Humans have a unique quality of learning from experiences, adapting to new situations and handle abstract concepts. These are aspects of human intelligence through which they use their knowledge to manipulate their environment. In short, intelligence is the ability to acquire knowledge and apply their skills.
Competencies to measure cognitive intelligence
In order to measure intelligence, it is important for the tester to identify the cluster of abilities and skills through which intelligence manifests. This cluster of abilities and skills is known as competency. The key competencies that are important to measure crystallized and fluid intelligence and cognitive brain functions are listed here,
- Attention to detail
This is the ability to concentrate on every single minute detail of a task. It is important and critical for the organization to recruit people with good attention to detail quality, especially for job positions that demand extreme concentration level in handling huge data. Such individuals are also able to sustain their focus to ensure work quality with nil errors. Testing the attention to detail capability with the help of comparison questions of texts, images, and visuals, organizations will be able to recruit people who can handle a large volume of data confidently.
- Memory
Memory is an important asset of a recruit and is important for all levels of work. Memory tests are important in jobs where an employee has to observe a large quantum of things on a daily basis and still be able to recall and retain them later on. Memory tests measure how strong the long term and short term memory of an individual is, by making them observe a variety of shapes, texts, objects, etc. if they are able to retain all the information accurately and recall them later, then their memory is said to be intact.
- Perpetual speed
Perpetual or processing speed is defined as the time duration that an individual takes to complete a mental task. It is the speed at which an individual can understand and react to the information they receive, be it visual, auditory or even motor. It is the measure of the time taken by an individual to respond to a stimulus. Faster the processing speed, greater is the efficiency of the person to think clearly and learn easily. On the other hand, if the processing speed is poor, then it impacts their ability to make decisions, carry out instructions promptly and behave rationally.
Using cognitive intelligence tests at the workplace
It is required to create a competent workforce in an organization. Assessment of cognition for a competent workforce helps with the task. Creating a cognitive framework for each of the job types that exists is not possible at the practical front. Cognitive intelligence tests are thus crafted for job groups that demand the same cognitive abilities and have the same competency framework.
For instance, the job roles of receptionist, customer service executive and the sales executives all demand the basic skills and communication and are required to perform the same task day after day. Any job involves carrying out a defined task, the level and the type of cognitive competencies that are required to complete the task depends solely on the nature of the task.
But is it possible to derive the type and the level of competencies that a job role demands on the basis of the job’s nature? The Framework for job categorization takes into account three core competencies along with two factors that pertain to these core competencies. The three core competencies are,
- Information processing: Processing of information is the proficiency of the person to carry out analytical, numerical and critical reasoning tasks.
- Decision making: This refers to the person’s ability to solve problems and make the rational and prompt decision at the times of critical situations.
- Solution generation: This quality refers to the ability of the person to think out of the box and make use of his abstract reasoning and creativity competencies.
Each of these the three competencies pertains to two main factors, namely the frequency and level. Frequency is the number of times the employee needs to make use of the particular competency and the level is the difficulty level of the tasks that make use of a particular competency.
The framework for job role categorization can be performed by pooling job roles that are similar in nature and demand similar cognitive competencies together. Assessment of cognition for a competent workforce becomes easy this way by categorizing job roles as a job family.
Effectiveness of cognitive assessments
In order to make cognitive assessment effective in choosing the right talents for a job, it is mandatory for it to identify the right candidates from the talent pool. After creating cognitive assessments for a particular job role, its effectiveness in selecting the right talent for a job role and for an organization needs to be tested.
It has been revealed that the correlation between the work performance of the candidate and their predicted cognitive intelligence is between 51% and 84%. Higher intelligence is an indication of success in a job and is measured on the basis on performance evaluation, on how well they encounter a task on the job, ratings of performance by supervisors and the position of the candidate on the job hierarchy.
Cognitive intelligence influences the performance of the candidate on the basis of their ability to acquire the knowledge relevant to the job. People with higher cognitive intelligence, learn faster and are successful in their jobs. With sound cognitive intelligence, employees are able to go beyond their existing knowledge of the job and make sound judgments even in unfamiliar situations.
There are a number of cognitive assessment tools available online for organizations to make use of by simply registering. With the help of these tests, they are able to fine-tune their recruitment process and hire the most competent employers for their organization. The scores of the test depend on three parameters, namely the difficulty index, discrimination index, and the mean score.
Conclusion
The knowledge and skills of the employees are the backbones of an organization. Their ability to learn and apply their knowledge and skills for a particular job role is what is measured by these cognitive assessment tools. They are able to measure the cognitive intelligence of the candidate accurately and recruit better talents for the organization.
