Choosing the right personality assessment can make the difference between onboarding a top performer and a bad hire. Hiring managers and HR professionals often turn to psychometric tools to help predict job performance, improve cultural fit, and increase employee retention. But with so many options available, which assessments are truly valid – and legally defensible – for use in hiring and selection decisions?
What Does a Valid Psychometric Tool Look Like?
A valid personality assessment is backed by rigorous scientific research, consistently delivers accurate and reliable results, and complies with ethical guidelines for hiring. These assessments provide objective insights into an applicant’s personality traits, which are often indicators of job suitability and long-term success.
Ipsative vs. Normative Assessments
Two primary types of assessments dominate the hiring space—ipsative and normative assessments. While both offer valuable insights, their differences in structure and purpose can impact their suitability for hiring.
Ipsative Assessments
Ipsative assessments, also known as “forced-choice” tests, require candidates to compare options and select answers based on their preferences. These tools measure a person’s most dominant traits by forcing trade-offs, which can help understand an individual’s self-perception or be used in team building.
However, ipsative assessments are not valid for hiring contexts because they do not allow comparisons between candidates. Ipsative assessments are not legally defensible for hiring and employee-related decision-making. The results of these assessments are relative to the individual and, therefore, candidates cannot be compared to each other or job competencies.
Normative Assessments
Normative assessments are valid and reliable for hiring. These tools measure candidates on a normative scale (bell curve), allowing for direct comparisons across groups of people. Normative assessments provide detailed insights into how a candidate’s traits align with job requirements, organizational values, or team dynamics, offering hiring managers a clearer picture of the best fit for the role. These assessments are legally defensible in employee-related decision-making and allow organizations to compare candidates against each other and job competencies.
For more information download our whitepaper: Ipsative vs. Normative: Which is the Right Tool for Hiring?
TalentClick: Reliable and Validated Solutions for Hiring
When it comes to selecting a reliable psychometric tool, TalentClick stands out as a trusted solution. TalentClick offers normative assessments designed specifically for hiring and talent management processes.
Why Choose TalentClick?
- Accuracy and Reliability
TalentClick tools are scientifically validated to provide objective, consistent, and reliable results across candidate pools. This ensures hiring decisions are backed by data rather than guesswork.
- Fit Score and Benchmarking
TalentClick’s reports provide employers with Fit Scores and ideal profile benchmarks that allow employers to quantify how well a candidate aligns with the role’s specific requirements and the organization’s culture.
Employees who match the ‘Ideal Job Profile’ benchmark stay on the job up to 40% longer than other employees (TC Research)
- Improve Quality of Hire
With TalentClick, organizations see measurable improvements in their hiring outcomes. By predicting job fit, TalentClick increases the quality of hire, optimizing both performance and retention.
The Bottom Line
When choosing a personality assessment for hiring, it’s essential to focus on scientifically validated tools for workplace decisions. Like those provided by TalentClick, normative assessments offer HR professionals and hiring managers the accuracy and comparability they need to make confident hiring decisions.
Start making smarter, data-driven hires today with TalentClick. Try our AVP normative assessment now!
