Personality tests increasingly being used in hiring

Not so long ago, getting a job was a three-step process. You filled out an application, handed in a résumé and sat down for a face-to-face interview.

Increasingly, a fourth step has been added: a pre-employment test — although it usually is not called a test — designed to predict how you will behave on the job.

These predictive-behavior personality tests — also known as personality assessments, profiles, surveys, inventories, etc. — are used by most Fortune 1,000 companies and increasingly by medium-sized and small companies as the test cost drops and their availability increases.

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Some experts say the tests do a better job than face-to-face interviews in predicting job performance. Chockalingam Viswesvaran, a Florida International University psychology professor and researcher widely known as "Dr. Vish," does not agree. There aren't any empirical studies on the ability of interviews to predict specific negative behaviors, Viswesvaran said, but "for overall job performance, an interview is a better predictor than a personality test."

However, he said the type of predictive-behavior tests he has studied, known as "integrity" or "honesty" tests, have been highly accurate in predicting specific counterproductive behaviors, such as theft and absenteeism.

Viswesvaran believes the increased use of personality tests started after a 1993 task force report by the American Psychology Association said these tests were OK.

"It gave a big push to the industry," he said, "and around 1995 the testing industry took off."

There now are hundreds of different tests on the market, leading Viswesvaran and other experts to warn that employers must be careful in choosing which test to use, and once the choice is made, not to put too much stock in it.

Companies that make and market predictive-behavior tests acknowledge their limitations.

"You should never base a hiring decision solely on an assessment result," said Markku Kauppinen, president of Extended Disc North America. Extended Disc's questionnaire creates a "behavioral profile" used for hiring decisions as well as for employee development.

Employers "have an easy time identifying skill requirements," Kauppinen said. "They have a harder time identifying behavioral requirements. When the fit is right, both employer and employee will be more satisfied."

But with many of the tests, the promise to employers goes beyond satisfaction to tangible pocketbook issues. A Minneapolis-based testing company, ePredix, cites studies indicating that companies using its tests experience a decrease in absenteeism and turnover.

"You're asking a number of questions about how they (prospective employees) will behave in a situation, or facts about themselves. These factors statistically relate" to future job performance, explains Katrina Dewar, ePredix's founder and chief executive officer.

For example, an ePredix assessment tailored for a customer-service position includes the following multiple-choice question:

"Which one of these would you like best? (Pick one): a. A job where I can work solving problems; b. A job where I can operate an office machine; c. A job where I can be dealing with people; d. A job that doesn't take too much thinking; e. A job where I can be working with numbers."

Viswesvaran of Florida International University said the changing workplace, with an increasing emphasis on teamwork, makes tests that predict behavior and delve into personality more attractive to employers.

It is not enough for workers to be skilled at what they do, Viswesvaran said. "People need to be adaptable and flexible, so personality will play a major role."