Personality assessments and behavioral analysis are set to change the way organizations hire, promote, or train their employees. According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 71% of HR professionals believe that personality tests are great tools to predict job-related behavior or organizational fit.
Personality/behavior assessments are not new concepts; they have been around since 1920. In the early days, their use was limited to facilitating recruitment in the armed forces and screening for mental illness. But now, these personality and behavior assessments are widely used in response to the changing work environments. Some of the popular tests used for a variety of different purposes include MMPI, MBTI and 16pf.
The Power of Understanding Behavior
In this fast-paced technological world, organizations face behavioral challenges, which are amplified as the work environment gets complicated, and the talent gets scarce. It is, therefore, important for organizations to understand the personalities and behavioral traits of their employees to drive business to success.
Employees are the biggest asset of any organization. Their development, health, work-life balance, and happiness need to be taken seriously. Organizations need to ensure that employees are productive and efficient to take the company to the next level of growth in this cutthroat competitive world.
Personality/behavioral assessments can be of great help here. They are powerful tools that not only help you make better hiring decisions but also have a solid grasp on your employee’s personality traits and behavior. And all this information is built on actual data and not plain observation.
Behavioral and Personality Assessments Will Grow in Prominence
Why?
Because they offer distinct advantages to the organizations. Here are a few of them:
- Personality/behavior assessments have become a critical factor in the hiring process. The applicant’s behavior and personality are tested to find the best fit for the open job role.
- Every job requires a unique set of behavior traits to do the job well. For most of the job roles, these traits overlap. In such cases, competency mapping can be done for each role to ensure that the applicants are measured for the behavior that is critical to the job role.
- A few years back, training was provided to all the employees without actually knowing whether the training is relevant to the employee or whether it is going to make an impact on the employee. But, now with these tests, you can clearly point the individual’s behavior traits that are trainable and that are non-trainable. This understanding helps the organization to identify the right training programs for the right employees.
- Employee engagement can also be gauged through personality/behavior assessments, and necessary actions can be taken to motivate employees and retain them.
- Personality and behavior assessments give insights into the emotional state of the employees. Factors such as stress, difficulty in meeting deadlines, lack of motivation, inability to cope with pressure, and lack of team cohesivenessare all revealed. These insights can help counter the problem with appropriate interventions.
- Behavior/personality tests can be used to measure the leadership traits and identify potential leaders and top performers within the workforce.
Personality and behavior assessments are now getting a makeover as technology has seeped in to make them more interesting. These tests are now equipped with gaming or simulation exercises and are setting the stage to refine the future of recruitment, performance management, training and development, and high potential employee (HiPo) identification.
About the Author
Liliana Chitnis is a former HR professional who now works as a content marketing executive at Naman, an organization that offers end-to-end HR solutions to help companies build a strong human capital base. She strongly believes in the power of consistent training in the workplace. Liliana writes about various topics related to human resources and shares trends, techniques, and tips with her readers. She loves to read and practice yoga regularly, and occasionally binge on Netflix.
