Making the most out of your cognitive ability assessment
In cases of selection, the best practice is to assess candidates on multiple domains in order to form the most accurate prediction of an individual’s likelihood to be successful on the job. Although the multi-domain approach is indeed the best practice, the single element that typically stands above the rest in predicting performance is cognitive ability.
Cognitive ability assessments are designed to measure such things as how well an individual reasons, solves problems, plans, organizes, thinks abstractly, learns quickly, and grasps the nature of complex problems. In other words, these assessments reflect an individual’s ability to “catch on” and “make sense of things.”
Most organizations that assess for cognitive ability do so in a very generic way. That is, despite the intricacies of positions, the form of cognitive ability assessed is very general in nature. This is unfortunate, as recent research out of the Journal of Applied Psychology examined the predictive ability of general mental ability and the specific abilities within a trainee group by using different approaches to measuring cognitive ability. They found that if the specific mental abilities of candidates aligned with what was being assessed, then using the specific abilities added predictive value for the organization. For instance, if testing for a mechanical engineer position, leveraging numerical ability tests may be somewhat more predictive than using a generic cognitive ability assessment. Even small incremental increases in prediction could, over a large scale, have profound impacts on ROI.
Consider the following key take-aways:
- • Conduct regular job analyses and ensure that position descriptions are always up-to-date.
- • When specific position responsibilities are clear, leverage assessments of specific cognitive abilities.
- • When specific position responsibilities are not clear, general assessments of cognitive ability may be best fitting.
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