Testing People at Work: Competencies in Psychometric Testing

Citation

Kjeldal, S. (2006), "Testing People at Work: Competencies in Psychometric Testing", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 68-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620610641328

Testing People at Work, by Mike Smith, with Pam Smith, is an essential resource for human resource managers, change consultants and other professionals working within the field of management. It is particularly useful for individuals involved in training managers and other personnel who wish to utilise psychological tests in the workplace. It is the case that empirically sound knowledge relating to conducting psychological testing in the workplace is not widespread amongst those working in the management field. One primary reason for this is the incomprehensibility, to middle‐ and senior managers, of some academic texts on the subject. Many books available to those wishing to undertake psychometric testing are written for those teaching in tertiary institutions, and are simply too dense, or intricate, for the lay reader to understand. Mike Smith and Pam Smith have redressed this insufficiency with their timely and thoughtful treatise on this important subject.

The book begins with an overview of the many ways in which psychometric testing can be useful in the workplace, and provides a summary of the primary tests that are used. Job analysis, arguably the cornerstone of a successful human resource strategy, is given an excellent treatment; practitioners will fully understand the many uses this primary activity serves in determining the human resource needs of any organisation. Next, statistics is taught with a view to discussing, in a commonsensical and straightforward manner, the fundamentals of statistics that are used in a management setting. Time is not wasted describing complex statistical procedures that are not appropriate for managerial use. Rather, basic statistics are explained and much of the fear associated with this subject is dispensed with by treating the issues in a practical and sensitive manner.

I was particularly pleased to see a considered discussion of the scope of correlations; these comprise a standard method of testing for associations between phenomena and are an absolute must for those involved in managing employees to understand thoroughly. There is no doubt that, after reading this book, managers and trainers will be in no doubt of the rationale and scope of the correlation method. The important issues of reliability and validity have also been considered in a thoughtful and comprehensive manner. The notion of validity of psychometric tests has been a contentious issue for management since the introduction of these tests in an organisational setting. A thorough reading of this section of the volume dispels many of the myths that have become associated with validity of psychological tests in the workplace. In fact, after reading the excellent section on personality, and coupling this with the discussion of validity, it becomes evident that appropriate testing of personality is a complex procedure that nevertheless, when conducted appropriately, provides useful information to managers that can assist not only in choosing the best candidate for the job, but also provides valuable data that are helpful in managing workers throughout their careers in a thoughtful manner. Managers will be relieved to find that they begin to understand the use of statistics simply by a careful reading of this book.

Choice of test, and interpretation of subsequent scores, subjects that are often controversial, are explored in appropriate detail in this very useful and well written book. The volume ends with an interesting and informative discussion of presentation of reports, and ethical considerations that should be at the forefront of managerial decision making in the important area of psychological testing in the workplace. This is a very worthwhile and important contribution to the field.