The Case For (or at least not entirely against) Personality Testing

You know its’ becoming a major topic when it’s on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Well, that is exactly where the use of personality testing landed this week. (As Personality Tests Multiply, Employers are Split, WSJ, 9/30)

Personality testing is easy to disparage. After all, we all remember being asked questions about the type of tree we most associate with or whether we are scared of snakes. Unfortunately, there are many tests on the market today using out-dated methods and of questionable (or non-existent) validity. Rightly so, this reduces confidence in the overall efficacy of the tools when used in the hiring process.

However, today nearly all of the Fortune 500 use some sort of pre-employment personality testing. A job seeker is hard pressed to apply to many companies without being asked to complete a test. They are so common because, when used properly, they work.

“When used properly” is the key phrase. Here are some simple rules to follow when considering the usage of personality testing in your hiring process:

1.) Make sure its job relevant. Any assessment being used in your process needs to tie back to the specific job and not just an assessment of someone’s personality in general. Unfortunately, many organizations inappropriately use assessments measuring communication styles (e.g. DISC type indicators) or general leadership styles as a component of their hiring process. While understanding communication and leadership are very important, unless they are calibrated to the job specifically, they likely are not valid indicators of job success.

2.) Avoid the use of “cut scores”. As discussed in the WSJ article, the use of scoring that eliminates some percentage of candidates based solely on the results of the assessment has become a popular feature. While tempting as a means to accelerate the screening process, cutting off bottom scorers from any further consideration based entirely on assessment results is not a good practice. Pre-employment tests can provide an effective way to help prioritize candidates based on personality fit to the role but should be considered with other important criteria such as job skills and experience.

3.) A good overall hiring process is more important than any single component. Effective hiring is not about any one component of a hiring process, it’s about the process in its entirety. Personality testing can be an important indicator of job success in many positions, however its use must be taken into context with a good, structured interview process and proper reference checking as well. Its weight should be roughly equal to other components (hence why the use of cut scores can be troubling). Remember that each of these components helps paint the entire picture of the candidate.

4.) Measure the results. Once you begin using a personality assessment, it’s important to measure its business impact. This is called “criterion related validation” and basically measures whether the tool is predicting higher performers from lower performers. For instance, if the benchmark was built to reduce turnover, the tool should have reduced turnover and that metric should be incorporated to configure the assessment.

Employers need not be overly concerned with the use of personality tests in hiring but, by taking some simple steps, can make sure that their hiring process is as fair as possible and leads to the best talent.