Ethical Statement and Requirements
for Application of Objective Assessments e.g. psychometrics, assessment centres
This document specifically describes how Quest Partnership and PsyAsia International conducts its professional practice and requires its clients, partners and associates to do so. The key tenets are to ensure a respectful relationship with our stakeholders and to ensure the professional usage of our technology. It is our mission to ensure fair and equal competition between all individuals.
Professional Relationship with Participants
Participants should be clearly made aware of the following:
- The nature of the assessment and what to expect
- Why and how the assessment is being used to inform decisions
- That they can receive full feedback on their performance as is their right under Data Protection legislation. When and how this feedback is to be provided.
- How long their data will be retained, who may have access to it, and for what purposes this may be applied. Generally, it is expected that data will be gathered for a specific, time-limited and evident purpose only.
- Participants should be invited to ask questions and to have their concerns addressed openly and objectively.
- Participants should be encouraged to share any specific requirements they have during the assessment. Reasonable adjustments and compensations should be made to accommodate such special requirements. No participant should be unfairly biased against. It is our mission to ensure fair and equal competition between all individuals.
- Participants should be given reasonable opportunity to decline participation at any stage in the assessment.
Application of Assessments
Guidelines for the use of assessments:
Assessments should only be applied if job relevant, and be shown as such by a job analysis.
- Only qualified and trained personnel should apply assessments. E.g. no psychometric aptitude test should be administered by untrained personnel. Individuals assessing candidates in assessment centres should be trained to professional standards.
- Results or outputs of assessments should be carefully controlled and in compliance with Data Protection legislation, Quest's and PsyAsia's General Terms and Conditions and Quest's and PsyAsia's Privacy Policies. The dissemination of assessment data or information within a users organisation is the responsibility of the user, and users must ensure the ethical and professional use of personal information.
- Assessments should be used in context with other evidence. E.g. a personality profile should not be used alone in selection decisions, but rather to support interviews or more behavioural assessment exercises. Assessment centre outcomes have greater proven validity and thus can be used alone. Further training or consultation with PsyAsia International is advised if the weighting of various assessment methods is not understood.
- Users have a responsibility to check the ongoing validity of assessments. PsyAsia International can support in this area. Validity is not a property necessarily of a particular tool, but rather how the tool is applied. PsyAsia can support the ongoing validation of assessments, e.g. ensuring ongoing compliance with Equal Opportunities legislation.
- All assessment materials, content, outputs etc, must be carefully secured and kept confidential.
- No assessment materials may be copied or reproduced unless the user owns the sole copyright on materials. No user should breach the copyright or intellectual property rights of Quest Partnership, PsyAsia International or our agents and associates.
Amended 10 June 2009
