Personality Tests In the Workplace - An Essay

When I was in 7th grade a Myers Briggs expert came to my Jr High and talked about the Color personality test. At the assembly we all took the test and our Color personality was explained. I really don't remember what color I was then, because all I was in shock that this was a thing. I was hooked.

That day was another milestone in my I/O discovery path. Since then I have loved personality tests. Even the Which Disney Character are you ones. Not so much to find out that I am most like Captain Hook, but because of the live science behind the questions.

I love personality and aptitude tests even more as they apply to the work place. How they can be used to find the best fit in a new hire, match the best manager to a team, or help us communicate with others more effectively. Check out my more scholarly discussion of personality tests in the workplace.

Psychological Testing in the Workplace

Chris Richards     

      

There is no perfect organization. There are very well developed and thought out companies out therethat in theory should work and function perfectly. Work perfectly until you place imperfect people in place. The human resource in any company is what makes the organization thrive and move forward but it is also the factor that can, if unchecked, pull the company down to the ground.

These are certainly some tough times. Many organizations large of small are going out of business or at the very least they have to reduce the amount of human assets. Many people who have been employed for years are finding themselves without work. With the amount of individuals out of grows the amount of people looking for work also grows (Spector, 2008).

For an organization that has job openings there is typically more applicants then there are positions available. This makes the hiring process today more difficult. Many reciting departments have had to develop new policies and procedures for screening and hiring new employees (Spector, 2008). Many companies have published in their job analysis and job description that a college degree, usually a bachelor’s degree, is required just to be considered.

Once a company has established the preliminary criterion for any given position they must now find the right fit. The right fit between what the job requires and what kind of person to hire. Many standard practices can be put into use to help determine the right fit such as requiring resumes, applications, and interviews (Spector, 2008). However these methods may only show one side, one dimension of an applicant. With this in mind many organizations are incorporating psychological testing into their hiring practices.

The US Army is responsible for many of the victories at home and abroad. The Army also has influenced culture outside of their war fighting efforts. Right along the Jeep the US Army is responsible for bringing the use of psychological testing in assessing the best for a job placement (Spector, 2008). After World War I, large companies started to see the benefits of psychological testing for their organization, and there is the birth of hiring using testing.

There is not one size fits all when it comes to the right psychological testing. Each test has different outcomes and purposes and each organization may just not need one or the other. Within any given organization there may be a need for several different types of tests based off of the type of work and type of worker that is needs.

To find the best test for the right position and the right person an organization will find it beneficial to perform a KSAO analysis. KSAO stands for knowledge, skills, abilities, and other and can be used to narrow down what a company has and what they need. A job positions is going to require different KSAO’s. For instance a carpenter will need to be able to know the basics of woodwork and have the ability to learn about new methods and new tools. On the other hand a computer programmer will have a different set of skills and knowledge all together (Spector, 2008).

One method that employers can use to attract the right candidate with the right qualification and skills to provide a detailed job analysis of the job they wish to fill. A job analysis is usually the end result of a job positions KSOA (Spector, 2008). Not only will this help attract the right people but also a job analysis will provide an objective basis for hiring (United States Department of Labor, 1994).

As more Americans are loosing their jobs, more are looking. The job market and strategies to get those jobs are changing to accommodate the new demand. Some employers are receiving 100 applicants to ever single job opening. Now that job seekers are looking for any type of job, employers have to keep their hiring standards high to find the right candidate and that is where psychological testing comes into play.

Psychological tests are used to help determine if a job applicant has the right KSAO’s. Within many organizations there are many tests used to determine a persons KSAO’s ranging from ability, personality, and cognitive abilities (Spector, 2008. One of the most popular subject to test is a person’s personality. In combination with an interview where a person has the opportunity to show what experiences and education they have completed a personality test can help an employer know if they will fit the culture of the company.

One of the most common personality tests within a company is the Myers-  Briggs personality test. This test can be a very intense question based review often asking how a person perceive themselves and how they feel other’s perceive them (Oswald & Hough, 2008). A company can use the results of an applicants Myer-Briggs test to see if the personality will fit within a team or companies culture and direction.

Personality tests are often a difficult tell of how well a person will perform and how their personality will actually fit. This is due to an applicant’s ability to fake answers. The test taker may attempt to guess what the test is looking for and not answer truthfully in order to seem more appealing to an employer (Krohe, 2006).

Personality is just one of the aspects organizations look for. With many positions there is a need for a person with high level of intelligence. A level of intelligence is often determined by completing an Intelligence Quotient test, or IQ test.

Since its formal introduction to the world the IQ test has been a standard for testing a person’s intelligence. The test has been used in academia and on for professional pursuits. There has been however controversy surrounding the IQ tests almost since its inception. “IQ tests are not guided by a plausible theory of how the brain actually operates and do not accurately measure more contemporary ideas of what "intelligence" actually is” (Esters & Ittenback, 1997).

There have been many minority and underprivileged students and professionals that have tested lower than others and consequently have received less scholarships or placement and job positions (Esters & Ittenback, 1997). This brings to pass the questions does a cognitive intelligence, one represented by an IQ test denote a persons whole intelligence. Many think not.

Not every job out on the market is going to benefit by an applicant completing a personality or intelligence test. There are many occupations that require a more hands on approach. In positions that require a hands on skill set such as carpentry or auto mechanic the ability test could be used. An ability or knowledge test varies from type depending on the work environment and job positions (Spector, 2008). For instance an ability test for a carpenter position could consist of supplying the applicant with some raw materials and a design and then have then construct the object. In this way the hiring agent will have a clearer idea of the applicants skill set.

As mentioned before there is no perfect company, there are no perfect employee’s there is on the best fit. It is through taking advantage of the gambit of hiring tools and practices that organizations and employees can find each other.

References

Esters, I., & Ittenbach, R. (1997). Today's IQ tests: Are they really better than their historical predecessors?. School Psychology Review, 26(2), 211. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

Krohe Jr., J. (2006). Are Workplace Tests Worth Taking?. Across the Board, 43(4), 16. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

OSWALD, F., & HOUGH, L. (2008). Personality Testing and Industrial–Organizational Psychology: A Productive Exchange and Some Future Directions. Industrial & Organizational Psychology, 1(3), 323-332. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2008.00057.x.

Spector, P. (2008). Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.