Master Southern Africa has officially launched the Core Namibia Norm, a psychometric benchmarking tool specifically designed for the Namibian workforce.
The new tool is set to make hiring more fair and inclusive by changing the way employers assess cognitive abilities during recruitment and talent development.
Previously, assessments were done that relied on South African or international standards, which failed to capture Namibia’s distinct cultural, educational and socio-economic context.
“This isn’t just a technical upgrade – it’s a major step forward in making assessments fair and meaningful for Namibian professionals,” said Master Southern Africa chief executive Max Mörtl during the launch last week.
“We’re proud to lead the way in creating tools that truly reflect the people they’re designed for.”
Cognitive assessments are used in the corporate world to test general mental ability, a key predictor of job performance.
But according to Mörtl, applying norms from other countries can result in biased outcomes, excluding qualified candidates and leading to costly hiring mistakes.
“While there are some similarities between Namibia and South Africa, the two countries are fundamentally different,” said Mörtl.
He said using South African norms risk skewing results and reinforcing systemic bias.
“A Namibian-specific benchmark is essential,” said Mörtl.
This new norm will now mean that when candidates undergo the core general mental ability assessment they are compared to a dataset that reflects Namibian performance norms.
“This will result in fairer screening, more accurate results and stronger talent decisions,” said Mörtl.
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