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A Short Guide To Psychometric Assessments.

What is a psychometric assessment?

The word psychometric comes from two Greek words, psyche and metric, which when translated literally means ‘measurement of the mind’. Psychometric assessments are a fair and objective way of measuring attributes such as cognitive ability, values, motivation, behavioural preferences and personality traits that are deemed to be relevant to job performance.

When can I use a psychometric assessment?

A robust psychometric assessment can be used in a wide range of contexts, including recruitment, selection and development. However, not all assessments (including some of the most well-known) are suitable for all occasions so you should check with the test publisher before use.

What should I look for when choosing a psychometric assessment?

There are 5 key things to consider when selecting which psychometric assessment to use:

  1. Relevant:  Does the assessment measure criteria that are relevant to the role for which it is being used?
  2. Reliable:  Does the tool provide an accurate and consistent measure of those criteria?
  3. Valid:  Does the assessment truly measure what it claims to?
  4. Predictive:  Does the tool provide an accurate prediction of future performance?
  5. Objective:  is the tool fair and unbiased in its assessment of candidates regardless of their background? Does it adversely impact upon different groups of people?
What are the benefits of a psychometric assessment?

The analytical insights generated by a psychometric enable organisations to demonstrate a positive impact upon their business in a number of ways:

  • High Performance:  Validations studies can be used to demonstrate a clear link between assessment results and performance in role.
  • Reduce Risks:  Because validation studies can show organisations what qualities to look for in a top performer, organisations can be more confident in their ability to select the best candidate when hiring or promoting.
  • Increase Engagement:  Putting the right person in the right role where they can thrive has been shown to positively impact upon employee engagement and retention.
  • Identify Potential:  Understanding the qualities that drive great performance allows organisations to search for these characteristics in individuals, and provide developmental support to them, before they are put in post.
  • Deep Dive:  Selecting the right tool can enable organisations to measure specific aspects of motivation, attributes and behaviour which are difficult to measure via other methods.
  • Fair Selection:  They provide a standardised measure of job-relevant criteria behaviour that reduces the risk of unconscious bias and supports fair and objective decision-making.

Bloojam Consulting offers a range of robust recruitment and development tools and interventions, including the Acuity for Strategic Sales suite of psychometric assessment and development tools.

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Demystifying Sales For Professional Services

More and more of the leaders we speak to in professional services firms recognise the importance of enhancing sales capability as they pursue growth during challenging economic circumstances. In the past the language used has typically dressed sales up as something else…. client origination, business development, practice growth etc. But this is no more.

Individuals too also recognise the need to develop their sales capability if they are to be successful. However, being open to the idea of “sales” isn’t necessarily the same as feeling equipped and capable to carry out this critical element of the role. Firms are typically very good at communicating the requirements to progress as a leader, articulated through bespoke frameworks and values statements that create clarity, and they put a lot of effort into supporting new and emerging leaders. However, provision is more patchy and ad-hoc when it comes to developing B2B sales capability. There are very few sales frameworks out there and training, when it takes place, tends to focus more on the sales process than the person and the behaviours and attributes required to be successful in strategic sales.

That is changing as clients recognise the importance of nurturing and retaining their people, in the context of the scarcity and expense of finding top talent in the market, if they are to achieve the growth they seek. Today we are seeing firms create training academies and defined career paths for sales professionals, in a manner similar to leadership development programmes, that provide their client-facing teams with clearly-signposted opportunities for progression.

At Bloojam, we work with clients to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the key drivers, behaviours and attributes that drive superior B2B sales performance. Successful organisations are able to apply this knowledge to promote and hire people who want to be on that journey and to develop them once in the role. Using such a blueprint helps to demystify B2B sales for both the individual role holder and supports organisations to supercharge the performance of their client-facing teams.

Sarah Clapperton is a Director at Bloojam Consulting and a Chartered Business Psychologist, with 20 years’ experience working in selection and development. She specialises in working with leaders and senior salespeople.

Bloojam Consulting offers a range of robust recruitment and development tools and interventions, including the Acuity for Strategic Sales suite of psychometric assessment and development tools.

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Driving Culture Change Using 360 Programmes

360 Programmes Beyond The Individual: Driving And Measuring Culture Change

Most people remember their first 360 feedback; the first time they’ve heard how their colleagues really see them.  The really great leaders I speak to have embraced the feedback, responded and been on a development journey (pardon the X Factor cliché) ever since.

I passionately believe in the power of a well-delivered 360 programme (see our previous blogs about 360 best practice).  Some of the immediate benefits are:

  • Increased self-awareness for the individual; clearly seeing their strengths and development areas, and opening up their blind spots, this gives a clear basis for ongoing development
  • Good 360 analytics can provide insights into training needs for teams and departments, helping to effectively target training and development budgets and identify quick wins such as peer mentoring

Longer-term, 360 feedback alongside other L&D and employee engagement interventions, can help to underpin culture change programmes for the organisation:

  • Regularly repeated 360 programmes can encourage a feedback culture that helps colleagues to give each other constructive feedback on a day-to-day-basis
  • 360 surveys that are structured around a well-designed competency framework clearly articulate what ‘good’ looks like, providing a shared understanding of what behaviours should be aspired to. Competency frameworks can include motivation and values elements that also underpin the desired culture.
  • Regular 360 cycles can help to measure the success of culture change programmes, using analytics to understand the extent of the movement towards the desired behaviours and where further interventions are needed.

Somebody’s first 360 can be quite an emotional experience, but that’s because it gets to the heart of what’s important in their role, to their colleagues and for their organisation.  Harnessing that insight can pay dividends for individuals, teams and change programmes.

Sarah is a Chartered Business Psychologist and a Director of Bloojam Consulting.  With 20 years’ experience working in selection and development, she is passionate about using evidence-based approaches to add demonstrable value to both the individual and the organisation.