A conversation with People Spark Solutions
With significant changes on the horizon from the Employment Rights Bill 2024, businesses across the North East are preparing to navigate a new regulatory environment.
We sat down with experts from People Spark Solutions, a North East provider of leadership development and coaching, to discuss how organisations can enhance their recruitment strategies using psychometrics amidst the changes.
As the UK introduces major employment reforms, including “day-one” rights and more stringent dismissal protections, what challenges do businesses face when hiring?
Scott Smith, MD at People Spark: “The 2024 Employment Rights Bill introduces significant changes, particularly regarding unfair dismissal. Under the new law, employees will have protection from unfair dismissal starting from their first day on the job. This means businesses must ensure they are hiring the right candidates from the outset. This is where psychometrics can play a key role.
“Psychometric assessments are designed to provide objective measures of a person’s psychological characteristics. They provide an objective way to evaluate candidates, not just in terms of skills, but also their personality, emotional intelligence, and ability to work in a team. With probation periods potentially being capped at nine months, as proposed under the new Bill, it’s more essential than ever to get the right hire from the start.”
How exactly do psychometric assessments help businesses make better hiring decisions?
Viccy Arnold, Head of Organisational Development at People Spark: “Psychometric testing adds a scientific edge to recruitment. These assessments provide data on how candidates might perform in a role or fit within a team. For instance, ability tests assess cognitive skills, which can be tailored to a specific rolewhether that’s numeracy for finance roles or abstract reasoning for creative positions.
“You can also use tools personality assessments, which can help predict how individuals are likely to perform at work, handle stress or engage with colleagues. This could be useful when considering flexible or remote working arrangements, now a default option under the new legislation. For example, candidates with high emotional intelligence could excel in environments requiring autonomy and self-regulation.”
Given the Bill’s emphasis on workplace inclusivity, including addressing gender pay gaps, how do psychometrics promote fairness in the hiring process?
Scott: “Psychometric assessments are intrinsically designed to be unbiased. They focus on the individual’s capabilities and characteristics, rather than their background, gender, or age. This is crucial, not only to comply with the new legislation but also to support development of a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
How can businesses begin integrating psychometrics into their recruitment process?
Viccy: “Some of these regulatory changes could take years to implement, but businesses can use this time wisely to prepare themselves and hone their recruitment processes with less pressure, ensuring they’re ready when the time comes.
“The process starts with identifying your specific needs – are you looking to improve leadership? Strengthen team dynamics? Or maybe you need to ensure new hires can adapt to flexible working structures. Once you’re sure of your priorities, the next step is selecting the right psychometric tools, whether it’s personality profiling, predictive workplace behaviour or cognitive ability assessments.
“We work closely with organisations to design and deliver these assessments – and crucially, facilitate the interpretation of the results and giving of feedback. If you think your organisation could benefit from support implementing psychometrics, get in touch with us (scott@peoplesparksolutions.co.uk) for a no-obligation chat.”
www.peoplesparksolutions.co.uk