Workplace assessments are widely used in organisations at various stages in the employee lifecycle, particularly in the recruitment, selection and development stages.

Imperial China

Assessing people at work is not a new phenomenon. The use of psychological assessment for the purpose of job selection dates back to Imperial China 3,000 years ago, where they were used to recruit candidates for the Chinese civil service. (Coaley 2012)

The 19th century

However, assessment as we recognise it today is rooted in the psychological theories of the late 19th century, when the psychology of individual differences was emerging as a science and with it an interest in how to study and measure such differences.

While a number of scientists contributed to the development of psychological assessment, two notable proponents were Galton and Binet.

Francis Galton

Francis Galton (1822–1911) was one of the first to apply statistical methods to human differences. His interest in ascertaining the extent to which human genius was inherited, and his belief that human traits could be measured scientifically, resulted in him being credited as one of the first scientists to emphasise the importance of individual differences. Through Galton's research he created one of the first tests of mental ability. (Coaley 2012)

Alfred Binet

Influenced by the work of Galton, French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857–1911) was tasked by the French government with developing a tool that would identify children who might experience difficulty in the classroom, in other words a measure of intelligence. This resulted in the Binet and Simon test of intelligence, and evolved into one of the most recognised measures of intelligence, the Stanford-Binet intelligence test, which is still used today. (Coaley 2012)

The 20th centuryIndustrial psychology

The interest in psychological assessment continued and led to the development of tests that measured traits and abilities other than intelligence. In the early part of the 20th century, Hugo Munsterberg (1863–1916) developed a number of psychological assessments for tobacco companies that would allow them to select employees who had the traits and abilities they considered important to achieving success. This marked the beginning of industrial psychology, which we now recognise as business and organisational psychology. (Steptoe-Warren 2013)

The First World War

The use of psychological assessments continued to grow. During the First World War, psychologists were asked to develop a psychological evaluation program for the army, which resulted in the Alpha and Beta tests. These were used to measure individual strengths and determine which roles army recruits were best suited to. (Steptoe-Warren 2013)

The Second World War and after

During the Second World War, assessment centres were used to screen prospective army personnel. Individuals who were deemed highly susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were screened out, while those who were deemed high in motivation were screened in. (Steptoe-Warren 2013)

These tests paved the way for large-scale psychological testing in the modern workplace.