Whydo some companies use personality tests, and more importantly do they really work? Personality or psychometric tests assess an individual's natural work style and how he or she is likely to react to circumstances. These test are carefully designed to zero-in on a person's reasoning abilities, so prospective employers use them to figure out how a candidate will respond to specific work situations. Recruiters who use psychometric tests rely on them to reveal a candidate's managerial aptitude, typical behaviour, value base, and their decision-making ability.
Though there are a large number of tests devised by various professionals, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most widely used psychometric tests. Developed by a mother-daughter duo, Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, in 1962, MBTI has been redeveloped in recent years to fit current work scenarios. The test is based on the theories of the modern day psychologist Carl Jung, and has been extensively researched. The MBTI regards personality type as something similar to left or right-handedness. MBTI suggests that individuals are either born with, or develop, certain preferred ways of thinking and acting. Naturally, this information in the hands of a recruiter proves to be invaluable, when it comes to matching people to tasks in the workplace, and that is why companies choose to use the test.
Personality Types
The MBTI sorts personality differences into four pairs, which results in 16 different combinations. The four pairs are:
Extraversion/Introversion,
Sensing/Intuition,
Thinking/Feeling, and
Judging/Perceiving.
The various combinations of these preferences result in 16 personality types. A profile for each of the sixteen types has been developed. Each profile consists of a list of characteristics frequently associated with a type. The curious among us can find an online version of MBTI at http://www.sminds.com/cgi-bin/mbti.pl. Once the 48-question test has been completed, it will yield a four letter combination of character traits. The INTJ (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging) individual for example, is known to be: Insightful, conceptual, and creative
Rational, detached, and objectively critical
Likely to have a clear vision of future possibilities
Apt to enjoy complex challenges
Likely to value knowledge and competence to apply high standards to themselves and others
Seen by others as reserved and hard to know Independent, trusting their own judgments and perceptions more than those of others.
It is easy to see why this list of characteristics can help or hinder an employer who is looking for someone to fit a particular job role. Those who have researched the effectiveness of psychometric testing say, it is estimated that around 30 percent of people recruited fit well into their job roles where psychometric tests have not been used in the recruitment process. Yet where testing has been used that figure triples. Why then hasn't the popularity of psychometric testing caught on? Just like every other form of testing, psychometric testing also has its drawbacks. Here are some valid reasons sighted by those who challenge the use of it.
Test results can depend how the person is feeling on the day.
The test assumes that the person is answering honestly.
Some question the western cultural bias of the tests.
Candidates can view the test as little more than a magazine quiz and might not take it seriously.
Is there a middle ground that can be reached? are there useful aspects of psychometric tests that can help companies pick, hire and keep the right people? Certainly. Barbara Pearce, a Director of Formation Training, who is an accredited tester says it well, "Psychometric tests should be used as part of a battery of tools. They are most valuable when used alongside critical incident interviewing." The most pragmatic approach one can take is to agree that psychometric tests should be used to support other recruitment practices. Presentations, Simulations, Cognitive tests (verbal and numerical tests), CVs, and face-to-face interviews all form a good basis for determining an individual's ability to fit well into a job role. However, having access to information that reveals an individual's personality, can definitely tell a recruiter things that a CV filled with qualifications won't.
The author is a Doha-based psychologist who has worked with corporates on maximising staff productivity and boosting morale.
By Nadira Amarsinghe
© Qatar Today 2009
