Personality and Aptitude Testing—Many Uses

Source: Practical Accountant

The California Psychological Inventory

Hansen, Jergenson, Nergaard & Co. in Minneapolis is a 22-person firm that has used testing for years. Currently, the 90-minute California Psychological Inventory test is used. After culling a group of candidates, the firm sends those who make the cut to an industrial psychologist for recommendations. Candidates are also required to write about what they have learned about the firm.

John R. Waters & Company’s Use of Testing

Sarah Johnson, of John R. Waters & Company in Chicago, says firms can use testing for a variety of reasons: recruiting, training, management, and mergers. Tests can be used to evaluate technical skills and to predict behavior.

Testing is the last step in the recruiting process for entry-level people. Tests are used to decide how to integrate new hires into the firm.

In hiring experienced people, tests are used in determining whether skills match well with roles. Tests can also help evaluate soft skills, which have become crucial in today’s environment.

The Waters firm analyzed employee tests for the past few years and compared results to subsequent performance. This process helped determine qualities the firm wants and questions to ask of entry-level personnel.

The Kolbe Index

Sandra Wiley, COO of Boomer Consulting in Manhattan, Kansas, uses the Kolbe Index (www.kolbe.com) and is a Kolbe-certified consultant. One component of the Kolbe Index is the Kolbe C, which managers take to create profiles for jobs to be filled. Job candidates take the Kolbe A, which identifies their skills. The two tests are compared to help make hiring decisions. The Kolbe A can be used to determine how people prefer to work, thus helping managers motivate them. It can also be used in building teams with harmonious skills.

CPP

CPP, of Mountain View, California, offers the following products/services: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Strong Interest Inventory, Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, California Psychological Inventory, and others. CPP says firms should abide by the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, meaning tests should be voluntary, and results should be confidential and provided directly to test takers.

The Predictive Index

Consultant Don Scholl, of D.B. Scholl, Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, is a distributor of the Predictive Index (http://www.dbscholl.com/predictive_index.html). Scholl says testing should be done not only for recruiting, but for promoting or reassigning people as well. Scholl advises clients to keep the results confidential, but one firm actually displays the results outside individual offices.

The Predictive Index also works with soft skills. Scholl is working with Boomer Consulting to develop training in leadership, communication, problem solving, and motivational skills.

The Predictive Index can be used in mergers to help evaluate potential compatibility of the two groups.

Admonitions:

• Don’t rely solely on testing. Tests aid in decision making, but management/supervisors should make the decisions.
• Make sure all testing and interviewing complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. (The title belies its broad scope.)
• Use tests for all positions or the whole firm—being selective in administering tests could expose the firm to claims of discrimination.

From Practical Accountant, May 2007, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809. For the complete article, click here, then select May 2007, then select Testing for the Right Fit.