If the decisions we make at work are influenced by the results of a test, we need to be confident that the test is giving us some quality advice. Right?
What if we make hiring decisions, career development or talent management moves based on unreliable information? Don’t get us wrong, when using the right ones, they have a huge impact on increasing the chance of a successful outcome.
To make sure you’re selecting the right ones here’s some things to think about when you’re relying on the support of psychometric, personality or profile assessments of team members at work.
Aptitude Tests
Did they make it, or fake it?
Does a perfect score on an aptitude test tell us that someone has the required skillset, or are they just damn good at taking tests?
What you see might not be what you get.
On the other hand, does a poor score on an aptitude test assume someone is incapable for the role, or do they suffer from crippling evaluation anxiety?
All the gear, but no idea.
What about the soft skills? Someone might have the technical skills required to perform a role, but it’s not until they’re hired that you realise, they’re not a cultural fit.
Personality Tests
Workplaces and people have evolved.
As a human race, we’re rapidly advancing and evolving. This begs the question, why are we still using personality tests from the 50’s as our preferred method to determine personality traits?
Personality is not a horoscope.
Many personality tests categorise people into pre-defined groups or types as though something as complex and dynamic as personality can be treated the same way as the 12 signs of the zodiac.
Just because you can read a broken clock, it doesn’t mean it’s right.
A personality test might be simple and straightforward, but technically that’s counter intuitive to the construct itself. Accuracy is more valuable than simplicity when we’re trying to understand people. Therefore, a test that is statistically reliable and valid should be the only option.
We know not to judge a book by it's cover, but we still do it.
A psychometric test of personality generally focuses on what’s observable. Rarely will it get beneath the surface.
Motives and needs drive our thoughts and feelings, our thoughts and feelings influence our behaviours (what you see on the surface). Can we confidently, and reliably take advice from a test that is only looking at the WHAT and not the WHY?
'Whole-of-self' is much better than 'part-of-self'.
The contextualisation of personality tests for use in businesses has made self-discovery more efficient, but to the detriment of the user and the assessor. You only get a small part of the full picture.
Assessing someone’s ‘work-self’ is not an accurate reflection of their ‘whole-self’. In an attempt to embrace true authenticity, inclusion and belonging – we should only accept the whole-self view.
About the Reiss Motivation Profile®
This holistic, relatable, and reliable self-discovery tool (The Reiss Motivation Profile) was published in 2007 (this millennia). It moves beyond the observable and gets beneath the surface to understand our unique, intrinsic motives, in all life contexts. With 7 trillion possible profiles, no profile can be the same.
Developed empirically and backed by scientific reliability and validity, the RMP has been proven in its accuracy time and time again globally. The US Airforce, NBA, gold medal Olympians, schools, organisations and over 200,000 people are now using powerful insights from the RMP daily.
Using Motivational Assessments in the Workplace
Conducting a motivational assessment can help provide key insights into what environmental cues influence a person's decision-making, behaviours and ultimately their performance. It doesn’t determine competency fit, but it will reveal what they need from their manager, team, and surroundings to achieve enhanced performance outcomes.
It will accurately predict their natural method of communication, collaboration, interaction with colleagues, and where there is a strong alignment to company culture and values.
Catering for both our complexities and advancements as humans, the RMP brings a fresh and accurate new data point to hiring decisions. Most importantly, it helps identify how a person will feel fulfilled at work which leads to loyalty, engagement, and positive vibes!