Human Resource Management and Psychometric Testing: Pros and Cons

The Importance of Human Resource Management in Organizations

The scope of HRM has been changed from to that of managing important resources of the organization which are human capital or just human assets which are responsible for the success of the company in the long run.  The challenge that is faced by organizations currently is how to effectively manage its human resources for the organization to be dynamic and grow in the fast-changing environment (Amankwah, 2016). The changes affecting the organizations are socio-political, economic, legislation and technological changes. In order to address these challenges, organizations should adopt sound Human Resource Management strategy which promotes organizational success through attraction and retention of individuals who are talented and  this attained by defining the roles of the HRM department to include:
   

Staffing the organization- this is aimed at attracting and acquiring the human resources needed by an organization to attain its objectives.
Managing people and performance- this is aimed at providing encouragement to the employees’ commitment and contribution to the organization and its performance (Bhatti & Ashen, 2016).

Developing people and performance- this aims at ensuring that the employees are equipped with relevant knowledge, skills and competencies needed for the present and future performance.

Rewarding people and performance- this aims at influencing the behavior and the performance of the employees through encouragement of future contributions and recognition of the past accomplishments.

Managing employment relations- this aims at balancing the employees and the employer’s interest so as to attain the objectives of the organization (Ruël & Bondarouk, 2014).

Pros and cons of psychometric testing
Psychometric testing involves the assessing of the proficiency of an individual through the measurement of the various psychometric variables which includes; achievements, personality, performance, intelligence and personality (Kandula, 2013). This type of testing has the following advantages:
    It is the most appropriate and accurate method of testing in HRM.
    It is cheap to acquire.
    The method is highly unbiased.
    It saves time.
    Aids in picking the right person.
    Promotes a better understanding of the employees (Shamim etal, 2016).
    Enables candidates to find their jobs.
    It improves efficiency in the running of the organization.
    It can be used in any stage of the recruitment process.
    It outlines the motives of the HRM department.
    It facilitates carrying out of the reviews.

Psychometric testing has the following limitations:
    The employees may give answers that are faked.
    It may make the candidate to become nervous.
    It is highly incompatible with others.
    It is not complete in the whole sense.
    It may squeeze the money that is hard-earned.
    It is affected by the cultural barriers.
    The method is highly inaccurate.
    The answers to given may be fixed.
    Its base is usually a small population.
    The internal candidates may feel disgruntled and depressed when they are treated in the same style as external candidates (Fried etal, 2012).