While they can seem highly insightful — not to mention being widely available and inexpensive — they have some severe shortcomings when used in high stakes applications such as hiring. For one, they tend to be highly transparent, enabling a test taker to manipulate the results in a way that they feel will be viewed favorably by the administrator.
When using any assessment, managers need to step back and ask themselves one basic question before giving it to a potential employee: Is this test predictive of future job performance? In the case of 4-Qs, probably not. They can provide tremendous value for self-discovery, team building, coaching, enhancing communication, and numerous other developmental applications.
But due to limited predictive validity, low test-retest reliability, lack of norming and an internal consistency lie detector measure, etc. The strongest personality assessments to use in a hiring context are ones that possess these attributes:. Even when using a tool that meets the criteria outlined above, personality constructs are not the most predictive measure available.
The reality is that personality assessments are more like a Picasso painting that provides the whole picture but a distorted version, like this:. The problem is, we could be and often are all of these things depending on the situation.
Take me for example. I fit the introvert profile almost perfectly. Put me in a social setting with lots of people and I become a wall flower. Would a personality assessment account for that slightly different circumstance? Not a chance. Not very long ago I considered adding personality assessments to my service offering. As part of my research, I decided to take an assessment from an assessment provider who advises boards of directors on executive recruiting decisions. Reading and responding appropriately to body language and subtle cues is an essential skill to being an effective presenter and facilitator.
When I explained this to the assessor during the follow up interview, she refused to believe that I possessed the talent to read people. I may have decided against pursuing my greatest career dream because an assessment told me I lacked a talent that is clearly one of my strengths.
Now imagine if an employer was making employment-related decisions, such as whether to hire or promote me, based on that assessment. The same person who takes the same assessment six months apart will almost always answer the same questions differently.
When I mentioned this point to a friend of mine who administers a certain personality assessment, she acknowledged this fact and correctly observed that people change over time which will be reflected in their personality assessment scores.
Except, people do change. Before taking on a new hire, you will probably want to know if the person is a team player, how they resolve conflict and what their organizational skills are like.
We know that finding the right employee who is a suitable fit for the role is key — studies show that if an employee is a poor fit for the role, the result will usually be lower engagement. Low employment engagement results in 21 percent lower productivity and around 45 percent higher turnover. Personality assessments are intended to be a way of identifying both positive and negative characteristics that will impact on the job performance.
However, due to a combination of factors, there is little to no evidence to show personality assessments help to predict on the job success. Personality assessments seek to identify and evaluate certain characteristics of a participant.
Often measuring different traits on a scale, a personality test can tell you if a person is more extroverted or introverted or perhaps if they prefer flexibility to structure.
However, personality assessments are usually too broad to give you an in-depth understanding of how a person operates and will perform on the job. For example; not all extroverts make great salespeople. Personality tests are usually too simplistic to give you an understanding of how a candidate might resolve conflict, learn new skills, or negotiate with their coworkers.
The personality assessment questions are tricky in nature. They are multiple choice questions wherein at times all options seem reasonable and fit to the juncture. Each question always has a practical answer and emotional answer. Based on the option the candidate chooses, the personality trait is analyzed and result is discussed with the candidate. The result may influence the candidate in his future endeavors. A person who is kind hearted may start to behave ruthlessly when he is told his kindness will one day be a hindrance to his professional growth.
A firm recruited a personality assessment officer to bring about a positive change in the environment. After a quarter, when the CEO checked the results, he was amazed to see the numbers. Each employee worked hard and strived to achieve more than he could. Surprised CEO decided to visit the work floor and congratulate the newly hired consultant.
To his amazement, the office floor was not chirpy and charming as usual. When he stalked his employees to learn the reason, he was shocked. Personality assessment tests and its after effects had caused this change. People who used to friends with each other, have turned competitors trying to prove their strengths and hide their weaknesses. Among equals when one is appreciated for his leadership strengths, indirectly this increases employee animosity and this is not a healthy environment for one to work and learn.
Personality assessment tests create an emotional discrimination among people. Leaders try to move with fellow leaders. Introverts prefer the company of introverts and same for extroverts. When the whole world is fighting racial discrimination, such techniques bring an emotional divide among peers. When a company conducts personality tests on its employees, many trust issues crop up.
The trust between the employer and employee, the bond between fellow employees etc. People in the quest for emerging strong and victorious run behind success and forget basic virtues like compassion, friendship, trust and love.
As such due to these trust factors, these tests finally turn in vain. The cost involved in these tests is high.
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