Reaction Paper - PDF

Preview

Summary

Raquel M. Reynolds Advanced Quantitative Research MS in Psychology October 16, 2018 REACTION PAPER IN SYMPOSIUM ENTITLED “AN EXAMINATION OF THE CURRENT EMPLOYEE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES AMONG COMPANIES IN THE PHILIPPINES” I attended this symposium which is one of my favorite because the topic is about p...

Description

Raquel M. Reynolds

Advanced Quantitative Research

MS in Psychology

October 16, 2018

REACTION PAPER IN SYMPOSIUM ENTITLED “AN EXAMINATION OF THE CURRENT EMPLOYEE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES AMONG COMPANIES IN THE PHILIPPINES”

I attended this symposium which is one of my favorite because the topic is about psychological assessment. As a Psychometrician and being currently working at the Placement and Development Section of Human Resources Department, any information related to my field is very interesting and I really love to gain a wider and deeper knowledge about it to be able to share more with others. I believe that sharing knowledge creates awareness and generates new ideas to improve our effectiveness and grow our field overall.

The presentor was Mr. Gerald B. Peñaranda who is a very good speaker. I learned the laws on implementing psychological assessment and other services and many things about how different companies and organizations are carrying these out particularly in candidate selection.

Moreover, Mr. Peñaranda’s research revealed surprising data. It indicated the following percentages of the results: 1. There are more companies/ organizations that have no Psychometricians (73%) than those that have Psychometricians (26.5%). 2. Just 14.3% have licensed Psychologist while 85.7% do not have. 3. 52% protect psychological test while 48% do not. 4. In data privacy, 85.41% protect personal information while 14.5% do not. 5. In the type of test being administered, 74% use ability test while 26% do not. On the hand, 20% use personality inventories while 60% do not. 6. About multiple assessor, 58% rely on it while 42% do not.

7. In interviewing, just 15% do structured interviewing while 54% do not. 8. 58% use work sample while 42% do not. 9. 74% use biodata inventories while 26% do not.

His research showed that one of the hindering factors for companies/ organization not to hire a Psychometrician is that the company is not using psychological tests. For me, it is not a good practice that they don’t incorporate psychological test to their hiring process. These are important to objectively measure the personality traits or ability of who is suitable candidate for the job.

Another hindering factor is that a company could not hire a psychometrician because of the Licensure examination requirement. In my opinion, Psychometrician is licensed because they are skilled in administration, scoring, and interpretation of objective psychological tests. This is to ensure that psychological services are being handled by competent and genuine professionals.

Another hindering factor is preference for unstructured and flexible assessment. For me, structured/ standardized tests are still better because they give consistent, precise results or they are reliable and valid. They are proven to be one of the best predictors of job performance.

For using ability testing, his research showed that one of the hindering factors is that, it is not practical/ needed for the company. For me, it may be costly but it saves the management from making the wrong decision and hiring the wrong person for the job which can result in very large cost for the company and in many ways such as draining your energy and time. Ability test could measure abilities of a person which are natural and inbuilt. These abilities are a prerequisite to learn and develop skills. So it is important to find a candidate with the right ability for the job. Using ability testing can decrease bad hiring decisions and save money over the long run.

However in the use of personality inventories, his researched showed that one of the hindering factors is that personality factor do not matter in the industry. But for me, I think personality matters in the workplace. For example, if you cannot manage personality conflicts between the new hire and existing staff, the business will suffer. You are constantly addressing conflicts between employees and you are not getting any work done. Hiring someone with bad personality, will only lead to problems. You will spend a lot of time being frustrated over something that will not change and you will just waste a lot of money in the process.

I never thought that there are still several companies and organizations that do not abide the laws on psychological assessment and other psychological services. I wonder what the government is doing about this because it is unfair for compliant companies/ organizations....