Assessing Prevue Assessments

We were recently asked by a new Prevue customer to respond to an article published some time ago in the HR Reporter. The customer wanted to know how our Pre-Employment Tests measured up to the key criteria for selecting an assessment product that were outlined in the article. Following are excerpts from the article with our responses on how Prevue Assessments meet and exceed the criteria for a credible assessment instrument.

“The most credible assessment protocols meet the following criteria:

reliability – selection procedures and decisions are applied consistently with consistent results;
validity – selection decisions are justified based on a demonstrated relationship between selection procedures and job performance, and ensures legal compliance of the system;
relevance to business needs – the selection system needs to reflect the behaviours that differentiate the organization’s business from the competitor’s business
data-based – evaluation of candidates is based on objective data from validated selection procedures and is thoroughly documented; and
practicality – processes are time and cost-efficient, and straightforward to implement.
Response: The Prevue Assessments were developed specifically for business applications under the direction of a leading psychometric team from the UK led by Dr. Patricia Lindley and Professor David Bartram. The Technical Manual for the Prevue Assessment provides extensive support confirming the reliability, validity and fairness of Prevue Assessments. Copies of the Technical Manual are available from your authorized Prevue distributor.

The cornerstone of Prevue reports is the validated benchmark development process that uses objective employment data to identify the behavioural requirements for any position within the unique culture or environment of each business.

Prevue Assessments can be administered to job applicants simply and efficiently through our state of the art Prevue web platform.

•“One of the most accurate ways to predict how a candidate will perform on the job is to combine an assessment of personality traits and cognitive ability with the job sample type of the assessment.”

Response: Prevue Assessments provide an assessment not only of the personality traits and cognitive ability of job applicants, they also examine each applicant’s interests/motivation. Applicants are compared to a Prevue job benchmark that is developed for each position. The benchmark identifies the abilities, personality traits and interests/motivation evident in top performers in any given position.

• “Job sample tests are often customized to the organization in the specific job. While previously these have been ‘low-tech’… more recent iterations have taken advantage of technology…

Response: Prevue Assessments are supported by a unique computerized benchmarking process that identifies and distinguishes the characteristics that are evident in top performers in any particular job in any particular work environment. This fast and efficient benchmark design process will be demonstrated by your authorized Prevue Distributor on request.

•“The advantage of a technology-based job sample test is that the organization can build in scenarios related to the job, the values of the organization and the culture the organization has or is trying to develop.”

Response: The Prevue benchmarking technology includes a process that uses a management survey to identify a success profile for any particular job in the company, and that process factors in cultural or business changes that a company wants to implement. Your authorized Prevue distributor will be happy to demonstrate this process to your company on request.

•“The best selection processes are the ones that can link each step of the recruitment process to a well-defined profile. And don’t let the advent of technology override the old-fashioned approach of talking to the candidate. Getting to know them can be a useful way to validate the results from the assessment.”

Response: This point very properly notes that assessments are a valuable addition to the selection process, particularly where other sources of information are limited or of questionable accuracy. But assessments are an addition that enhances the selection process, not an alternative to established selection procedures. All Prevue Assessment reports caution that the information derived from the Prevue Assessments should be given a weight of no more than one-third of the selection process. Your authorized Prevue distributor will show you how easy it is to administer Prevue Assessments through the Prevue web platform and how you can use Prevue Assessments in your screening and selection process.

•“Research shows that adding some form of assessment into the selection process improves the predictability of on-the-job performance. In fact, authors Hough, Oswald and Ployhart, in a 2002 article in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment, reported that adding personality, cognitive and job sample assessments increases predictability of success by 36 percent. This improvement in selection benefits the organization by increasing confidence in data for selection purposes, reducing recruitment costs and increasing productivity by getting the right employee in the right place quicker.”

Response: What more can we say? If you want to be sure you are using a reliable, valid, relevant, practical and data-based assessment, then you should contact your authorized Prevue Distributor for a free demonstration.

If you would like copies of any of the information sources referred to in this article, just email your request to support@prevueassessments.com . If you are interested in reading more about the standards that credible assessment products should meet, we recommend you review chapters 3, 5 and 8 of the US Department of Labor’s “Testing and Assessment: An Employers Guide to Good Practices”.

Reference material:

1.“Assessments can reduce failed hires…”, Mary Marcus, Canadian HR Reporter, February 28, 2005.
2.US Dept of Labor “Testing and Assessment: An Employers Guide to Good Practices”.
3.“Determinants … in Personnel Selection Procedures….”, Hough, Oswald and Ployhart, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Volume 9, 2002.

Written by: Ken Danderfer