Personality Testing in the Workplace

The first 200 words of this essay...

Critically evaluate the use of personality assessment in work settings. What are the important professional issues?

Abstract

Prior to the 1980's experimental evidence indicated that personality traits were not linked to job performance. More recent research suggests that these findings were down to methodological inconsistencies and personality assessments can predict job satisfaction and performance in various domains. This has led to a surge in the use of such assessments in work settings, most notably in selection and recruitment procedures. Several factors are thought to mediate the ability of personality assessments to accurately predict job-success. The main issues professionals should be aware of are test-selection, self-rating, faking and the interaction of personality with other factors. Theoretical debates are not of great importance to most HR practitioners. By briefly reviewing each of these issues and discussing their impact on HR professionals, this paper evaluates the effectiveness and usefulness of personality tests in the workplace.

Keywords: Personality, Assessment, Personnel selection, Professional issues, Recruitment.

Introduction

Personality measures are frequently used by organisations for both recruitment and development purposes. SHL delivered 2 million online assessments in 2007/2008 (SHL facts, 2009) and according to Faulder (2005) all of the top