Frequently asked questions

Why psychometric assessment? Are employment interviews really less reliable? #

Employment interviews are among the top 5 hiring methods based on their ability to predict job performance and performance in job training programs. However, they are not the best predictors and can be very costly (time-wise, staff-wise, error-wise) even if conducted properly.

Psychometric assessment, specifically general cognitive ability tests, is proven to be the best predictor and better in many different ways. You can read more about it here.

This does not mean you should skip the interview process. You should just talk to the right candidates first! Aside from great long-term benefits in better employee performance, using psychometric assessment allows you to focus on the top prospects, thus saving precious time and putting you in front of other competing employers and internal resource engagement (far fewer interviews).

What is psychometric assessment? #

Psychometric assessment is a scientifically valid method, used in HR processes, that uses different psychological tests, questionnaires, and other specific techniques to assess an individual’s characteristics that are relevant and predictive of their job performance. General cognitive ability (or general intelligence) is proven to be the best predictor of job performance (Schmidt et al., 2016). Organizations using psychometric assessment can save millions of dollars in better employee performance.

How many candidates will I lose if I use psychometric assessment? #

The typical psychometric assessment procedures can take up to several hours when the goal is an in-depth and comprehensive insight into each individual candidate.

At HR Potentials, we recommend an upper time limit of 45 minutes per psychometric assessment procedure (per battery / per round) to achieve the best results. However, using only one test or questionnaire can take less than 30 minutes (or even just a few minutes) - this can be an effective way to pre-filter large lists of candidates.

How much will I save using psychometric assessment? #

Since you will be talking to the most suitable candidates first, you will not only significantly reduce the number of interviews for every employment procedure but also gain tens of thousands per year in better future employee performance. You can try your hand at a more detailed calculation here.

We follow the Privacy By Design methodology. To this effect, we use a consent-based data model to power our systems so that you may easily ensure all your assessed individuals all rights granted by GDPR.

Monitoring tools such as cameras, microphones, and screen-sharing software are essential for ensuring the integrity of psychometric assessment procedures, particularly when using cognitive ability tests. These tools enable assessment administrators to detect any breaches in procedure that could compromise the validity and reliability of the assessment, replacing the need for in-person supervision or live proctoring (e.g., through a Zoom meeting).

From a legal perspective, GDPR requires data minimization — collecting only the data necessary for the procedure. The monitoring data we collect is limited to what is strictly required to validate the assessment process and is used solely for this purpose. This is further minimized by using random or periodic recordings instead of a continuous recording throughout the procedure. Assessed individuals must also explicitly consent to this before proceeding with the procedure.

If an individual declines the use of monitoring tools, alternative methods, such as in-person assessments (e.g., in the client's assessment center) or remote live proctoring (e.g., via a Zoom meeting), are always available.

However, it's important to note that while individuals can choose not to participate in the remotely monitored assessment, the fairness of their consideration in the HR process (e.g., for employment) must remain intact, as this is a critical concern for privacy law regulators. We encourage organizations to ensure that individuals who opt out are not unfairly disadvantaged in their selection or development processes. We also recommend consulting with legal advisors to address specific concerns regarding your organization’s use of such tools.

I want to add your link to my job ad. How can I do that? #

When you open an organization/company account with HR Potentials, you are assigned an Account Manager. You can either obtain the link directly from the platform or ask your Account Manager to send you the link, which you can freely paste into your job ad. Your applicants will simply enter their email addresses and automatically receive an invitation to the psychometric assessment procedure.

I already collected the applications, what now? #

You can either use the HR Potentials platform to administer the assessment procedure (upload the list of contact details (emails and phone numbers), send assessment invitations, collect the Full Procedure Report with the candidate rank list) or ask your Account Manager to do it for you.

This seems too good to be true. How can you ensure the quality and scientific backing of your services? #

We believe in the scientifically proven future of multi-measure psychometric assessment, following the whole-person approach to hiring and other HR decisions. In contrast with the market overload of pseudoscientific and expensive solutions, our assessment suite comprises exclusively tools with scientifically proven predictive ability. We follow the guidelines set forth by the key authorities providing the guidelines on conducting the psychometric assessment, the International Testing Commission (ITC) and the American Psychological Association (APA).

Furthermore, the quality of our assessment tools has been recognized by faculties around the world for the practical education of students, scientific research, and other purposes, as well as by leading psychological entities such as the IPIP network. We are extremely grateful to all educational, research, humanitarian, and non-government institutions for their impactful work, which is why we offer our services free of charge to them. We are proud of all collaboration opportunities with them, and invite all students, educators, researchers, and non-profits to check out our non-commercial use tab for more.

I'm unsure how many assessments I might need, how can I decide? #

You might want to start with our pre-prepared packages which offer you a limited amount of assessment procedures to conduct, but are a good starting point to familiarize yourself with our platform and services.

Later on, after integrating the HR Potentials platform as an integral part of your personnel procedures, you may want to upgrade to bigger packages or, alternatively, ensure annual cost predictability by making a transition to our flat-rate usage option with unlimited data download, where the annual cost depends on the size of your organization. Please check our pricing list for more information.

Pst, contact us for a quote! We offer bulk discounts for larger purchases.

How will you prepare the rank list based on candidate fit? #

HR Potentials ranks candidates based on their long-term performance prediction of job-related activities as well as job-related learning within the position which is the subject of this procedure.

This is achieved by combining:

Psychometric Fit - Matching of several candidate’s psychometric characteristics with job requirements (cognitive abilities, personality traits, occupational interests and priorities) and
CV Fit (optional) - The quality of relevant knowledge and work experience represented in the CV and other documents.

The ratio, in which the overall Assessment of Potential Index of an individual candidate is calculated, depends on each organization's needs and is configurable per assessment procedure (long-term hiring will place more emphasis on the candidate abilities and characteristics than on the knowledge and experience presented).

Can I assess existing employees? #

Our platform is more than appropriate for assessing your existing employees. If you are interested in using the results of the psychometric assessment in your personnel development, succession planning, or training processes, feel free to contact us and let us know about your specific needs. We will help you use the results to your and your employees’ advantage.

While the individuals who are not selected in your hiring procedure will be invited to join the HR Potentials candidate pool, your existing employees who participated in our assessment procedures will not.

How can I get an additional detailed professional interpretation of the results? #

Absolutely! Although detailed interpretation may not be necessary, some clients decide to utilize it before signing the employment contract. Upon request, your Account Manager will assign you one of our Certified Psychologists. Our services are charged in accordance with the service price list.

Do I need to have a psychologist on my staff? #

You do not need to have a psychologist on your staff. Upon request, your Account Manager will assign you one of our Certified Psychologists. However, if you have a psychologist on your staff, you can certify them as organizations employing Certified Professionals can lower the prices of our services.

Can a candidate decline psychometric assessment? #

Our psychometric assessment procedures are strictly consent-based. If the candidate cannot or does not want to be assessed, their Assessment of Potential Index will be estimated without considering the matching of the candidate's psychometric characteristics with job requirements (cognitive abilities, personality traits, occupational interests and priorities), thus resulting in lower prediction reliability. In case two candidates have the same Assessment of Potential Index, the candidate with a higher prediction reliability will be prioritized in the report.

Candidates are also informed that participating in the psychometric assessment procedure allows them to present themselves better to the potential employer and for the latter to get to know them better. As finding a fit between both parties is in everyone’s interest, psychometric assessment proves to be an excellent jumpstart into a great collaboration (or an avoidance of a bad and expensive one).

Which occupation profile database do you use to compare psychometric assessment results with? #

Our target profiles of job positions are based on the information, collected by O*NET®, containing detailed descriptions of over 900 occupations for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, developers, researchers, and more. Due to the 25+ years and detailed and extensive process of O*NET® data collection, we found it more than fit to base our target values on.

However, target profiles can be adjusted to your specific organizational needs. You can do this yourself when using our platform or contact your Account Manager to take care of it for you.

What do my candidates need to take part in the assessment? #

The vast majority of all the PC devices used are compatible with our platform. A camera and a microphone are required to establish a controlled environment (cognitive ability assessment). A stable internet connection is recommended to avoid performance issues. However, if the candidates lose the connection, they can simply continue with the assessment once their internet connection is re-established. Keep in mind that cognitive ability tests can be influenced by such interruptions. Such incidents should be clarified with the assessment administrator.

What about candidates with color blindness, how do you take their disability into account? #

We developed our psychometric assessment tools with certain impairments and disabilities in mind, meaning that they do not play a part in the assessment procedure or affect final results. In case of impairments or disabilities that may largely affect the assessment procedure, we recommend an individual approach or avoiding the psychometric assessment completely and instead conducting employment interviews.

Do I have to invite the candidates to the assessment in person / in my assessment center? #

Our service is digital-first, meaning that the candidates receive their invitation to the psychometric assessment procedure via email. There is no additional need to invite them to your headquarters as the use of our innovative TestAnywhere tool allows for a controlled environment to be sustained during the procedure.

How do you prevent cheating? #

As tests of cognitive abilities can encourage competitiveness and, thus, cheating, we have developed computer-generated tests that use algorithms to create new test items. This allows us to simultaneously assess identical levels of abilities while using different items, meaning that different candidates receive different tasks, measuring the same abilities. Furthermore, if the same candidate were to be reassessed, they would receive a different set of items, eliminating worries regarding reuse of the same tests.

How do you ensure the identity of the candidate? #

By using our innovative HR Potentials TestAnywhere tool, our platform collects audio and visual data periodically during the assessment procedure and combines them into a short video and a set of print screens that allow the Certified Professionals, users of our platform, to check for any irregularities that might have occurred during the assessment procedure and endangered the integrity of results. The candidates are informed about the use of the TestAnywhere tool prior to the assessment procedure and are asked to provide appropriate consent for a further use of the tool.

Aside from this, an additional reference photo can be collected with the candidate's consent at the beginning of the assessment procedure, so you can be sure that the individual being employed is the person who took part in the assessment.

How fast can I get the rank list? #

The Candidate Assessment pf Potential Index is available as soon as the candidate completes the assessment. Not all the candidates need to complete the assessment in order to download the rank list of the candidates.

I have your rank list. What now? Should I hire solely based on the rank list? #

We certainly hope you still use employment interviews. Psychometric assessment is an objective method of hiring selection but should be (and usually is) only a part of the hiring process. A comprehensive approach to your hiring process should include various characteristics as well as various methods to assess candidates and give them the best opportunity to present themselves. In the same way that modern jobs became increasingly complex, modern hiring demands combined information to predict an individual’s likelihood of being successful on the varied demands of the job. That is, if you wish to hire long-term employees and not employees who will temporarily replace other employees.

How high quality are your assessment tools? #

We use only reliable and scientifically proven assessment tools that have proven predictive power. Our internal test-retest reliability analysis has exhibited a high average reliability (0.81) of our cognitive ability tests, which we developed ourselves. The personality models that we use have a long-standing research tradition and proven correlations with job performance and other relevant organizational outcomes (i.e., counterproductiveness, job retention and satisfaction, etc.), and the questionnaires to assess them have exhibited satisfactory internal reliabilities (0.75 or more) and construct validity indices. The assessment of occupational interests and priorities adds to the predictive validity of assessment procedures. Our norms are based on national-specific norm samples. For everyone who wishes to learn more about our assessment tools, write to us and we will send you our datasheet with detailed descriptions of our assessment tools.

For which job positions is your platform suitable for? #

The HR Potentials platform is best optimized for assessing the operative and middle management staff, but can also be used at the executive level. Aside from the comprehensive psychometric reports, we offer Competency Development Potential Reports which cover potentials for developing various behavioral competencies, such as Communication with Clients, Time Management, Conflict Resolution, and Flexibility, which can be useful for a plethora of positions and in a variety of situations.

How can employee certification lower the price for my organization? #

Certified Professionals are granted the right to use the HR Potentials platform in accordance with the limitations and responsibilities of their specific certification, performing Administrative-Expert Services.

They may use the platform for their employer or act as independent contractors for customers who employ no Certified Professionals.

When working as independent contractors and using the platform on the customer's behalf (external services), they perform the Administrative-Expert services charged at an hourly rate, alongside the fee for using our platform.

However, when using the platform for their employer (internal services), the Administrative-Expert Services are not charged, granting our clients lower prices for our services.

What is the candidate pool and how will you suggest additional candidates? #

Candidates who decide to become a part of the candidate pool can be suggested to companies/organizations using our platform. We will only suggest the candidates who fit your job position by their type and level of education, who are interested in the occupational group to which your job position belongs, and who are among the top 5 candidates on the rank list according to their Assessment of Potential Index.

Will you be suggesting my candidates to other employers? When do my candidates move to your candidate pool? #

Your candidates can become a part of our candidate pool only if they consent to it and only after you conclude your hiring process. This usually happens about 2 months after the psychometric assessment is completed. Only candidates who were not employed are offered this option.

Do you offer additional consulting? #

We offer additional consulting with our resident Recognized Experts on target job profile preparation, assessment battery selection, and other assessment topics that you are interested in. All our consulting services are performed in conjunction with Recognized Experts from academia.

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