It used to be the case that an online personality test was reserved for blue chip companies and senior positions such as CEO. There were several reasons for this;
- Personality reports were very expensive
- Personality tests were very time consuming
- Only the senior management mattered
However, things have really changed in the last few years. Now an online personality test has become commonplace and even considered to be a necessity by many organizations.
So what’s changed?
For starters, personality reports are much more affordable than they used to be. While many providers still charge thousands to train you and let you get started, there are some providers, such as PeopleMaps, that have no training or set up fees and all you need to buy are the report credits you need. New providers have appeared that offer an excellent service at a fraction of the cost personality testing used to be.
With the advent of the online personality test, they are now quick and easy to implement. In the old days you had to hire a consultant to come in an implement the personality assessments on your behalf and then interpret them for you. It took days or even weeks. Today a line manager, with no training, can implement the personality assessment and read the answers for themselves without the need of interpretation.
Organizations have also discovered that everyone in their organization matters, not just the senior management team. We are now in the service age, having left the information age behind us some years ago. Customers expect the very highest levels of customer service. They want to enjoy talking to the person that represents the organization. A poor experience, even if it is competent, is simply not tolerated.
So Why Is Online Personality Testing Necessary When Hiring?
You do not need to be a psychologist to know that some people are more suited to any given job than others. This has nothing to do with skills or qualifications. It is simply to do with their personality.
If you consider any high street bank. Some of their staff is great at dealing with customers face to face. Others are happier behind the counter and dealing with the admin issues in the back office. It’s not a question of competence. It’s more about what comes naturally. To some people, talking to customers face to face comes very naturally to them and both they and the customer enjoy the experience. Some employees, however, find it quite stressful dealing with the public and talking to strangers all day. They can do it if they have to but they do not have the same enjoyable experience that some of their colleagues have.
This doesn’t just apply to customer facing roles. Some jobs require a lot of attention to detail. Some personality types are naturally detailed and some are not. If you are not naturally detailed you can still pull it off now and again, if you concentrate really hard. However, if you were to do this all day every day, you would find it exhausting and stressful. Someone who is naturally detailed will not find it tiring at all to deal with details all day.
Line managers want to know who they are working with.
Line managers really care about who they will be spending 5 days a week with. In many cases they will spend as much time with this new employee as they will with their family, so it matters who they are. Great qualifications are no substitute for not getting along.
Line managers are also trying to build and keep a good team. If they hire the wrong person there is a risk that they will upset other team members and break something that is working well. No one wants that.
Organizations need to reduce staff turnover
A high staff turnover is no longer acceptable. It is expensive and disruptive and reflects badly on the line manager. A line manager that cannot keep ahold of their staff is not going to impress senior management. One of the single biggest contributors to high staff turnover is hiring the wrong person. When an individual finds their work environment to be incompatible with their core personality, then they will eventually head for the exit. However, if you hire someone who not only can cope with your work environment but thrive in it, then you are likely to see a low staff turnover.
Low Staff Engagement Is a Problem
You will read a lot about staff engagement. Again this is mostly about matching the personality type to the work environment. The reasons people become disengaged from their work vary from one personality type to the next. For some it’s because they do not have enough autonomy, for others it’s because the boss is too hands off and they do not feel they have clear enough instructions.
Low staff engagement leads to high staff turnover and poor productivity. Using an online Personality test can help line managers hire the right person. A personality report can help reduce staff turnover and increase staff engagement. It can help line managers not just in recruitment but in managing each individual on a daily basis.
Comments are closed.