Caliper interviews Ajay Venkatesh, People Advisory Services, EY LLP, India!
Caliper Director Shaun Farrell talks with Ajay Venkatesh of EY, a highly experienced Talent Management professional that has seen the landscape of HR change dramatically in India.
How do EY clients typically use psychometric assessments, and how has this changed over time?
Till a decade ago, more “evolved” companies like the global ones in India, or Indian Conglomerates and MNCs were the only users of psychometrics - the scenario has now changed drastically and we find many more companies (across industries) with seasoned HR professionals using psychometric assessments in their talent management processes.
What are some of the misconceptions you see clients or HR leaders have about psychometric assessments?
I have found that Core Psychometric Assessments, which are built on Personality Traits (eg: the Caliper Assessment); are typically more in use for the higher echelons in a company than for Middle or Junior Executives – for whom the Assessments are skewed more towards Functional or General AptitudeAssessments.Neglecting Core Psychometric Assessments during hiring is counteractive to the much-accepted theory that the leaders of tomorrow should be groomed from within the Organisation.
The ideal scenario should be to use quality Psychometric Assessments while hiring across levels.It is thus very important for HR professionals to be trained by Psychometric Assessment companies on the know how about tools and how to select and deploy the right instrument.
The reason here could be that a robust business case is difficult to be made for large investments into Junior Level hiring and development. This is because there is a perception amongst HR Professionals that the Psychometric Assessments high on reliability and validity are significantly more costly than the Functional Assessments. Basic Psychometric Assessment reports of some of the World’s most valid and reliable instruments such as Caliper now cost significantly lower – in some cases, as low as near the Rs 1,000mark.
How much of an impact does pricing play on the assessment tool a company would choose in India?
There are a number of assessment companies who have highly reliable Functional Assessments and General Aptitude Tests. However, reliable and quality Psychometric Assessments may not be their Core Competency. “Bundled” Assessments are prevalent particularly in the Indian Market since that brings down the pricing and hence companies are inclined to buy them.
A word of caution here – while functional parameters and general aptitude can be measured accurately through relatively simpler assessment methodologies; Psychometric Assessments can be a double-edged sword.It is essential to choose an assessment that is not simply at the lowest cost, but measures areas essential to success at the organisation.It would be better to overlook Psychometric Assessment altogether than to dabble with an instrument which does not have required reliability, validity and accreditation, lest organisations make strategic people decisions based on inaccurate data all for the sake of paying less; while eventually paying much more in the long run!