss beforehand which reports are right. Which reports are available depends on which tests are completed. We can get simple competency strength reports, leadership potential, and development planning reports. With the motivation questionnaires we can get richer data and additional reports, such as the motivation report and sales potential reports.
