Increasingly, employers are studying the personalities and behaviours of individuals within the workplace to discover ways to maximise job performance and contribution to the organisation. Whether it is to increase personal effectiveness, team effectiveness or boost overall sales effectiveness, understanding how employees behave, react and engage with others plays a key role in the development of workplace dynamics, and the individual themselves.
"We know what we are but not what we may be." – Shakespeare
There are many psychometric test styles and formats, but the most common and most important areas are aptitude tests and behavioural tests. Aptitude tests have the goal of assessing various cognitive abilities from numeracy and literacy skills to spatial awareness and more. Behavioural tests are intended to highlight specific personality traits that could indicate suitability for specific roles. These can come in the form of personality questionnaires, leadership tests, motivation tests, and situational judgement tests.
For the individual, understanding how their behaviours impact the way they interact and work with others, reinforces the idea that we all, no matter where we work or how we live our lives, see the world differently and as such, react to situations and communications in different ways. Appreciating and harnessing this diversity is an opportunity for the individual to increase knowledge of themselves and of others based on proven analysis and frameworks that offer results for organisations.
There is no right or wrong time to introduce psychometric profiling into your organisation, but it is most often used in the recruitment and selection process. Improving business performance through better ‘people decisions’ for selection, recruitment and development, are the key drivers of psychometric testing in the commercial world. Psychometrics offer the possibility of assessing a person’s underlying temperament – whether, for example, they are outgoing or shy, risk-taking or cautious, passionate or unemotional.
Such characteristics explain the consistencies in a person’s behaviour and, ultimately, they determine their comfort zone and their suitability for particular kinds of employment. Assessments indicate to what extent an applicant’s natural temperament matches the ideal profile for the job, and to what extent they might need to moderate, control, develop or compensate for their natural temperament in order to succeed in that role. It is important that assessment criteria are real factors in job performance and therefore selection of an appropriate test that assesses the key criteria for your position is critical.
A particular area of psychometric profiling which can help individuals in their personal and professional growth, and organisations in the management of workplace conflict is an MBTI® assessment. The results of an MBTI assessment help individuals understand their strengths, their preferred working styles, and ultimately helps them see their potential.
Used individually to provide self-awareness and clarity of purpose, the MBTI assessment also helps create a better understanding and appreciation between team members and colleagues – enabling them to work better together.
Louise Newton, Publishing & Events Director at News on the Block
For more information on MBTI® assessment contact louise@newsontheblock.com.
