Personality
[ ˌpɜ:.sənˈæl.ə.ti ] noun
It tells you the unique tendency and preferences
that a person responds to the work environment
Why is Personality Important?
Job Performance
Personality is one of the key factors that influence employees' job performance. Best with cognitive test as studies show.
Motivation
Personality provides valuable insights on assigning the right roles and responsibilities for
peak motivation.
Engagement
Employees are likely to be engaged and retained in a position that matches their career preferences and goals.
Diversity
A team with mixed personality traits offers diversity and freshness in idea brainstorming and execution at work.
FAQ
For Employers
Q: How useful is a personality test in hiring?
A: A well-designed personality test, which is of high reliability and validity, provides additional insights of a candidate like preferred work styles, behaviours, source of motivation, etc. This can be helpful in placing the candidates in the right position in which they can leverage their strengths and work with positive well-being.
Q: Should I only use a personality test(s) to make the final decision on hiring?
A: Recruiters should not solely rely on personality tests to make any hiring decisions. It is important to consider a combination of factors such as cognitive ability, interview performance, work experiences alongside personality.
Q: How to best use a personality test(s) in hiring?
A: First, you are highly recommended to identify why you are using a personality test(s) in assessing a candidate for a particular role. For instance, some recruiters adopt the personality assessment(s) to hire extroverts for the salesperson roles. Others use it as a method to identify the training and development needs of the candidates. We also heard from start-up founders that they intended to allocate certain tasks to their employees that are a good fit with their interests. Second, it is crucial to understand the reliability (consistency of test result across time) and validity (accurate measurement of the test) of the personality test that is being used. Tests that are reliable and valid offer more promising results of a candidate's personality.
Q: What are the potential limitations of using a personality test?
It is essential to be aware that the result of a personality test does not determine who a candidate is. It intends to reflect the behaviours and styles of a candidate responding to the work environment. While personality tests measure how a candidate may normally react at the workplace, it does not mean that behaviours are completely static. It is possible that a candidate might change their behaviour or tendency to react based on the specific context and circumstances.