Personality Tests : Do They Help You to Hire Smarter?

When you hire employees you are not only looking for a candidate that is qualified for a job, but also for someone who ‘fits in’ the company culture as a whole. Hiring the wrong employee can have a negative impact on your company’s environment and cause high employee turnover. This is exactly why it may be worth not only assessing a candidate based on the skills and knowledge required for the job, but also assessing other aspects of their character and behavior.

Personality tests are becoming a popular means for hiring candidates. According to a 2014 trends report from business advisory company CEB, 62% of human resources professionals are using personality tests to vet candidates in the hiring process. These tests help diagnose an individual’s behavior, attitude and beliefs.

Organizations today need much more than a ‘pass-fail’ skills test to select employees. When background screening solutions such social security number verification or criminal searches are combined with personality test,s you’ll get a better understanding of how the candidate will perform and fit in.

But do personality tests really help? Here are four reasons you should include personality tests:

1. Helps You Evaluate Traits

Personality tests help you measure an individual’s aptitude in various areas such as sales or management etc. Although there is no right or wrong answer, there are certain behavioral traits or personality traits that may help employees perform certain types of jobs. For example, a private security firm may want to hire candidates with the ability to tolerate stress and be headstrong about rules. On the other hand, upper management candidates may be tested on their decision making and conflict resolution skills. In short, these tests are a valuable tool to assess the personality of the candidate.

2. Better Interviews

Although these tests aren’t 100% predictive of every job candidate’s future performance, they can provide you with guidance when hiring an employee with little experience, such as recent college graduates. If the tests are performed before an interview you’ll also have insight about the candidate’s personality, helping you focus on important issues and questions during the interview. Once the interview is done, we recommend using background screening methods such as a social security number verification and criminal search to hire the right candidate.

3. Predictive Matching

Some personality tests match the candidate’s personalities to their immediate supervisor’s and check whether they are compatible.This can help reduce work conflict and foster a good working environment. You may also uncover hidden personality traits and talents that may be beneficial for other job duties.

4. Quick Results

Personality tests are carried out online and the results are immediately displayed on the screen. These results can be emailed to the manager within no time. This means that there is no waste of time and your hiring process is not delayed.

Hiring smart requires you to use smart solutions to evaluate the candidates and screen them so that your organization gets the right candidates for the job who can blend seamlessly into your work culture too.