Personality Tests Essay

Submitted By DHW001
Words: 718
Pages: 3

As a Human Resource Manager I have been exposed to numerous types of personality tests. I have taken them, I have administered or proctored them, and I have had to make hiring and/or firing decisions based upon them.
In the business world we would never, ever call them “personality test”. Instead we refer to them simply as “surveys” and we would never, ever let a person know they are not being hired based upon their outcome.
Some of the tests I have used in my job have been the Jung Briggs-Meyers where the people answer questions and based upon their answers they are given a 4-letter formula that is then their equivalent of a personality profile. I have also utilized the Reid Report Test where the person answers questions which produce an assessment of their potential to be honest, productive, employees as well as agreeable team players. This survey also allows us to recognize applicants who are more likely to steal from the company or to use or except others around them to use illegal drugs while at work. Thus, we hire people based upon not only their personalities but also their attitudes in the work environment.
In addition, for the past two, (2) years we have added supplements to the Reis Report to help evaluate a person’s ability to handle the demands of complex customer service situations as well as a highly competitive work environment.
Not only does the company spends millions of dollars each year to ensure they are getting the best employees they can according to the tests they also spend even more millions of dollars to ensure any external management candidates score well enough to indicate they will be stellar leaders who will be sympathetic to customers and employees, while being able to engage associates and lead them to achieve the companies mission. The company would say they are leading the associates to perform well while interacting with customers all while being productive to maintain a store that is grand opening ready each and every day.
In addition, two (2) years ago the company hired a management consulting firm, The Connor Group, paying them 1.4 million dollars to find another what they said would be a “better way” to help managers lead the associates. This new method would only be used once people were hired into a position, however, we would still utilize the current tests to make hiring decisions and once they are in place we would determine an associate’s personality engagement based upon not a test but instead it is almost like a game with flashcards. And the ideal behind this is if an employee is not working at “their” potential, you sit down with them with a bunch