Can Psychometric Testing Improve Employee Retention?
In our decades as BPS-accredited psychometric providers, we've evaluated thousands of recruitment strategies - and the pattern is always the same.
Companies that rely solely on CVs and structured interviews routinely hit a wall with first-year turnover. We recently worked with a growing organisation to integrate behavioural profiling into their onboarding, giving managers a clear process for every new hire from day one. The result was an immediate drop in early resignations and a dramatic boost in 12-month retention.
Below, we break down exactly how psychometric testing can help our clients achieve these results. Here is how it works.
Early Turnover - Why Do Employees Leave So Quickly?
When a new hire leaves within the first 6 to 12 months, it's rarely because of some sudden change in their career goals.
It's way more likely that, at some point during the hiring process, there was a misalignment between what the employee wanted, what was promised to them, and the day-to-day reality of the job. And this disconnect can be both costly and disruptive, especially as your company has to jump right back into the hiring process.
That's why the first year is so essential to employee retention. Many of the reasons cited by people can be easily preventable - let's have a look at some of them, and explore how psychometrics can help:
Poor Job / Culture Fit
A candidate may look impressive on paper - lots of technical qualifications, a stellar interview, a great impression. Once they are actually in the seat, they notice that their natural working style, values, and traits don't quite mesh well with the daily demands of the role.
Daily frustrations build very quickly, especially in the beginning. That's why it's important to move beyond basic CV skills and standardised interviews when you're hiring.
Objective tools like The Quest Profiler® can actually help assess one's behavioural preferences, interpersonal styles, and core values, making it much easier to align employees and their workplace before they've even signed the contract.
Bad Management / Communication
Another big source of disappointment comes from the misalignment between one's working style and their manager's leadership style. This can include a lack of clear expectations, feedback, or even empathy during onboarding, which quickly leads to feeling undervalued and unsatisfied.
Psychometrics are essentially a "user's manual" for managers. By assessing each employee's communication preferences, how they like to receive feedback, and what they are looking for in a workplace, managers can always adapt their management style to suit the individual.
Lack of Growth / Stagnation
Every company wants an ambitious employee, but not all know how to set a clear progression path. If your new hire feels their strengths are underused, or that progression is stalling, they will inevitably start looking elsewhere for new opportunities that challenge them and actually support their career goals.
Psychometric tools like 360-degree feedback and our personality assessments can help you quickly identify an individual's hidden strengths and where they want to grow further. With so much data, it will become easier than ever to create tailored learning pathways for every employee, helping them stay engaged in the long run.
Biased / Poor Hiring Decisions
Traditional recruitment relies heavily on unstructured interviews. Usually, "gut feel", rapport, and similarity bias will often dictate the final choice in an interview, which can lead to hiring charismatic candidates who are not actually suited for the role itself. Performance issues arise, and then before you know it, you are back to square one with recruitment.
Did you know? According to industry research from the Aberdeen Group, companies utilizing objective pre-hire assessments see up to a 39% increase in first-year employee retention. By ensuring the right behavioural and cognitive decision is made the first time, you can protect your recruitment budget and slash early turnover.
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How Psychometric Testing Can Help Build a Long-Term Retention Strategy
A good retention strategy is built on aligning candidates with roles, company culture, and growth pathways that suit their natural abilities and personality traits.
This is where psychometric testing comes into play. By addressing the root causes of employee turnover (likely stemming from the interview process itself), our tests can help reduce mishires and significantly increase overall job satisfaction in your organisation - here's how:
Psychometric data gives managers a clear picture of what keeps each employee engaged, from their natural role fit to their development pathway.
1. Hiring for Natural Role Fit
Traditional interviews often emphasise past experience and charisma, which do not always predict day-to-day engagement or performance. On the other hand, a psychometric test will help test:
- Cognitive Alignment - measures problem-solving speed and processing capacity, so that your employees are neither overwhelmed by complex tasks nor under-stimulated by repetitive ones.
- Personality Assessment - evaluates traits like conscientiousness, extraversion, and stress tolerance in your candidates; in other words, how well they can thrive in the specific day-to-day environments of the role.
2. Identifying Cultural & Value Alignment
Employees leave when there is a fundamental mismatch between their personal values and the company culture. It is important to assess how compatible your candidates are with your overall culture - are you looking for a self-directed high performer, or someone who thrives in team environments?
3. Personalising Career Development & Retention Plans
Whether your employees stay or go also depends on ongoing growth. Using psychometric data, you can build a blueprint for long-term career planning for each one of your employees. Your managers will be able to adapt their leadership style to people's needs, providing more guidance for some or more autonomy for others.
Ready to Boost Your Retention Rates Today?
Don't let bad hires and early resignations drain your recruitment budget and team morale. With The Psychometric Portal®, you get instant access to BPS-registered assessments, helping you make objective, data-driven hiring decisions that keep top talent for the long haul.