People Management Magazine, News
Updated 28.08.01
Zoë Roberts
Firms wise up to Scientology :
HR professionals have been warned to watch out for a mailshot from a
psychometric testing organisation that fails to make clear its links to
Scientology.
People Management followed up a complaint from a reader who had received
a letter from Silhouet UK inviting the recipient to complete an enclosed
test questionnaire as a “free introductory service”. The reader became
suspicious after noticing the copyright on the test was for L Ron
Hubbard, the founder of the controversial religious group.
The letter also claimed that the company had “over 10 years’ experience
throughout Scandinavia, with companies such as Volvo, Thomas Cook,
Goodyear and Castrol”.
None of the central recruitment offices of these companies was able to
confirm that they had used Silhouet to assess people. Goodyear stated
that it had never heard of the group.
When contacted, Peter Buch of Silhouet UK claimed the company was a
“small family-run business with no links to Scientology. We are simply
using the L Ron Hubbard test because of its value as a management
tool,” he said. But Patrick Peperstraete, a consultant at the Dutch
branch of Silhouet confirmed that, like its sister companies in Denmark
and Sweden, Silhouet UK is a member of the World Institution of
Scientology Enterprises (Wise).
According to Wise’s web site, it is a not-for-profit organisation whose
members believe the “same administrative policies used to expand
Scientology organisations may also be used to expand any organisation”.
The introductory letter sent by Silhouet UK does not mention that the
company is a member of Wise or that it is working with Scientologist
principles.
Robin Chater, secretary-general of the Federation of European Employers,
expressed concern over Silhouet UK’s failure to make clear its links.
“Participants should certainly be informed that the personal information
they are providing will be analysed by a company involved in promoting
Scientologist principles,” he said.
Angela Baron, CIPD adviser, employee resourcing, said the institute
“recommended that companies use only tests for which adequate data is
available to prove its validity and reliability. Managers should ask
questions to check the test is measuring the things it purports to
measure.”