Article · 5-minute read
By Amber Williams & Jake Smith 16th October 2024
Combining multiple psychometric assessments into one single, seamless selection stage can provide a number of benefits.
While a single assessment can provide a strong prediction of future performance, adding multiple assessments that assess different human attributes can enhance accuracy, fairness and efficiency in evaluating potential recruits and existing employees. This approach to assessment creates a more comprehensive picture of individuals’ potential and more accurate forecasts of their performance at work.
Our dedicated Research & Development team have refined ways to enhance accuracy, fairness, and efficiency in decision making by researching the predictive power of combining assessments. Using a mix of aptitude, personality, and situational judgment assessments, we can build a robust and rounded picture of an individual in an assessment completion time of less than 30 minutes. This article explores the benefits of combining assessments based on an extensive program of research and data modelling.
The more valid the assessment process, the better it is at forecasting future job performance. The better the validity, the better the assessments are at accurately predicting the right person for the role and, finally, using a more valid assessment will lift the calibre of the people hired by an organization. Combining assessments can significantly increase validity compared to using a single measure, resulting in more reliable predictions1.
Our research demonstrates a single assessment – Saville Assessment Wave – is highly predictive of future workplace performance. When combining assessments, this predictive power is further enhanced, reducing the risk of hiring a poor performer by 90%.
Using a combined approach to assessment, such as behavioral and aptitude, can help to mitigate adverse impact and increase fairness across diverse groups2. Our research indicates that real improvements in fairness can be seen for subgroups based on gender and ethnicity when we combine aptitude, behavioral, and situational judgment measures. This is in contrast to using an aptitude measure in isolation, which can potentially result in adverse impact.
Combining assessments can support in capturing more relevant qualities of an individual and reduce potential bias associated with focusing on a single data point to make an important talent decision.
Using a combined assessment methodology provides more flexibility to be more assertive with cut-off points. For instance, you can apply higher cut-off points to Wave and Situational Judgment or for combined assessment scores. This can greatly enhance assessment efficiency by screening out a larger proportion of candidates. By modelling group differences and cut offs based on differences seen in real data, Saville Assessment can provide advice on cut-off scores which go much further in mitigating against adverse impact.
Different types of assessments are designed to measure different human attributes. Aptitude tests assess cognitive skills linked to problem-solving, while personality assessments reveal nuances in workplace behavior. Situational judgment tests, meanwhile, evaluate how candidates respond to real-life work-related scenarios. Drawing insights from each type of assessment gives a more complete picture of a candidate or employee, leading to more powerful self-insight and better talent decisions.
A holistic evaluation from combined assessments equips HR and management teams with deeper insights, facilitating personalized onboarding, development journeys, and role alignment.
Using multiple assessments provides candidates with richer assessment experiences, but there is also the opportunity to maintain engagement by providing feedback on the assessment data. Feedback and personalization boosts engagement, and multiple assessments can offer candidates valuable insights into their key strengths in real time. Using Saville Assessment Wave alongside other measures provides the opportunity to give immediate feedback to a candidate or employee following the completion of an assessment.
To summarize, it is evident that combining assessment has the power to provide impactful improvements in ROI.
Gathering more comprehensive data upfront equips decision-makers with valuable data-driven insights to make faster, more informed decisions. At the same time, this approach can create a fairer and more engaging experience for candidates.
Opting for this streamlined process not only reduces time-to-hire but also lowers the chances of turnover by ensuring that the best-suited candidates are selected, and effective development strategies can be aligned to optimize the progression of employees. Finally, the flexibility to be more assertive with cut-off points enables effective screening with increased validity and fairness while offering the opportunity to mitigate against adverse impact.
Our team would be happy to discuss how combining multiple assessments can help power up your project!
Amber is a Managing Consultant at Saville Assessment. She is a Neurodiversity at Work Expert and has a passion for creating inclusive assessments.
Jake is Screening Solutions Manager at Saville Assessment. He has over 15 years’ experience developing psychometric tools and enjoys conducting research that drives the future of assessment.
You can connect with Jake on LinkedIn here.
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