ABSTRACT

The use of tests in employment settings has increased significantly over the past two decades as the value of objective assessment has been realized by employers in both the public and private sectors. Today, most large organizations employ tests in their selection procedures and in other HR processes to support talent management such as internal promotions and in the restructuring of organizations. Within the talent acquisition process, hiring managers use a mixture of measures of general or specific cognitive ability (such as verbal or numerical reasoning tests, speeded tests of numerical fluency, inductive reasoning measures, and so on) and self-report measures of personality, motivation, and other personal attributes. Cognitive ability tests have been identified by various researchers as among the strongest and most consistent predictors of performance in the workplace, including the acquisition of work-related knowledge and skills as well as broader task-related performance (Robertson & Smith, 2001; Salgado et al., 2003; Schmidt, Shaffer, & In-Sue, 2008; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). Personality instruments are also widely used in selection because of their demonstrated validity and incremental validity over cognitive ability tests (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Hurtz & Donovan, 2000; Tett, Jackson, & Rothstein, 1991; Bartram, 2005). They are relatively inexpensive and exhibit less adverse impact than ability measures (Hough, Oswald, & Ployhart, 2001; Sackett & Wilk, 1994). As such, their use in combination with measures of cognitive ability provides both breadth and balance in assessments of talent and of fit to jobs and to organizations.