That question brought me back to when I was younger and mother used to ask me a question that I’m sure everyone has heard at some point in their lives.  “If all your friends were jumping off a bridge, would you jump too?”  I can still here her asking it, but being the adventurous child that I was, my answer was always “YES”.  I’m sure that there are people out there that said “no”, but by no means was I one of them.  Looking back now, I know that I did not have enough information to answer her question properly.  If she was asking me if I would jump off the Golden Gate Bridge the answer is “no” (unless I would have a parachute, then it would be maybe).  If she was asking me if I would jump off of a bridge that is over a stream that is deep enough and doesn’t really have a current, I would say yes.  I have learned enough to avoid answering questions that I don’t have enough information about.  Maybe that is the problem; people do not have enough information to make an educated decision about using a behavioral assessment for selection.

We speak with prospective clients every day and most of them are interested in using an assessment.  The odd thing is that something seems to hold them back.  Maybe they don’t quite believe in using assessments or maybe since they can’t touch our product every day they don’t see the value in using it.  When I see how much money and time companies lose because of turnover and having employee misalignment, it honestly scares me.  Most of the companies that we speak to could easily cut their turnover in half by using a valid assessment that has been customized for their company/role.  Does this cost money?  Yes, but we know that the cost of implementing our system is far less that the cost of turnover or lost production.

Back to the question, “why isn’t everyone doing this”.  I’m not really sure, but I certainly would like to know.  With the recent economy, you would think that companies want to run as efficiently as possible.  Having unnecessary turnover or misaligned employees greatly affects organizational efficiency in a negative way.  The best way to get the most out of your workforce is to hire the right people and retain them.  It is much easier to hire and train someone that “fits” your culture than to try and get someone who doesn’t “fit” to be a top performer.  Think of it this way, do you want to put a square peg in a round hole or a square hole?

I often have people tell me that the results are “scary”, “spooky”, “spot on”…some also wonder who in their family I’ve been talking to!  Certainly, our assessment, the ECI Behavioral Insight^® not only helps our clients to increase employee productivity and reduce turnover, it is also a valuable tool to team building, coaching, and personal development.  Personally, being a service-motivated individual, I like talking to people about their assessment results, helping them to understand not only what drives their own behavior, but also giving them insight into how to meet their “opposite style” halfway.  For example, it’s fun to hear the “light bulb go on” in a manager’s voice as they relay a story about themselves working with a particular staff member and that they can now pinpoint where the style difference is likely occurring, and how they can change their approach with the individual moving forward.

Remember, when looking at or talking about someone’s personality, there is no “good” or “bad”, we’re simply looking at differences in styles.  Understanding your personality style preferences, and how you relate to others whose style is similar and different from your own, will strengthen your relationships, enhance skills, and increase confidence.

Good performance in an interview setting (including a well written resume) does not always translate to long-term success.  In fact, studies have shown that standard interview techniques are about as effective as flipping a coin.  Additionally, the American Psychological Association states “67% of all job applicants’ resumes contain misrepresentations.”

That is why so many world class organizations have turned to the use of personality assessments to gain an objective perspective of their applicants’ true potential for the job.  When used correctly, personality assessments can substantially increase the effectiveness of any interview process.

Just like anything else, however, there are good assessments and there are bad assessments.  The trick is to make sure that you find a valid tool that will meet your company’s needs.

Quick tips to finding and using the right personality assessment:

• Have a clear purpose - Understand what you are trying to achieve through the use of a personality assessment.  For instance, are you looking to reduce tunrover?  Increase new hire productivity?  Find the right “fit” to your culture?  Know in advance.

• Make sure the assessment is valid - Any reputable assessment provider will provide you with a copy of the assessment’s validation study (technical report).  Ask the provider how their tool complies with EEO and OFCCP fair hiring standards.

• Understand your specific requirements - If you are looking to use an assessment to hire outside sales people you probably shouldn’t be looking for a 2-hour, “pen and paper” assessment.  You’d be better off using a 25-minute, online assessment that self-scores!

• Make sure the assessment measures job-specific criteria - Good assessments can be customized to any position/role within your company through a study of existing staff members.  Remember, always target the system.

• Beware of pass/fail tests - Personality assessments should be used as a tool in a multi-staged interview process.  A good rule of thumb is to use the information yielded by an assessment for no more than 20% of your hiring decision.

• Assessment support - How do you need to be supported by the assessment provider?  Do you want telephone feedback support?  Are you looking to be trained?  The best assessments will actually provide you with interview questions to use based on the results.

• Track results - Using an assessment tool shouldn’t be a “nice to have,” it should produce measurable results for your organization.  Identify key metrics upfront and track the efficacy of the system on an annual basis.

As one of our Fortune 500 client’s recently said, “its not why would you use a personality assessment in your selection process, its why wouldn’t you?”