Psychometric Test Products in Singapore and Psychometric Training in Singapore – daily free webinars
PsyAsia International is pleased to announce that until the end of March we will be offering free daily webinars to showcase our product range. Their will be no set agenda. The agenda will be set by attendees. Please note however that product knowledge may differ depending on which of our consultants is running the webinar. Come along and chat with our consultants, see the Saville Consulting Wave, Identity Personality Assessment and the Apollo Profile in action. Ask questions about training and consulting options and so forth!
For times and to register, please click here…
Free Webinar – Amazing Apollo Profile Personality Test
The Amazing Apollo Profile
This free webinar will be facilitated by Mr. Jim Bowden, the developer of the Apollo Profile. The session will be interactive (provided attendees kit themselves out with headphones and a mic!) and Jim will present numerous interesting case studies.
The webinar will cover the following:
• Introduction: The Amazing Apollo Profile- can transform Recruitment, Staff Development, and Organisation Performance –Client example
• Apollo Questionnaire – valid/reliable/comprehensive
• Why is Apollo amazing? Apollo Advantages
• Using and interpreting of Apollo reports with anecdotes
• Recruitment – Accurate, easy, low cost – Case Study using Apollo Best Match in China for filtering 12,000 applicants for 40 Graduate level jobs
• Training and Development – Unique Apollo report PLUS downloadable solutions. Convenient, low cost, motivating
• Organisation Development. Benchmarking: Can analyse and identify current corporate strengths and weaknesses – then create high performing models/culture, identify engagement issues – case studies
• Customising: Develop models that work specifically for your organisation. If your organisation is serious about leadership through people.
• Integrate everything together with flexible multi-purpose Internet Online solutions. Use your own competencies frameworks and vocabulary – examples
• Special Offer – have to listen to Webinar to find out!
Date: Monday, May 17, 2010
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM SGT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/522465752
Human Resource Congress in Singapore sponsored by PsyAsia – Asia’s Psychometric Testing Experts
PsyAsia International is pleased to once again be supporting Singapore’s Human Resource professionals as a sponsor of the Singapore Human Resources Institute’s Annual Human Resource Congress.
The Singapore HR Congress and Business-Connect Exposition 2010 will address the newly derived term of HR TransmutationTM and explore the topic in deeper context. The current economic churning has made it explicitly clear that industry is not just facing another downturn but it is accompanied by impactful structural, demographic and mindset changes across industry and top management cannot afford to respond with anything less than a complete overhaul of the system to survive and sustain. Renowned speakers and leaders from the HR fraternity will share their experiences and provide useful insights on the know-how of managing paradoxes in a turbulent world.
PsyAsia’s clients are entitled to a 35% discount on the price of conference tickets. Please contact us in the first instance to avail of this special offer.
“A strong and capable HR community can be the catalyst and change agents to initiate and implement people development efforts in organisations, and help build stronger capabilities amongst our business leaders and managers.”
PM Lee Hsien Loong
11th World HR Congress 2006 organised by SHRI
PsyAsia International is Asia’s leading independent distributor of Psychometric Tests of Personality and Aptitude. From offices across Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong, our psychologists assist the world’s top organisations and local governments to recruit, select, assess and retain the best employees. Our services are only offered by fully registered organisational psychologists with years of experience in their field. PsyAsia also offers world-class training in Psychometric Testing in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Online.
Buying Online and Paper-Based Psychometric Tests from Registered Psychologists rather than non-psychologist distributors
One of the first things clients will want to know when choosing who to work with when ordering psychometric tests is “why should I choose xyz company”?
As the field of psychometrics continues to grow, overseas publishers are working hard to make inroads into local markets. Clients should therefore be wary of the expertise (or lack of it) in organisations that are distributing tests.
We firmly believe that those in the best place to distribute psychometric tests are those who have a background in personality psychology and/or organisational psychology. In fact this premise was shared by many reputable test publishers until relatively recently.
Greed and motivation to expand market share have taken over in many cases and some test publishers have delegated test distribution to non-psychologists or those with short-course qualifications in this area.
The downsides of this are tremendous. Not only does it threaten the very integrity of the test and the industry, but it brings into the fore concerns regarding malpractice and the like.
Registered Organisational Psychologists are registered with government bodies. They therefore report to these bodies on issues involving competence. In addition to their 6-10 years of training in psychology (i.e. as much as a medical doctor!), they are bound to undergo continuous professional development and must submit proof of this on an annual basis. This means they need to attend high-level conferences, read peer-reviewed professional and academic journals and more.
Non-psychologists of course are not subject to any of the aforementioned. In fact, many clients who have come over to us from such distributors have entertained us with stories of gross negligence and incompetence of these “salespeople” who lack expertise and passion for the subject matter. A couple of examples follow:
1. A client told us how when they contacted “******** Assessments” in Hong Kong and asked for more information on how the test has 95% predictive accuracy (as published on their website). They were told that this related to 2 things.
Firstly that the test has a sophisticated lie detection system and so is very accurate. A psychologist will tell you this has nothing to do with predictive accuracy! Predictive accuracy (or validity) is about using the test scores to predict work performance or something similar.
This same client was then told:
“The second form of predictive accuracy is construct validation which relates to the job prediction score”.
Again, a psychologist would point out that this salesperson is getting confused. Construct validity and predictive validity are two different forms of validity. Most importantly though, no psychometric test is 95% predictive! Psychologists know that and if they claim any different they would be reported to their board and struck off!
Unfortunately, at no time was this client provided with hard-data or evidence that this test (which is based on a theory that has not been peer-reviewed and has not been independently tested in Asia or Australia) actually predicts meaningful workplace behaviours and performance.
2. Another client told us how they contacted a non-psychologist distributor of another test brand in Singapore. They asked for information about impact of dyslexia on aptitude test scores and also wanted to know about the comparison between certain tests within that brand and those of the competition.
This distributor had no idea there and then, and said he would need to go away and find out. A psychologist would not need to do this. Unless the client is asking about an obscure test, Psychologists are trained to have the answers.
As we know, there are many things to consider when choosing the right psychometric test. Issues such as reliability, validity, norm groups, standard error of measurement, cost versus validity (ROI), report options, online assessment options and so on. This short article has added to that list and suggested that the background and currency of the people in the distributorship are also important.
To cast doubt aside, it is best to work with distributors who have demonstrated their passion in psychology and psychometrics through years of training in the subject along with years of experience. Choose those holding full registration as psychologists with government/professional bodies who must undergo professional development on a continual basis.
Purchasing psychometric tests from non-psychologists may not achieve your desired goals. It may well equate to the partially-sighted leading the blind!
Caution in the use of Psychometric Tests in Singapore
Psychometric Test Distributors in Singapore
Please be cautious when choosing your psychometric test supplier in Singapore.
There are many internet-based tests available. However, many of these are poorly developed, based on theories that have not been tested in Singapore or which have been tested and generally refuted! Many tests are ipsative-only tests and should not be used in selection, yet the less scrupulous test publisher may omit to inform you of this. Some normative tests use norm (comparison) groups that come about by way of allowing people (anybody!) to complete the test online. The sort of person who will complete a test online in his/her free-time is a specific sort of person and your candidate should perhaps not be compared to this group. Furthermore, without an understanding of sophisticated statistics and more basic statistics such as the normal distribution, any norm group you use might not be relevant simply because it has not been normally distributed. Reputable test publishers will test for these things and inform you where necessary. Moreover, reputable publishers will require that you undergo training so that you are fully aware of these issues. If your test publisher does not require training, you are likely to make fundamental errors in using psychometric tests and in the interpretations you make from them.
Furthermore, we are aware that some people who have been trained to use tests in Singapore have misrepresented the qualification they have achieved. There are people in Singapore advertising that they offer consultancy in psychometric testing. For somebody to be able to state this, one would expect that they are fully registered psychologists or psychometricians and have at least a Masters degree in Psychometric Assessment, if not a PhD! A short course in Psychometric Assessment will provide you with the necessary skills to be competent in test use, but not to act as a psychometric test consultant!
Our consultants have really earned that term. With at least 6 years of education in psychology in addition to specific training in psychometrics, supervised experience and registration with government statutory bodies they provide expert advice to government and blue-chip clients in Singapore on a daily basis. Please consider seriously which distributor to trust and which test to trust when choosing psychometric tests in Singapore.
Free Webinar – Identity Self-Perception Questionnaire
Identity Psychometric Personality Questionnaire Webinar
Attendees will be introduced to this personality assessment which produces the most comprehensive assessment of personality on the market. Key decision-makers will also have an opportunity to trial Identity.
-Overview of the Identity Self Perception Questionnaire
-Scales of Identity
-Derived Psychological Models
-Identity Reports
-Identity Online
-Benefits of Identity
-Applications of Identity
-Comparison with other leading questionnaires
-Identity Accreditation
Psychometric Tests in Singapore
The Market for Psychometrics in Singapore
There are so many Psychometric Tests on the market in Singapore now, the task of choosing the right one is not easy. Choice is always a good thing, however as humans we often look for easy or stereotypical ways of making those choices and they are not always the best ones to make. For example, a client of ours was preparing for an upcoming team-building session. He approached us asking if we had a certain test that he could use in that session. Our answer was that we don’t supply that test for various very good reasons. The client’s response was “but so many people use it”. This is a typical response. Another potential client had been looking around in Singapore for Psychometric Personality Tests to use in his training sessions as an added benefit. He categorically advised us that he was not interested in validity and was looking for something simple and cheap! The reality here is that at best he is wasting his time and the time of those who will complete his tests. At worst and most likely, his trainees will be led to believe things about themselves which frankly may not be true (reliable or valid!).
Science, Psychology, Psychometrics and the Real World of Business
As busy professionals we often assume that if lots of other people are using a test it must be a good one. This is a huge mistake. Our evolution has programmed us to be seduced by glossy advertising materials and confident, friendly salespeople. On the other hand, we have a tendency to be turned off by less glossy scientific figures, statistics and perhaps psychologists such as myself who speak about the science and real value behind a test, its validity! Ultimately then, both our clients and ourselves as psychologists have problems to overcome!!
Psychologists have to be able to explain in more “glossy” terms about the technical properties of a test and our clients, usually the HR and aligned professions, are invited to turn their ears our way for a little while, just long enough to get the notion that there is more to a psychometric test than meets the eye!
Technical Properties of Psychometric Tests
When we talk of the technical properties of a psychometric test, we are referring to things such as its reliability and validity as well as how it was constructed. If a test is constructed well, it will take time. Not months, often years. The test will also evolve over time such that more and validity data will be added to its manuals. This process is costly, hence good tests cost money.
If you come across cheap tests, that should start to ring alarm bells. It’s possible to write a few questions on a napkin in a restaurant and call it psychometric and even try to sell it. If it looks good and the questions look relevant perhaps it will sell and gain a huge following. But how reliable is that test?
In other words, can it provide consistent measurement of your candidate? If your bathroom scales provide different results each time you weight yourself you take them back and say these are not reliable. Likewise with a test, you need to ensure that it is consistently assessing the constructs that it purports to assess. We often come across new clients who are shocked when we tell them that good personality tests often contain around 200 questions. However, buyer beware! We know that the longer the test, the more reliable the results (as long as it is not so long that the candidate falls asleep!).
An unreliable test can not be a valid test, hence reliability is a precursor to validity. However, validity is arguably the most important aspect of a test. You choose to use tests because you want them to illustrate where a candidate stands in terms of their ability or personality or in order to predict how your candidate will perform or behave in a job. The test’s ability to meet this need is referred to as validity.
Some tests on the market are simply more valid that others. In fact, one test in the past year has proven to be more valid than all other tests it was compared with on the market! How come users stay with their current test then? Perhaps because of preference, habit, price, mass-following and so on. However, do ask yourself and your test supplier, how valid is your test – this is the single most important technical property in a psychometric test!
Sometimes tests which are more valid will be more expensive but this makes sense. If a test took a long time to develop, was developed well and by a reputable publisher and is based on well founded theories that have been researched internationally, then surely it is worth paying the extra as such a test will provide an excellent return on investment with its strong validity.
Training to use Psychometric Tests in Singapore
Properly developed psychometric tests require proper training to be used competently. If your test supplier requires that you undergo very limited or no training, this is a reflection of the test as well as their lack of understanding of psychometrics. You need to understand the concepts referred to above, as well as error in testing and how to make decisions based on test results, let alone how to feed back results properly to candidates and decision-makers. The type of questions (i.e., forced choice versus rating scales) will also dictate how you can use the results – you need to be trained to understand this! In some parts of the world (South Africa for example), only psychologists can use psychometric tests. Whilst this is a strict rule, it has its logical basis in how easy it is for untrained professionals to use tests wrongly.
Purchasing Psychometric Tests in Singapore
You may also wish to consider where you purchase your tests from, particularly in Singapore. In recent years we have seen an influx of profiteers in the industry who seek to make money but lack any depth of understanding in psychometrics or psychology at work. This will change in time as psychology in Singapore develops. For now however, be wary of this and we suggest that you only purchase psychometric tests from fully registered organisational psychologists who have a firm grounding in personality, psychometrics and psychology at work and who are answerable to professional competence and ethics boards. Many of those selling psychometric tests in Singapore are simply not answerable to anybody in terms of their conduct or competence. You can therefore not be certain that any advice they provide is relevant, up-to-date or will work in your organisation.
There are many more things to be aware of when choosing psychometric tests in Singapore. We cannot entertain them all here due to space constraints. You may wish to look out for training courses in Psychometric Assessment such as our our Psychometric Assessment at Work training which leads to the internationally recognised British Psychological Society Level A and B Certificates of Competence in Occupational Testing. Such courses will prepare you further for choosing the right test and therein avoid costly selection and development mistakes. Look for courses run by experts in psychometrics who are based in Singapore and hence have a strong understanding of test use aligned with local culture, laws and practice.
Note: some Singapore firms will ship in overseas trainers to run psychometric training. We suggest you avoid this training reseller model given that the facilitator is based overseas and is thus likely to lack knowledge of the Singapore business/legal and cultural environment for Psychometric Testing.
This article is Copyright PsyAsia International Pte Ltd.
It was originally written for Human Resources Magazine in Singapore
A shorter version of the article appears in the magazine’s November 2009 issue
