Key Ethical Considerations
Some of the most important ethical considerations when using psychometric tests in an organisational context are the following:
Informed Consent
This means that candidates must give their consent for test results to be used for a stated purpose. Test results may then only be used for the stated purpose to which the candidate or employee agreed to AND MAY NOT be used for any purpose other than the stated one. For example, if a candidate or employee consented to his results being used as one of the means to determine his fit for a Production Manager position (the stated purpose of the assessment), then the results may only be used for this purpose. His results cannot be used for a different purpose at a later stage such as:
to help determine whether he is promotable,
to determine whether he is suitable for another role in the organisation,
coaching and development
or any other purpose to which the candidate has not explicitly agreed. If a situation arises which comprises a different purpose to the one agreed to, the candidate or employee has to be approached in order to gain consent for the new purpose for which the test results are to be used.
It is therefore imperative that the HR Practitioner who requests an assessment on a candidate or employee accurately explains to the candidate or employee as well as the Consulting Psychologist what the purpose of the assessment is AND how the results will be used. As you will see in a later module psychometric assessments can be used for a variety of purposes such as selection, talent identification, identifying an employee' s gaps and development areas, trying to understand why someone may not be performing in a role etc.
If a candidate gives his consent to participate in an assessment, without clearly understanding the purpose of the assessment and how the results will be used, then his consent cannot be considered to be informed consent and he will have legal recourse. This responsibility - to explain to a candidate or employee, as well as the consulting psychologist what the purpose of the assessment is - rests squarely on the shoulders of the HR Practitioner requesting the assessment.
Examples
Candidate X we would like you to undergo a psychometric assessment to help us to understand your capability and how well it fits with the production manager role you have applied for. The results of your assessment will be considered by myself and the recruiting manager, together with all the other information we have obtained about you through the interviews, reference checks and so on to determine your global fit with the role.
Employee Y we would like you to undergo a psychometric assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to better understand your development potential and the possible career path that you can be developed on. This assessment will play an important role in determining whether you will be placed in our high potential development pool.
Employee Z we would like you to undergo a psychometric assessment to identify your development areas in order to put together a development plan for you. The results of the assessment will be discussed with yourself, your HR Manager and your Line Manager.
Employee A, as you know some areas of below par performance were identified in your last performance appraisal. We would like you to undergo a psychometric assessment that may help yourself and your manager to understand the reasons for this, and put together a development plan that can assist you to close these gaps.
In each of these examples the purpose of the assessment has been clearly stated to the candidate and the psychology professional will be allowed to share the individual's results with the client organisation for the stated purpose to which the candidate has consented.
Under no circumstances should anyone be sent for an assessment on a pretext. For instance it would be completely unethical to tell a candidate that he needs to undergo a psychometric assessment for development purposes, when the real reason is to find supportive reasons for terminating his services or moving him out of his current position into another one.
Confidentiality and Feedback
Psychometric test results may not be shared with anyone that the candidate or employee has not agreed to. When obtaining informed consent, individuals normally agree to their results being shared with people in the organisation who are directly involved in the stated purpose of the assessment. In a selection context this would usually only be the HR Manager and the Line Manager/s directly concerned with the selection decision.
Candidates are entitled to feedback. However, candidate feedback is a sensitive manner and may only be given by a trained psychological professional. Under no circumstances may an HR or Line Manager give the candidate any feedback on his results. Written reports should NEVER be given to candidates and suitable arrangements must be made with the psychological professional to give feedback to the candidate.
Candidates may also request written feedback. Written feedback will not be provided to a candidate without a verbal feedback session with the consulting psychology professional so as to ensure that the candidate correctly understands the feedback report. Keep in mind that psychology professionals are entitled to charge candidates for written feedback as a special candidate report will have to be drawn up which is different to the report given to client organisations. However, verbal feedback to the candidate is usually costed into the assessment fee and is therefore free for the candidate.
Use of Psychometric Assessment Results
Anytime a psychometric assessment is used, it is done so with a specific purpose and within a specific context. It can be used for selection purpose, in the context of an employee not performing well, talent identification and coaching and development and so on. Whatever the specific purpose of the psychometric assessment, it should never be used in isolation from other information available about an individual. Here we refer to reference checks, interview information, past performance and so on. The psychometric assessment results should always be used and integrated with the global set of information available about the person. The psychological professional will assist you to ensure that this is the case in the verbal feedback discussion with Line and HR. Decisions made about an individual, should primarily be based on performance, with psychometric assessment results serving as supplemental information about the person.
For instance, in a selection context, information about a candidate is gathered about a candidate's performance from interviews, reference checks and so on. The psychometric assessment results are used to confirm what has been learned about the candidate, or to give pointers to where more exploration may be needed, or may shed new light on a candidate which should be taken into consideration. How to do this is comprehensively explained in a later module.
In a poor performance context, much is already known about the individual based on his poor performance. A psychometric assessment may shed light on why someone is performing poorly, what can potentially be done about it, or what the likelihood is of a person improving his performance. A psychometric assessment WILL NOT and CANNOT ever tell you that an individual is a poor performer.
The fact that various sources of information are used to form a global picture about a candidate has implications for feedback. Firstly, only Line and HR can inform a candidate what the global decision is that has been made about him, and why that decision was taken. This is NEVER the psychological professional's job. Examples of global decisions are and the reasons therefore were:
unfortunately your job application was unsuccessful. We did not feel that you had the right set of skills for the job. Or. We did not feel you were a good fit with the role. We were concerned about x, y, z.
NEVER
unfortunately your job application was unsuccessful. You failed your psychometric assessment. Or. We weren't happy with the results of your psychometric assessment.
Here is another example:
as you know we were not happy with certain areas of your performance. Having reviewed everything at our disposal, including the psychometric assessment, we feel it is best to move you into role X. Always inform the person of the specific outcome for him/her.
NEVER
as you know we were not happy with certain areas of your performance and have reviewed everything at our disposal, including the psychometric assessment. Once you have had feedback from the psychologist on your assessment we will let you know what actions we have decided to take. (See Timing of Feedback below)
Whenever someone enquires about the results of the psychometric assessment, Line and HR should always take a neutral position and state that they are not qualified to give such feedback and that the individual should contact the psychological professional for feedback on the assessment.
Timing of Feedback
Feedback on psychometric assessment should be the final and last step of the entire process that was embarked on by a candidate or employee. This prevents confusion and also ensures that the client organization or psychological professional do not open themselves up for any kind of legal or HR fallout. For instance, let's assume an employee has been under performing. A PIP process has been instituted but the employee continues to under perform. The individual is sent for a psychometric assessment which shows that he is a poor fit for the role, lacks capability and will be better suited to a different role. The psychologist, Line and HR discuss this and a decision is taken to move this person into a different role since, based on the assessment, it seems unlikely that whatever development interventions are implemented he is unlikely to succeed. Line and HR then tell the employee to contact the psychologist for feedback, BEFORE discussing the fact that he will be moved into another position and the reasons for such a move. The psychology professional is placed in a position where the assessment feedback he gives is not positive. Later the candidate is told about the decision to move him into a different role by HR. This can create a situation where the employee may feel that the entire decision was based on his assessment, and that his performance, past experience, qualifications etc. were not taken into account in making this decision. And that this is unfair and then proceeds to complain to the union and to institute legal proceedings.
Had assessment feedback been the final step in the process, it would mean that Line and HR had already communicated the outcome of the entire process - that he was being moved into a different role. They will also have communicated the reasons for the decision, indicating that it was based on taking everything into consideration - his experience, qualifications, performance, response to PIP and the psychometric assessment. Once that discussion has been concluded, then it would be the appropriate time to set up the feedback with the psychologist, who may then be able to shed some light on the role that the assessment played in informing the decision taken by Line and HR.
Similarly, if a candidate has applied for a job, assessment feedback should only be arranged and given, after the candidate knows whether his application has been successful or not. This eliminates potential confusion. For instance, a candidate may not have had favourable psychometric assessment results. However, a decision is taken to appoint him, based on other critical factors, such a shortage of candidates because the skill pool for that particular role is limited. If the candidate receives assessment feedback before knowing the outcome of his application, he may spend quite some time feeling distressed or discouraged, because his assessment feedback leads him to conclude that he won't get the job.
The opposite can also happen. Assessment feedback may be very positive, creating an expectation in a candidate's mind that she will be successful in her application. However, she may still be unsuccessful due to other factors, such as there being an even stronger candidate on the short list, or her salary demands may be too high and so on. This again could lead to unnecessary confusion and disappointment and can be avoided if the psychometric assessment feedback concludes the process with the candidate.
Feedback and Uninterpreted Psychometric Test Results
It is unethical and illegal for any individual who is not trained in psychometrics to attempt to interpret test results. The first point of feedback to client organisations in most instances is an assessment report. An assessment report is however a professional report discussing many psychological terms and concepts, and is put into the hands of lay people who have no training in these psychological terms and concepts. This means that feedback reports are open to interpretation and since only trained psychology professionals may interpret such information there are important implications:
It is ALWAYS incumbent on the lay user (HR and Line) to contact the psychological professional to discuss the feedback report.
Lay Users should limit themselves to the recommendations made by the psychological professional and not attempt to make their own reading into or interpretation of the test results.
It is worth repeating that psychometric assessment results are often complex to understand and can easily be misinterpreted or misunderstood and it cannot be over - stressed that only suitably qualified psychology professionals are equipped and legally entitled to interpret assessment results.
What then is the purpose of the feedback or assessment report?
This report should be viewed as a background document which will equip HR and Line to have an informed discussion on the individual's profile with the psychology professional who administered the assessment. Under no circumstances should HR Professionals or Line Managers attempt to interpret the report or draw their own conclusions from it. Remember, the purpose of a report is to facilitate an informed discussion between HR and Line, and a psychology professional, where the psychology professional can ensure that the content and recommendations in the report are correctly understood. It is worth repeating that is incumbent upon HR Professionals to set up a feedback discussion with a psychology professional, once they have perused the report. This will ensure that the assessment results are correctly interpreted, understood and used.
Normally, the senior HR Manager in an organisation is made the custodian of assessment reports and is under obligation to store them securely where unauthorised individuals cannot have access to them. Neither hard nor soft copies of assessment reports should ever be left in the hands of Line Managers.
Candidate's rights
A candidate may refuse to participate in an assessment or refuse his consent for his assessment results to be released to the company. In such cases, the likely consequences of such refusal must be explained to a candidate. A candidate may also withdraw his consent for access to his assessment results. If a report has already been sent to a client, all copies of this report must be destroyed.
Poppi Act
With the advent of the Poppi Act EXTRA care should be taken to safe - keep candidate's reports, not disseminate them to others (only HR to have a copy) and to ensure that the principles of confidentiality and informed consent are strictly adhered to.
Please click here to read our privacy policy. This will also help you to differentiate between your and our obligations under the POPIA when using our assessments
It is important to note that many of these ethical considerations are underpinned by a legal framework and also carry stiff penalties if they are contravened.