ET11 Demystifying Personality Assessment

In this episode we discuss two things: Explore the use, limitations and challenges associated with the assessment of personality at work. Respond to a question from a listener about how to help managers better understand and take action from employee survey data.  As part of our 'Beyond Measure' initiative we will be sharing information with listeners  about the world of workplace assessment. Workplace assessment touches a lot of people, whether you've been asked to complete a test or questionnaire, or whether you're responsible for using assessments as part of a talent programme. We want to help demystify this subject, busting some myths along the way and hopefully bring some clarity on how it can be used most effectively. Before diving into this topic, Richard and Pilar respond to a question raised by a listener, following our interview with Paul Thoresen (episode 9) about the challenges of using survey data and how to get managers to understand the data and take action.  We then return to the topic of personality assessment  - what is it, and why and how organisations use it? Richard provides deeper insight about these assessments work and how they differ from an opinion survey. Personality assessments seek to identify strength of preference on a continuum, rather than a binary category. Personality assessments are commonplace in organisations, but it's important to first understand why you're using it. Given the logistics and cost associated with its use, being clear about the problem you're trying to solve is an important first step. One of the misconceptions about personality assessment, commonly held by non-psychologists is to over-estimate the power of these assessments and that they can perfectly predict how someone will behave in an organisation. They are not perfect, but used appropriately can be a valuable input to help make a decision about and individual, whether that's in a hiring context or for development purposes.  In talking about the importance of feedback, Richard points out that personality assessment is 'not a diagnosis', it's a starting point for your feedback or development  discussion. Therefore, being clear with a candidate about why you're asking them to complete the questionnaire and how the information is going to be used is really important.  We'd love to hear from you about your experiences of using personality assessment, whether you're a candidate or responsible for its use - get in touch on Twitter @FW_Centre or email [e-mail]  Some useful resources: BPS Psychological Testing Centre - https://ptc.bps.org.uk Psychological testing - a test taker's guide - https://ptc.bps.org.uk/sites/ptc.bps.org.uk/files/Documents/Guidelines%20and%20Information/A%20Test%20Takers%20Guide_0.pdf International Test Commission test taker's guide - https://www.intestcom.org/page/21