Psychological Profiling and Testing

Executive Summary

Psychological testing and interviewing helps Law Enforcement, Corporations, and Executives who want to do better job hiring, promoting or specialized selection of key people. Our structured approach to candidate assessment can help evaluate how well a person may fit in your organization and if the candidate has sufficient talents to grow in your organization. Psychological assessments are used in succession planning, employee screening, pre-employment decisions, and employee counseling situations. From a purely financial view, if psychological testing can prevent you from making one bad hire, or putting an employee in a position the he/she is not suitable for, it will probably save you tens of thousands of dollars. From an organizational perspective, there is no better growth strategy than using every tool available to hire and develop the best people. Let PCI help you by providing psychological testing, profiling and interviewing for your organization.

Which candidate fits the job and my company best? Is the candidate smart enough for the job? Is there talent to grow? Does the candidate have enough "emotional intelligence" to work effectively as a manager? Which development direction is best for my manager? Is she ready to promote? I have a problem person - can his behavior problem be solved?

For more than 50 years, psychologists have helped Law Enforcement, Executives and Managers answer these questions about their people. Some call it psychological assessment. Some call it psychological profiling. Some even call it "getting shrunk." No matter what you call it, psychological assessment helps you to know more about the people you want to hire, promote, coach, or counsel.

How is psychological assessment used in business today?
Since every organization wants the best people possible, it should not be surprising that many organizations use psychologists to assess people and teams. We are usually asked to do psychological assessment and interviewing in the following situations:

• Inventory a organization's management talent and potential
• Identify high-potential individuals for development opportunities
• Look at an individual's readiness for promotion
• Design individual development plans based on identified strengths and weaknesses
• Assess possible reasons for poor performance and provide guidance

Typically, an organization first uses psychological profiling to help hire or promote key people. Many companies establish a policy to have the psychologist see all final candidates for a position above a specific salary level or grade. Such a policy ensures quality control in the hiring and promotion process throughout the company. Having an objective and professional common denominator in the hiring process is valuable, because the variability of interview skill effectiveness across managers is enormous. Reports are submitted to the senior HR manager or directly to the CEO to protect the confidentiality of the information. Feedback is available to all candidates and guaranteed to successful candidates as part of their initial development planning.

As managers become familiar with the value of psychological assessment, the focus of the assessment report often changes from hiring or promotion to development and coaching. The information from the psychological profile is used to map and monitor a plan of action for a person's growth within the company.

What does a psychological profile assess?
Most profile reports address the following topics:

• General intellectual level and problem-solving style
• Emotional maturity and personality  
• Insight Interpersonal style
• Management style or selling ability
• Decision-making and organizational skills
• Leadership competencies
• Ambition and aspirations

In addition, for candidates, each position has unique needs and expectations. The psychological profile report addresses those specific position requirements in the summary. PCI reports also include a recommendation to hire, recommendation with specific reservations, or a recommendation to not hire.

Reports for development purposes address the same general areas. In addition, the development reports recommend specific education and training experiences to guide the individual toward developing new competencies or preparing for new career opportunities.

What is needed before the psychological profile test is administered?
Psychological profiles are most effective when the psychologist has an opportunity to know the company, the incumbent managers, and the specifications of the position in question. This enables the psychologist to look at specific issues rather than general competencies. To help ensure that a pre-hire or pre-promotion psychological test addresses the key issues for your situation, it is helpful to tell the psychologist the following information before he or she begins the evaluation process:

• Characteristics of the position in question
• Core competencies for the position and the company
• Possible barriers that could confront the successful candidate
• History of past incumbents
• Culture of the team surrounding the position
• Culture of the organization
• Expected short-term outcomes of the position in question
• Long-term expectations of the position
• Possible career path for the successful candidate

For developmental profiles, the following information is helpful before the assessment begins:

• History of successes and setbacks of the individual
• Relationships with peers and subordinates
• Possible opportunities to expand responsibility
• Recent performance reviews
• Special project opportunities
• Possible career path(s)

How is a psychological assessment conducted?
Psychological profiles, as done by PCI, are based on a behavioral interview, a general intelligence test, and several personality questionnaires. While the science is far from perfect, the combination of a disciplined interview with valid, standardized testing provides a thorough and objective assessment of an individual's capabilities and personality characteristics.

Bottom line:
You need to hire the right people, develop them effectively, and prepare them for their future and the future of your company. Psychological tests give you important insights about your people and the people you may hire. They help you make better decisions. From a purely financial view, if psychological tests can prevent you from making one bad hire, it probably saves you tens of thousands of dollars. (Remember--a bad hire costs you thousands of dollars in recruiting and hiring expenses, training, lost opportunity, salary and benefits, and termination costs!) From a development perspective, psychological profiles focus your training and development dollars where they can be most effective. From an organizational perspective, there is no better growth strategy than using every tool available to hire and develop the best people.