What exactly is psychological testing? One type is the
personality test, in which applicants or employees are given a list
of 100 adjectives and asked to decide how well each of the words
describes their personalities. Another technique is the integrity,
or honesty, test, where the employee taking the test responds
"true" or "false" to a series of statements. (A
commonly used test of this type is the MMPI, or Minnesota
Multi-phasic Inventory exam.) Test takers' mathematically
averaged responses are supposed to give you details about their
character, work ethic and personality. The fees for psychological
tests range widely, from $5 to $250 per test.
Jim Sirbasku, CEO and co-founder of Profiles International Inc.,
an employee-assessment company in Waco, Texas, says that while
clients also use his company's products for promotion,
self-improvement, coaching and succession planning, a good
percentage use testing to aid in hiring decisions. Profiles'
"Job Match," which assesses individuals'
tem-peraments and suitability for certain types of work, determines
whether, for example, applicants for a sales position might be
introverts who will be unhappy in the job. "If you're
hiring in customer service, a field that has 200 percent turnover
every year [according to The American Teleservices Association
Inc.], you want to know how applicants handle frustration, stress
and conflict," Sirbasku says. "Testing lets you know and
makes some recommendations."
Some small companies are sold on psychological testing.
"Hiring is always a guessing game," says Marika Hamilton,
28, co-owner and human resources director of Fort Wayne,
Indiana-based Britannia Inc., a $5 million computer products
company founded in 1989. To Hamilton, it's a very important
guessing game, one she felt needed more backup than just her
initial impressions of job applicants. "We'd rather leave
a desk empty now than make the wrong hire," she says.
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Surfing the Net about one year ago, Hamilton came across
Indianapolis-based Hire Success, a company that sells various types
of aptitude tests, including a personality test based on four basic
personality types: director, socializer, thinker and supporter. Job
applicants take the personality test online, then e-mail it to Hire
Success, which scores it and sends the results to the
applicant's interviewer or supervisor. In ad-dition to a
summary of the person's personality type, the report includes
interview questions tailored to the applicant's responses. The
cost per test averages $10 to $13.
Hamilton ended up taking one of Hire Success' online
personality tests and feeling it offered a fairly accurate
portrayal. In fact, she was impressed enough to have
Britannia's 28 employees-who work either in the company's
engineering or customer support departments-take the test. Hamilton
saw certain patterns emerge and believes the test gave her a way to
spot common traits in her successful (as well as her
not-so-successful) employees that she can now look for in job
applicants. Does testing make a difference? Although Hamilton
can't directly measure the impact on turnover, she thinks
she's seen a decrease.
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