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Should companies administer personality tests as a requirement for employment?<\/p>\n
In recent years, personality tests have become the poster kid for bad HR practices.\u00a0 As digital technology advanced, we threw online games into the mix to assess a person\u2019s suitability\u00a0 \u2013 making recruitment processes with such parameters a bit of a meme in the HR industry.<\/p>\n
But are all these tests necessary? The cost alone is nothing to ignore and most tests haven\u2019t been updated.<\/p>\n
We know that personality tests provide useful insight into the behavior, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and preferences of applicants and potential employees.\u00a0 But on the other hand, many believe that most of the tests overly categorize people.\u00a0 Their validity is questionable.\u00a0 It could create a false sense of confidence in one candidate and a mistaken judgments on another. \u00a0In addition, there are thousands of tests in the market, which ones do you bet on?<\/p>\n
In 2015, around a thousand hopeful employees at Amtrak took an online cultural fit assessment.\u00a0 This test measured personality traits that were believed to be related to safety consciousness, ability to collaborate, customer awareness, and integrity.<\/p>\n
The online assessment took 45 minutes to complete.\u00a0 Out of the 5,000 job candidates, 2,000 were classified as a \u201cstrong fit\u201d. 1,800 a \u201cmoderate fit\u201d.\u00a0 And 1,200, a \u201cminimal fit\u201d. \u00a0Amtrak hires around 2,300 workers on a national level annually.\u00a0\u00a0 So the test is a useful space and time saver for Amtrak. The questions are, did they hit the mark?\u00a0 Did the tests meet these objectives?<\/p>\n
As many as 60% of workers are now required to take workplace assessments.\u00a0 As of this writing, the workplace assessment industry has grown to $500 million a year and is expected to grow 10% every year. Out of the 60% of the companies that use personality assessments, 22% use them to evaluate job candidates.<\/p>\n
But are tests genuinely advantageous?\u00a0 Sure they save time.\u00a0 But can it sift out not just the good apples, but the best ones?<\/p>\n
To answer, it might help to understand the pros and cons.\u00a0 If an assessment test is not part of your recruitment process, or if you\u2019re on the fence about whether to continue administering yours, here\u2019s what you should know.<\/p>\n
Here are a few rules to keep in mind for getting the personality assessments right from the get-go.<\/p>\n This should be understood by everyone involved. Does the test predict performance?\u00a0 How long they\u2019ll stay?\u00a0 How well they integrate into the work culture?\u00a0Ask the provider to substantiate that the prediction was used for similar jobs.\u00a0 This is usually provided as a correlation coefficient or content map.<\/p>\n Personality tests can be fun.\u00a0 Many are reminiscent of high school slam book questionnaires.\u00a0 But not all of them are relevant to the workplace.\u00a0\u00a0 It isn\u2019t because the chosen test\/tool provides bad information.\u00a0 Rather, the test was neither designed nor validated for your purpose.<\/p>\n Making a test specific to you isn\u2019t as simple as tweaking questions.\u00a0 Some tests that were designed to detect medical\/health conditions were found to have been tweaked to \u201ccater\u201d to the job.\u00a0 This practice is a ground for discrimination in the workplace.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Even the best assessments can generate inadvertent consequences. For instance, a test for aptitude or cognitive ability can expose differences in demographic groups that don\u2019t have equal access to educational opportunities.\u00a0 The same goes for differences in people raised in different cultures.<\/p>\n The differences are real and may cause major issues if the appraisal isn\u2019t fair to those who may have succeeded no the job.<\/p>\n A well-designed assessment should take into account these differences by incorporating certain variables.\u00a0 Its\u2019 never just one or two personality traits that are over (or under) emphasized.\u00a0 In this case, the services of consultants are highly recommended.\u00a0 Work with them to monitor your assessment. Seek their advice on how to weigh each variable so the test is catered to your purpose.\u00a0 This way, you get a fair test for both employees and job prospects.<\/p>\n Another risk you should be aware of is the risk of \u201cgroup think<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0 You will come across a problem in the workplace at some point. If everyone holds a uniform view, innovation and new ways of thinking are suppressed.<\/p>\n This should be obvious but many stop at a one-dimensional understanding of the scores.\u00a0 Know what the results Using personality tests isn\u2019t a black or white scheme.\u00a0 It\u2019s learning HOW to use these tests suitably.\u00a0 Take the guesswork out of the equation and get rid of tedious trial and error patterns by measuring the principles required for high-performance and team dynamics.<\/p>\n Ask about our Workforce Behavioral Profile\u2122<\/a>, and see how the principles of trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk, and success come into play with group strengths and behavior vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton<\/p>\n TIGERS provides a comprehensive, multi-pronged and robust system for improving your collaborative workforce behavior, collaborative work culture, profitability, project management and team leadership success. We license existing coaches, consultants and HR professionals in the use of these tools.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/corevalues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Personality-tests-pros-and-cons-1024x576.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nConsiderations<\/h2>\n
There must be a correlation between test scores and the job.<\/h4>\n
Use assessment tools designed for use in the workplace.<\/h4>\n
Leave elbow room for unintended consequences.<\/h4>\n
Know what the assessment results truly mean.<\/h4>\n
\n\u201cdo not mean\u201d as much as \u201cwhat it means\u201d.\u00a0 For instance, extroverts tend to do well on assessments that call for outreach and partnership behaviors (because these behaviors are natural tendencies for extroverts).\u00a0 An introvert, on the other hand, may not do well on that assessment since their tendencies lead them to a different approach. The different approach, however, still leads to success.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat’s next?<\/h2>\n
About TIGERS Success Series, Inc.<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>We specialize in building cooperation among employees and collaboration between departments for profitable, agile, and high performance team outcomes.\u00a0 Scaled to\u00a0 grow as your organization and leadership performance improves, our proprietary\u00a0TIGERS Workforce<\/a>\u00a0Behavior Profile<\/a>,\u00a0Micro-Training technology and group facilitation\u00a0<\/a>methods result in your\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>high performance team outcomes and change management success.<\/p>\n