Psychometric Testing

Personality Profiling

Sometimes you can't afford to make a mistake...
...and hiring new people for your business is definitely one of those times. Putting the wrong person in the job can have expensive and time consuming consequences. How can you be sure that they are the right person for your needs before you hire them?

A review of selection techniques by Anderson & Shackleton in 1993 indicated the following popularity of selection practices, basing the analysis on the number of respondents to a survey who used each practice:

Interviews	100%
References	96%
Application Forms	93%
Ability Tests	70%
Personality Tests	64%
Assessment Centres	59%
Biodata	19%
Graphology	3%
Astrology	0%

Other research, principally that of Mike Smith at UMIST, has looked at the accuracy of selection practices.

Based on the premise that the practices should be aimed at predicting actual job performance, his research looked at the correlation between predicted job performance based on each practice and the actual performance.

A perfect prediction would then score 1 and absolute chance score 0.

His research came up with the following results:

Selection Practice	Prediction
Assessment Centres for promotion	.68
Structured Interviews	.62
Work Samples	.55
Ability Tests	.54
Assessment Centres for performance	.41
Biodata	.40
Personality Tests	.38
Unstructured Interviews	.31
References	.13
Astrology	0
Graphology	0

Thus, the most valid techniques are not necessarily the most popular - take references for example. A low accuracy, yet a high popularity.

DISCUS, a completely computerised personality behavioural analysis and assessment tool, will help you understand exactly what drives your people and can give you a valuable advantage in recruitment and management.

The effectiveness of any personality profile depends on how easy it is to put to practical use. DISCUS can be used not only to enhance recruitment but also for employee development and motivation, career guidance, team building and a host of other applications.

DISCUS generates a detailed report for each candidate containing graphs, a trait summary highlighting strengths and weaknesses and a textual report. The four main personality traits that DISCUS evaluates are Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.
This is a fascinating concept that really can make a difference to the way you operate your Personnel and Management functions.

For more detailed information please contact Jeralie Pallot or Kate Allan on 01534 626777.