Employee Personality Tests for Hiring and Training

By: Insperity Staff
August 26th, 2011

Employee personality tests are valuable aids in the search for the right candidate or when you want to train your management team to their full potential. These types of tests assess a person’s tendencies or preferences, rather than their actual behaviors.

Here are the five basic “W” words of employee personality testing – essentially what you need to know and why — compiled by Keith Jennings, an Arizona-based HR specialist at Insperity, and Paul Connolly, founder of Connecticut-based Performance Programs:

• Who — Make sure you are even-handed in the use of the assessments. For example, test everyone within a job class or test no one at all. You don’t want to randomly select people to be tested. For example, you may decide to test everyone at the supervisory level and above. You’ll want to do this for obvious reasons — it decreases your chance of liability — but it also helps you more accurately get the results you need to make informed decisions.
• What – An employee personality test identifies an employee’s tendencies or preferences, rather than predicts whether or not the employee will succeed in a specific position. That’s where the job interview comes in. An introvert, for example, might be a stellar manager because she has a passion for her work. So don’t assume that a test should be the sole factor in weighing your decision.
• When – Employee personality tests may be conducted in two situations: in a job search and for management coaching. The test can be an excellent tool for managers to determine their trouble spots and discover ways to avoid and improve those behaviors.
• Where – It’s a good idea to conduct these tests on site and to give fair warning before administering them. Doing so lowers the chance of the test being ineffective, or the candidate thinking he has to “pass” the assessment or try to fudge the answers.
• Why – Think of employee personality tests as one more tool in your toolbox. They can help you in the job interview and guide you toward the right questions in a call for a reference.

If you would like more information on selecting or outsourcing employee personality testing for your company, contact Insperity’s Recruiting Services division today.
n and you will avoid a bad hire. On the other hand, sharing this information with the more sought-after candidates can add appeal to your business, increasing the odds that they will decide to choose your company over other job offers.

Conducting job interviews can be simple — and successful — by learning and using these 5 vital interviewing skills.

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