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Once you have interviewed your candidates you will have narrowed it down to your preferred. This could be one or a maximum of three.
The aim after interview is to do a more comprehensive test of fit for the role, the team and the business overall.
Interviews are a fantastic measure but they still have the chance of being very subjective, no matter how many tools you have used.
The best way to determine if what you have observed is in fact the truth and to achieve this it is important to incorporate a number of validation methods. These include a range of tests, reference checking and, if required the medical. However, this blog covers psychometric assessments. Many organisations often skip further assessment of candidates however recruitment agencies often integrate psychometric profiling to give clients more insight into their shortlisted candidates.
Psychometric Assessments
While aptitude tests are measuring a certain aptitude around skills and education, psychometric assessments are focussed on the personality of the prospective incumbent.
If you are a hiring manager and you hire often, it would serve you well to invest some time in learning more on personality traits as well as undertaking tests of some form. Many managers can judge the right fit in terms of skills however making a judgment on right fit which includes personality is much more difficult. Often employees don’t quite fit because of their personality.
I have studied personalities using a range of texts and undertaken a number of personality profile tests. The best thing about this is I understand personalities of my clients and can make inherent judgments of the fit of candidate for their team. Mind you I have been recruiting for 20 years so it is now a natural instinct.
However with a bit of reading and testing yourself you will be able to have more of an insight into people’s personality and how to select the best fit for the team and the best way to manage them.
A lot of the personality tests are available online. The more popular tests include Myers-Briggs Test, also known as the Jung Typology test, DISC profiling, Personality Plust, SHL tests and FACET 5. Many of the tests group you according to your personality.
In Myers Briggs you are given an acronym based on four dominant personality traits that come through.
You will either be
- Extroverted or Introverted
- Sensing or Intuitive
- Thinking or Feeling
- Judging or Perceiving
Gaining my first recruitment role with one of Australia’s largest recruitment firms at the time was predicated on my Myers Briggs score. I was an “ESTJ” – the exact personality they were looking for in their consultants.
Personalities do change over the years you may become more or less extroverted with age and often you can move in terms of how you organise yourself. I am now an “ESTP”.
In DISC profiling you are seen as having one strong trait and you fit within one of four quadrants:
- Dominant
- Influencing
- Steadiness
- Compliant
Here organisations that are hiring different people for different roles will use DISC profiling.
For example more Dominant or Influence styles may be found in the management team whereas the Steady and Compliant personalities are found within the teams or the workers themselves.
The aim is to gain complimentary personalities and the ideal in a team of four is to have each of the four personalities present. Too many of one personality can make it too weighted in one personality. I have placed a Dominant personality in a team where there are other dominant personalities present and there is literally a “fight” every other day as two people try to be seen to be the leader within the team environment.
Too many steady or compliant people will often mean decisions don’t get made as there are no managers or visionaries in the group.
In Personality Plus there are four categories that come through in terms of personality:
- Choleric
- Sanguine
- Melancholy
- Phlegmatic
A simple way to define these is:
- A Choleric says “Do it my way”
- A Sanguine says “Do it the fun way”
- A Melancholy says “Do it the right way” while
- A Phlegmatic says “Why do it at all?”
There are other types – Planners, Doers, Checkers, Plodders – again each bringing a different work style.
You can start to see how important the personalities are. You may even look at your current team and have an “aha moment”. Looking at the people there you will see some themes coming through. This will allow you to make the choice for a different personality in your next hire to bring a personality balance.
You will start to understand the benefit knowing a bit about personalities, being able to interpret others’ personalities and how to best manage personalities at work.
One final benefit. You can use it at home too. Knowing your spouse and your children’s personalities will help you relate better and raise children using methods their personality responds to.
Proven recruiters from recruitment agencies have an intimate understanding of personalities and the need to get a match or a complimentary personality for the team. You have just learnt another secret of the recruitment industry – how they get a match for the team. It is all in the personality.
This blog was taken from Author, Maree Herath’s new book “Bodysnatchers – Unlocking the Secrets of the Recruitment Industry” who is Director of Boutique Recruitment and HR firm, Harvest Recruitment
