Hello, craigx-ga!
Sorry you couldn’t find my clarification from last night. I had
accidentally double-posted it, and had to have it totally removed in
order to get rid of the second post. Therefore, I took some additional
time seek more information.
Your question has proved to be a challenge, to put it mildly. I have
spent many, many hours researching this question, and contacted
various testing agencies in Australia to see if they could provide me
with a dollar figure, or even be willing to quote an estimate.
The major problems with finding exact dollar expenditures for the
Psychometric testing industry in Australia (or any country, for that
matter) are the numerous variables involved. There are a wide variety
of tests available, the methods of testing vary (whether online or in
person), and the agency testing the potential applicant can be a
company interviewer, the Human Resource Department, or an independent
agency. Many companies use online testing services from companies
based outside of Australia. Although I can provide you with some
general, helpful information, it may take some extra sleuthing on your
part to extrapolate some actual dollar figures, if they do, in fact,
exist.
Before I continue, I want to make it known that besides many, many
hours of research, I have also e-mailed several different agencies in
Australia that are involved in administering psychometric testing.
(Thankfully, it is daytime in Australia!) No one was able to give me a
dollar figure, or even an estimate. Each referred me to a different
agency, which in turn, did not have the information. Some examples
follow:
From i4talent:
“This is not our core business so I would have trouble providing you
with
a figure. You may want to contact SHL or Right Management
Consultants.”
From SHL Consulting Group:
“In response to your query regarding the size (Annual Dollar Value)
of the
psychometric testing industry in Australia, I'm sorry, SHL is not able
to assist you in this matter.
From Onetest:
“I would suggest that you contact the Australian Psychological
Society. They
are Australia's peak psychological body and will be in the best
position to
provide the information you require. http://www.psychsociety.com.au/
(I am still awaiting an e-mail from the Australian Psych. Socity,
but a search on their website found “0” results for Psychometric
testing!)
From Bell Human Resources, Danielle Jiranek (“over ten years direct
experience in psychometric testing”):
“So sorry to be "one of the pack" but I also have no idea where this
information would be sourced. The only suggestion I would have is to
contact a larger consultancy firm such as TMP and see if they can
provide a dollar amount which you could then extrapolate from.
Another option is to assume an average per $$$ test cost (eg $500) and
just get agencies to indicate how many psych tests they do a month.
Sorry to not be able to help.”
The following excerpt provides another example of the difficulty in
determining actual market size:
“There are no clear indications of the size of the market for
psychometric testing for the human resource industry. This is partly
because of the fragmented nature of the human resource assessment
industry. However, it is clear that with the proliferation of online
recruitment sites which incorporate some form of psychometric testing,
the current market should increase significantly in the future. For
example, market research is indicating that 96% of all information
technology companies will use the Internet for recruiting by 2001 and
currently 58% of IT professionals first use the Internet to seek a
job.”
“Even less is known about other markets where limited psychometric
tests could be used such as the school leaver market and the job
seeker markets where there is currently a clear demand for testing
systems to assist in vocational guidance. It is clear that there is an
increasing reliance on some form of aptitude/personality test system
for university graduates, but the associated market of high school
leavers appears to be relatively untapped at this stage.”
Read “Independent Experts Report.” (June 3, 2000) at
http://www.ncm.co.nz/news/eopportunity/selector_short_report.htm
However, I have managed to find some information for you to work
with, and possibly give you a start in making an extrapolation about
the overall psychometrics market in Australia. Again, though, there
seems to be no definitive answer on the monetary value for the reasons
stated above.
I will not hesitate to say, however, that after all of my research, it
is apparent that psychometric testing is widely used in Australia, and
the future seems very bright for continued growth. The following
information should give you a good indication of the health of the
psychometric testing industry in Australia.
Specific Psychometric Software Sales Figures from testing software
used in Australia
*******************************************************************************
“SelectorPA is the key product to be sold through management
consultants such as Greene Hanson in New Zealand and Clark Hummerston
in Australia and through the recruitment and human resource
departments of larger corporations. This product is directed at the
public sector, state-owned enterprises, local authorities, large
private sector corporations and, in the longer term, small to medium
enterprises.”
“Management consultants working in the area of psychometric
assessments believe that the SelectorPA product can be differentiated
from other tests in content and price. Because of this, Selector
should access a large market if it can find suitable marketing
operations to use and distribute its product.”
Projected Sales:
* “Selector expects SelectorPA to achieve sales of between NZ$ 3
million and NZ$ 5.8 million per annum within five years through
management consultants and human resource departments. We consider
that these estimates are reasonable if suitable marketing
organisations can be found.*
Read “Independent Experts Report.” (June 3, 2000) at
http://www.ncm.co.nz/news/eopportunity/selector_short_report.htm
Selector is “one of the few companies in the World developing
software specifically for the Internet. “We enable organisations to
undertake online behavioural assessments of candidates within the
recruitment process…. “If we can make it available to SMEs ultimately
productivity will be improved and the turnover rate will be reduced.”
“The Web site…offers a non-Net behavioural assessment package at $200
an applicant.”
**Selector is projecting sales of $3m to $5.8m annually by marketing
the tests to management consultants and human resource departments.
They have already attracted as clients broking firm J.B.Were & Son;
Auckland University’s School of Business (to help graduates into
jobs), and Sky City.**
Read “Selector an E-Opportunity.” The Headliner. (July 26, 2000) at
http://www.selectorgroup.com/press/pr000726-1.htm
Information regarding use of Psychometric testing in Australian
companies:
*******************************************************************************
“It has been estimated that *over 20 per cent of Australian
companies use psychometric testing* when assessing hopeful applicants.
In fact, Kevin Chandler, managing director of consultancy firm,
Chandler & McLeod, says his company has “tested over 400, 000 people
in Australia in the last two decades.”
Psychometric tests and are defined as “a measurement of aptitude and
intelligence, learning speed, problem solving and motivation and
personality. The results are compared against a similar group of
people to identify how well a person is likely to perform in a
particular role.”
Read “Going Psychometric,” by Kine Hartz. Reportage (4/9/2001) at
http://www.reportage.uts.edu.au/stories/2001/apr01/psyched.html
“More than *25% of Australia's biggest companies use psychometric
tools and pre-employment tests* in selection processes. A number of
recruitment agencies employ psychometric tests as part of the
recruiting process, to find out 'what kind of person you are', and
Macquarie Bank, BHP and Qantas airlines are just a few of the many top
companies that use personality checks.” Read “Mind Over Matter:
Psychological Testing in the Workplace.” WorkplaceInfo (9/4/2002) at
http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/nocookie/templates/Say/psych_testing.htm
Up to 25% of medium to large Australian organizations are estimated
to regularly be using psychometric tests. Read “Recruitment
Procedures: To Test of not to Test.” Workplace Updates. (6/2001) at
http://www.livingstones.com.au/frontweb/pdf/news-2001-07.pdf
“A recent survey in an Australian newspaper has suggested that in
Australia alone around 60% of senior executives will have taken a
psychometric test either as part of their recruitment to the job or as
a way of assessing their development needs and potential in their
organisation.”
“And when it can cost well over $250,000 to appoint the wrong senior
executive, companies have begun to realise that a small investment up
front, to obtain more objective information than is gained from CV and
interview alone, is likely to save them time, effort and money in the
long.” Read “Why Test?” The Psyctest.com. (June 14, 2002) at
http://www.thepsyctest.com/tpt/news.asp
The Airline Industry in Australia routinely uses psychometric testing
to hire pilots. Ansett Australia subject its selected applicants to
four hours of psychometric training. Quantas Airline, which employs a
large number of pilots, evaluates eight competencies in it’s rigorous
psychometric tests.
Read “How to Land an Airline Job.” Flight Safety Australia
(Nov/Dec2000) at http://www.casa.gov.au/avreg/fsa/download/00nov/24-28.pdf
“Cognitive ability tests for job seekers in Australia are increasing
despite opponents' criticism of them as discredited and unethical.
“Testing of cognitive ability objectively measures things such as a
person's ability to think critically, solve problems and apply
reasoning skills in logical and abstract ways, according to Steven
Dahl, founder and managing director of online psychometric testing
company, Onetest.”
"Experience tells us the best performing employees not only have the
required training, skills and attitude for the job, but are also quick
thinkers, effective decision-makers, capable problem-solvers and fast
learners who deal well with new or complex situations," Dahl says.
Cognitive ability tests for job seekers in Australia are increasing
despite opponents' criticism of them as discredited and unethical.
“Testing of cognitive ability objectively measures things such as a
person's ability to think critically, solve problems and apply
reasoning skills in logical and abstract ways, according to Steven
Dahl, founder and managing director of online psychometric testing
company, Onetest.”
"Experience tells us the best performing employees not only have the
required training, skills and attitude for the job, but are also quick
thinkers, effective decision-makers, capable problem-solvers and fast
learners who deal well with new or complex situations," Dahl says.
“Despite the critics, pre-employment and on-the-job psychometric
testing is increasing locally.”
Read “Testing Times for Online Job Seekers,” by Phillippa Yelland.
(July 10, 2001 at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~yellandp/2001%20and%20before/2001-07/010710%20Fast.htm
The growth of Psychometric testing in Australia can be attributed to
“legislative change requiring justifiable selection practices.” Read
Companies Use of Psychometric Testing and the Changing Demand for
Skills: A Review of the Literature,” by Andrew Jenkins. (6/2001) at
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:3uvUn_j-Pf4C:cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%2520dps/CEEdp12.pdf++Australia++psychometric+testing&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
"To work for the public service (in Australia) you’ve got to do a
psychometric test." According to Recruitment Services Australia, the
organisation that administers the Public Service Test…"Questionnaires
of the type used for this campaign are a fair and effective way of
assessing a large number of applicants." Read “Psyched Out,” by Fiona
Angus. Workers Online (June 18, 1999) at
http://workers.labor.net.au/18/b_tradeunion_psyche.html
Cost Saving Potential of Utilizing Psychometric Testing
*******************************************************************************
The cost savings potential of Psychometric testing is considered so
important in the efficiency of the recruitment process that the
Australian Defence Force signed a 12-month trial contract with the
Manpower Agency in May 2000 to administer testing to new applicants.
“Defence is one of Australia’s largest employers, offering about 8,000
Australian Defence Force full and part time positions a year.” The
decision to trial recruiting through an employment agency flowed from
the Defence Efficiency Review, which identified that operational
efficiencies could be gained by market testing the ADF recruiting
function. ***Evaluation of the Manpower tender determined that cost
savings in the order of $25m per annum could be realised.*** These
cost savings will be redeployed to other high priority Defence areas.”
Read “Trial Aims to Boost Defence with Manpower.” (May 29, 2000) at
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:rKauO2qTWsgC:www.minister.defence.gov.au/2000/107290500.doc++Australia++psychometric+testing&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Psychometric testing can be a valuable factor in identifying the best
candidates for a particular job, and could certainly reduce the time
and money spent on training new candidates after they are hired.
“According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian
public sector spends $1.6 billion each year on training its employees,
investing an average of $264 and 6.3 training hours per employee. This
is significantly more than the private sector’s $161 and 4.5 hours per
employee respectively.”
Read “Psychometric Testing.” Local Government Focus. (May 2001) at
http://www.loc-gov-focus.aus.net/2001/may/psychometric.htm
Some Australian companies that administer Psychometric Testing in
Australia – should you desire to contact them.
*******************************************************************************
Barret Consulting Group PTY Ltd
http://www.barrett.com.au/
SHL Group PLC
http://www.shlgroup.com/home.asp
TP Human Capital
http://www.tphumancapital.com.au/flash.php
Hays Personnel Services
http://www.hays.com.au/services/trainingservices.asp
Ambit
http://www.ambit.com.au/clientportal.htm
Onetest
http://www.onetest.com.au/home/
Chandler McLeod Group
http://www.chandlermacleod.com.au/
(This is the company that noted in an article above that they had
performed over 400,000 test in Australia over the last two decades.
Perhaps they would be worth a call)
Additional Resources
“Psychometric Testing,” by Frank Chamberlin.TelCall Magazine at
http://www.telcall.com.au/past/2001/43/01feature.html (examines the
use of psychometric testing in the call-centre industry.
“Psychometric Testing and Your Job Search,” by David Southwell.
(updated Feb. 1, 1999) at
http://yahoocareers.seek.com.au/editorial/0-4-9_psychometric.htm
“Psychometric Assessment for Selection and Development.” Liam Healy
and Associates at http://www.psychometrics.co.uk/test.htm#What
(Provides a good overview of the types of psychometric tests)
“Testing Times,” by Kerry Sutherland. HR Monthly (February 2001) at
http://www.evolvemedia.com.au/HRM_Testing_Times.pdf
Because there appears to be no actual dollar figure available for
the psychometric testing industry in Australia, I have two
suggestions:
You can extrapolate from the information above that the industry is
thriving and used quite extensively in Australia, and be content that
there is no actual dollar amount ascribed to the testing industry as a
whole….
o:r
You can go the extra step suggested in the e-mail from Bell Human
Resources and contact testing companies individually, try to squeeze
some annual “testing” dollar figures out of them, or see if they will
divulge how many tests they administer per year, and assign a dollar
figure to that amount.
Even so, such an involved project would still not account for the
companies that use online testing sources from other countries, or
administer tests within their own companies. You would almost have to
contact every company in Australia that administers some sort of
psychometric testing, compile all the data and costs per type of test,
and come up with a dollar figure. An awsome task, to say the least!
I fully realize this is not the precise answer you were hoping for.
Therefore, I am posting it as a clarification. However, if you can use
the information to your advantage, please advise me and I will gladly
post it as an answer. I know I could have simply posted a comment
stating that there are no precise dollar figures available. Yet, I
thought you might be able to use this as a good starting point.
umiat-ga
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Clarification of Answer by
umiat-ga
on
19 Nov 2002 16:46 PST
Hello craigx-ga,
I wanted to post one last response I got from Pschtest.com, which
reads"
"Can't access that figure for you - suggest that you multiply the
estimated number of interviews per week, by the percentage that take
psyc tests, by about $750."
-TPT.
It may be another avenue for you, albeit a tedious one.
I also wanted to clarify two suggestions in your comment. First,
before I get to that, thank you very much for your generous rating. It
is very much appreciated.
It is important that I make it very clear that my stress on the fact
that I had worked "many, many hours" had absolutely nothing to do with
a "guilt gamble," as you put it.Researchers in this company pride
ourselves on finding the right answer. When we don't, it is very
difficult to convey to the client that we have worked very hard when,
in fact, it appears that we have fallen short. It is also equally
frustrating for us to dig and dig and not find the exact information
we want. Some clients don't realize that most of us do not have access
to any private databases other than the public internet. Thus, we work
from the same sources of information available to the general public.
.
In no way do I approach research in such a manner as to find a
half-hearted answer and then try to persuade someone to accept it out
of guilt. Were that the case, I would not be working for this company.
Hence, that is the the very reason I stressed that I had not found the
precise answer you were looking for, and posted it as a clarification
unless you felt you could use the information
Secondly, and most importantly, I would never e-mail for information
if I thought it would jeopardize a client's privacy. In your case,
there was no mention of why I was asking for information. The question
was presented in such a way that it could have pertained to an
academic paper or sheer desire for interest's sake. (In fact, even I
don't know why you are asking for the information!!!) I have spent
many years in businesses that demand privacy, and I am very careful to
be discreet. With that in mind, I am sure you are aware that this
research site is available for the world to see. Therefore, nicknames
are used for our privacy.
My advice, for all potential questioners, is if a client is worried
their question has the possiblity of revealing content that might "tip
someone off," it might be better to use a private research agency.
However, I love this company and hope that we can continue to provide
an excellent source of information to those who have neither the time,
skills, or inclination to research a topic.
I can speak for most every researcher by saying that we do this out
of sheer love for finding information. Many times, we spend hours and
don't get paid a dime. That should say it all!!
To sum it up......your question was a pleasure to work on, and
intrigues me sufficiently that I will still continue to find the exact
answer. If I ever do, I will be sure to post it!
Thanks again.
umiat
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