Jimmy Petruzzi - Personality and Psychometric Testing For Business Resource Manual

An individual’s personality affects the way they behave or respond to any particular situation. Although personalities do not alter considerably over time, they do develop and become more refined as a result of a person’s upbringing and exposure to the real world.

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How is Personality Measured?

Attributes like height and weight can easily be measured as they are observable. However, humans possess many hidden traits that are not easily visible. These traits include beliefs, habits, impulses, behaviour’s and feelings. Although, it is not possible to measure these traits objectively, they can still be measured quite accurately.

The need to assess personality gave rise to a whole new field of personality assessment. Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler and Carl Jung were among the first and most significant contributors to this area in the 1900s. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, designed one of the most primitive personality assessment instruments. This instrument, known as the automated word association test involved questions such as: “What is the first word that you can think of when you hear the word money?” The responses to such questions helped assess people’s personality and made them reveal certain traits which might have been hidden otherwise. In fact, the development of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was inspired by the work of Carl Jung on personality types.

Over the centuries, the need for and the importance of these tests was realized. More contributions and research in this field resulted in the development of improved tests and other standard instruments. These tests were widely used for academic and educational purposes. They were also used commercially, in the field of medicine and for criminal investigations as well.

However, the modern form of personality testing materialized in the early 20th century at the time of World War I. The contemporary form of personality testing initiated when Robert Woodworth was ordered by the U.S. Army to create an instrument to measure the emotional stability of army recruits. Woodworth designed an assessment known as the Personal Data Sheet in 1919. This sheet included a total of 166 questions that were to be answered in either yes or no.

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Some of the questions from the checklist were: “Do you have a strong desire to commit suicide?” or “Do ideas run through your mind and prevent you from sleeping?” The questions were an attempt to unveil the inner thoughts and feelings of applying candidates.

Today, many firms use personality and psychometric testing in several areas of business to help them make the right decisions. Some of these tests include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, IPIP-NEO Personality Test, Kolbe Index and many others.

What do these Tests Measure?

All human beings are different from each other. We have different physical and psychological traits. These characteristics or traits that make each human being unique are known as constructs.

Personality and psychometric tests aim to identify the various personal characteristics that each candidate possesses. This enables employers to classify and categorize all the candidates into organized groups and hire them according to the job openings available. This not only makes the recruiting process easier, it also reduces any occurrence of mistakes on the part of the employer.

Why Measure Personality?

Personality is measured in order to discover more about a person’s attitude, behaviour and feelings. You cannot really judge a person by just looking at them. In order to know them more, you need to converse, ask questions and make small talk. Similarly, businesses cannot just hire employees on the basis of their academic qualifications or skills. They also need to interview their candidates thoroughly to decide whether they will be suitable for the job or not.

Personality assessments play a crucial role in business as they can help employers make wise hiring and promoting decisions. Employers can now improve the employee-company fit and reduce turnover substantially. For instance, if a company requires a salesman, they would prefer to hire someone who is an extrovert by nature, can interact with new people and can easily make social contacts. This would not only benefit the firm, but also the employee. If the firm hires an introvert who feels shy in company, the employee will never be able to accomplish the given tasks effectively. Therefore, personality testing is not only beneficial for the company, but also for the employee.

80% of the firms in the Fortune 500 use personality and psychometric testing. In the U.K., 75% of the companies listed in the Times Top 100 employ personality assessment. Today, firms from almost all industries are using these forms of assessments for recruitment and selection. Financial institutions, I.T. companies, management consultancies, the police and fire departments, local authorities, armed forces and the civil services; all use personality and psychometric assessments extensively.

Importance of Personality and Psychometric Testing in Business

In any organization, you will find a variety of positions such as managers, supervisors, executives, etc. Each position requires people with various skill sets and abilities. Not everyone can become an inspiring leader or work in the customer service department. Different people have different tolerance levels and temperaments. A person with a calm temperament would be happy doing a mundane or repetitive job while someone who is aggressive will be frustrated by it.

Therefore, organizations are now acknowledging and appreciating the importance of personality and psychometric testing in business. They now determine what personality types would fit what job openings and hire employees accordingly. Here are some reasons why companies feel personality and psychometric testing is important nowadays:

To Stay above the Competition

Nowadays, competition is tough in every industry. Firms need to make an extra effort to have a competitive edge in the market. For this purpose, companies need to hire employees that are reliable and responsible, in addition to being skilled. If a firm’s human resource is competent, it can become a driving factor for the firm’s success.

With such tough competition, organizations cannot afford even a single bad hire. Personality and psychometric testing is a way to reduce, if not eliminate, bad hiring decisions. By measuring the behaviour, values, preferences and interests of potential employees, organizations can single out people who would be fit for certain positions and will be able to justify their role in that position.

To Maintain Corporate Culture

Every organization has a specific work culture. Some firms prefer an open culture while others are more in favour of a closed one. In addition to that, working styles, level of authority and type of social interactions are also some factors that determine the kind of personality that would be fit for a particular firm.

For instance, if a company encourages its employees to work in groups, a person with a reclusive nature will not be able to contribute anything. Similarly, a person who is aggressive and straight forward will not be able to work in a firm with a conservative or reserved culture.