The cost of a bad hire is huge—according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost can be upwards of 30% of the new employee’s first year earnings. When factoring in the time it takes to find and replace an employee when resources are already stretched thin, it’s no wonder that recruiters are looking for helpful ways to identify quality candidates.
Some HR or hiring managers may use personality assessments to gauge how a candidate will fit within their team. Personality tests can provide information about a candidate’s personal attributes, including their motivations, conscientiousness, self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and more.
When to Use Personality Tests for Hiring
Personality assessments can be a useful tool to provide insight into whether a candidate’s personality is a good fit for the job. When used consistently across all candidates, these tests can provide valuable insight for ranking how each candidate may align with the company’s values or culture.
One key aspect for successful use of personality assessments is to ensure that the proper test is used, the results are correctly interpreted and applied, and it’s used as part of a wider screening process. Personality tests should never be used as the sole determining factor for hiring as they do not give a well-rounded view of the candidate or their skills.
Like most things, the success of using a personality test depends on the goals of the company. Is the goal to determine a candidate’s cultural fit within the organization? Assessments can streamline the process of narrowing down candidates. If the purpose is to determine if someone has good communication or job skills, then a more robust solution may be needed.
The Pitfalls of Using Personality Tests for Hiring
In order to correctly apply personality assessments, it is important to understand their potential for vulnerability. Not only will this prevent making costly mistakes in the hiring process, but it can also shield a company from liability or litigation.
- Some personality tests are only a measure of a person’s current state, and don’t tell you much about their overall character traits.
- Other personality tests may have limited personality categories and can be reductive to the point of inaccuracy.
- Tests may not be legally defensible, which means a business could be liable for hiring based on discrimination. It’s the responsibility of the employer to make sure any pre-hire tests are psychometrically validated for hiring and selection.
- People may try to give the answers they think an employer is looking for, rather than submit a more authentic version of themselves.
- Studies have shown that personality tests are not predictive of job performance—some citing an abysmal 6% rate of success.
It is important that any personality assessment used for hiring be high-quality, thoroughly vetted, and legally defensible.
Personality tests provide great information about who the candidate is as a person, but they don’t tell you much about how well the candidate will perform the job or if they have the skills they need. Does the candidate know how to diagnose an error code on an industrial machine? Even a comprehensive interview can’t fully assess all the problem-solving required for each job.
To find out if a candidate has the right technical skills and knowledge, a skills assessment from an accredited test developer like NBS would be a more appropriate measure.
RELATED: Are Personality Tests Good Predictors of Employee Performance?
To See if a Candidate is Qualified for the Job, Use High-Quality Skills Assessments
A high-caliber skills assessment is a fair and objective measure of a wide range of skills needed to perform each job. Since it is tailored to a particular role, it determines how deeply a candidate knows the nuances required to successfully perform a job. In fact, it will even establish if the candidate has any deficit areas, so you can hit the ground running with the exact training necessary to close any gaps in knowledge and skills.
When you partner with an accredited test developer, like NBS, you can be confident that this is a valuable addition to your hiring process. Our tests are developed with the expertise of subject matter experts and verified by psychometricians, to provide your team with legally-defensible, fair, comprehensive skills evaluations.
See How NBS Can Help You Find Quality Candidates
Let NBS help identify the candidates that are truly qualified for your open positions. We have over 190 assessments in at least 15 different industries, all developed to ensure that new hires quickly become top performers. Check out our assessment index to view the list of entry-level assessments, including the details of each assessment and links to download the blueprints for each evaluation.
If an off-the-shelf assessment doesn’t meet your needs, we are always happy to work with clients to create custom assessments based on a particular job role. Our in-depth assessment development process ensures that NBS tests are relevant, reliable, and objective.
For more information, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact us here and get started on a more robust hiring process today!
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