THE VALUE OF PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS IN RECRUITMENT

Sharp Consultancy's Salary Survey 2025/26: Resetting the Landscape: Strategic Shifts in Finance Recruitment

It would be remiss not to start by addressing the elephant in the room — 2024 was a challenging year.While there were many reasons for this and numerous industries were affected, recruitment likely bore the brunt of it, particularly in the 6 months post-election(s).Whilst key roles and critical hires remained unaffected, certain head counts and processes were scrutinised and investment paused with internal restructures and automation utilised to reduce costs, in some instances, at the expense of employees. We subsequently saw an increase in candidate activity, with the talent pool strengthening. As those pressures eased in Quarter 4, recruitment processes saw improvement and green shoots have emerged. Optimism is on the rise in key hiring processes, albeit with a caveat. The cloud of additional cost increases in April, which is still dissipating. The senior finance and C-Suite market remains relatively unaffected, both regarding opportunities and candidates, it is the levels below that we have seen more change. In the evolving landscape of working dynamics, the volume of hybrid working is gradually waning despite sustained interest from candidates, presenting fewer job opportunities. While the blend of office and remote work remains desirable, it is no longer the predominant factor, indicating a notable shift in priorities for clients and candidates’ acceptance alike. Conversations with candidates underscore a growing desire around the importance of having a supportive mentor or manager and many professionals are increasingly open to a full-time return to the office if it guarantees enhanced guidance and avenues for professional advancement. "The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region."Throughout the professional practice market, some similar trends have been observed but there have been noticeable differences in the past year. Salaries across the range of candidates in professional practice, from AAT to fully Qualified (ACA/ACCA) individuals are still rising and those firm’s able to offer competitive salaries alongside stronger training contracts are beating out the competition in a candidate market with a growing focus on study support packages and career advancement opportunities for Part-Qualified candidates, indicating an increase in demand from employers and the volume of available job seekers. The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region, in what feels like the longest period of stability seen since Q4 2020 and we expect transactional finance salaries to remain stable throughout 2025/26, with anticipated salary increments to be moderate compared to the significant increases observed throughout the last 2 years. AI & Systems (process automation) continues to impact accountancy and finance, in particular, across larger functions but this has increased the need for wider interim support to assist with the transition and implementation especially with large, automated processes. Whilst 2025-26 will not be the same marketplace for recruitment as seen in previous years, there is certainly a growing level of optimism and whilst a more settled market may be seen as a negative in some areas, for those that have weathered the peaks and troughs over a longer period of time, it will feel very normal and a strong setting for both employees and employers to take advantage and thrive, with an increasing emphasis on growth and development.Download the full Salary Survey here!

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For many organisations, psychometric tests play an essential role in the recruitment process. Used effectively, they can provide an insight into a candidate’s personality traits and behaviours providing would-be employers with information about their character, strengths, weaknesses, motivations and working styles which cannot be gleaned from a CV – or even interview – alone.

When adopting psychometric testing as part of wide-ranging recruitment strategy it is important to remember that these should not be used in isolation to make decisions on whether to progress with a candidate; there are no right or wrong answers, and an individual cannot be seen to pass or fail.

So, in what way are they beneficial to employers? Interviews, whilst useful in assessing candidates against specific characteristics, skills and attributes, are often subjective. A psychometric analysis can provide an employer with measurable and objective ‘data’ which they are then able to utilise effectively within the recruitment process - typically either in the very early stages to shape interview questioning or to confirm a final selection once the field has been whittled down.

The results produced from a psychometric test adds real value to an employer’s decision-making ability; they enable more accurate judgements to be made about, for example, how a person may gel with existing team members, how they approach leadership challenges, what their management style is to ensure the ideal candidate is selected.

These valuable insights are not just confined to the recruitment process; they offer ongoing opportunities for conversations around role development, career progression, job satisfaction and employee engagement.

There are potential pitfalls however, if such tests and their subsequent results are not administered or used correctly. For example, if an employer rejects an applicant because they do, or do not, display certain traits – say a particular approach to leadership - they may find that they inadvertently overlook an otherwise strong candidate for the role.

In addition, verbal reasoning and numerical assessments can also be a useful tool and enable employers to set candidates a minimum competency bar. As with psychometric tests, the maximum benefit is gained when the results of these are used to guide decision making as part of a suite of assessment methods.

Cost factors of such assessments can prove prohibitive for some; however, effective recruitment must be seen as an investment and when used as part of a robust, well rounded hiring process, the benefits can enable employers get the right people on board to reap some valuable rewards.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment and executive search of finance and accountancy professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for temporary, interim and permanent roles across the full spectrum of positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today and speak to a member of our team about your recruitment needs or next career move.