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MHA
Service Corporation Professional Search Services, Stephen O’Connor,
Senior Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . .November
2005 |
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4 Questions Employers Should
Ask about Personality Tests
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In the Cult of Personality, Annie Murphy Paul argues employers have a responsibility to ask tough questions about personality tests before deciding to administer them. Here are the questions she suggests: Is the test reliable and valid? “The two benchmarks of a good test are its reliability and its validity,” Paul says. “Reliability means it’s a test that will yield similar results on repeated occasions, so you won’t get wildly different answers when you give the test twice to the same person. Validity means the test measures what it says it measures. Are you really learning anything about the person’s personality from the test? Ask if there’s published, peer-reviewed data on those matters.” Is the test provider promising the moon? “These test companies do a lot of unbelievable advertising,” Paul contends. “They say, ‘We’ll tell you who will file a false workers’ comp claim, who will be late for work, who will have personal problems’ — things I doubt any test can predict.” Can the test be customized? “If employers decide to use a personality test, they should take the time and expense to get a test that’s tailored to their organization and the particular positions they’re looking to fill,” Paul says. “Those are going to be the most likely to yield really useful results, rather than off-the-shelf generic tests.” Is it based on a scientifically valid personality model? “There is emerging scientific support for something called The Five Factor Model,” Paul notes. “Even I am persuaded that there’s maybe something to that. The Five Factor Model was developed in academia by reputable psychologists. It suggests that there are certain relatively superficial but important aspects of people’s personalities that a test might be able to discern. Look for a test that incorporates the Five Factor Model.” That model outlines five major dimensions (not types) of personality under the acronym OCEAN, which stands for Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. |
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It’s common for hirers to rely on employment testing to gauge candidate qualifications. But to avoid legal hassles, make sure your tests focus only on the relevant skills. For instance, you shouldn’t routinely administer typing tests to all entry-level applicants — only to those whose jobs require typing proficiency. When trying to decide whether to administer a test, ask this question: Will these scores be a reasonable predictor of how someone will perform in this position? If not, don’t do it. Adapted from The Unofficial Guide to Hiring and Firing People, by Alan S. Horowitz (Macmillan) |
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by Stephen O'Connor
For most people, taking a test is like listening to rap music: you have no idea what the heck they’re talking about, and you are very glad when it’s over. Nonetheless, testing is a right of passage in our cultural that often represents a doorway to better things, like a job. Some questions on a pre-employment test can be obvious. Items like, “If the office were on fire, I’d immediately: a) alert my coworkers and key management personnel, b) grab all the important files I could carry or c) find jumbo marshmallows and a pointed stick. Other questions attempt to measure your political acumen. “This job has taught me the value of: a) hard work and sacrifice, b) dedication and enthusiasm or c) always having a scapegoat”. Then there is a completely separate set of vulpine test questions that are designed to trick you. Be careful of questions like, “What do you call cheese that isn't yours?” Nacho cheese, of course. What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work?” A stick. “What do you call four bull fighters in quicksand?” Quattro sinko. As
helpful as this information is to the applicant, the real value
of pre-employment testing is to match the person’s skills,
attitude and psychological profile to the demands of the job and
the culture of the organization. Additionally, it can very often
help the employer dodge the bullet of hiring an irascible personality
or someone with mental or substance abuse problems. The Baylor
Health Care System (13,400 employees) in Dallas has been using
personality tests to round out their employee selection. “You’ll
assure a better fit and save thousands of dollars in turnover costs”,
Beverly Bradshaw, Vice President of Human Resources at Baylor,
was quoted as saying in the September, 1999 issue of Hospital
and Health System HR Advisor. Baylor leaders decided to make
customer service skills a core competency for most clinical and
non-clinical positions. Using a 20-minute, 100-item test that can
be scored instantly, Baylor has slashed the system’s 29%
turnover rate and helped management more accurately measure the
service Hiring Solutions Inc., located in Lansing, Michigan, provides a comprehensive battery of pre-employment tests to measure ability, attitude, personality and a management skill assessment. Sandy Soltysiak is president of Hiring Solutions and has been in the pre-employment assessment business for several years. “The employment interview itself and the assessment of the person’s work experience rank very low as valid predictors of job success”, says Soltysiak. She recommends the following weights for the hiring decision: one-third background and experience, one-third interviews and reference checking and one-third tests results. It is this final third piece that many health care employers overlook in the rush to fill positions. Failing to test the applicant’s job related skills and, equally important, their psychological fitness for duty can put the organization at serious exposure for high turnover and low morale produced by ill matched employees. Hiring Solutions Inc. is available to assist any healthcare employer with the pre-employment testing of applicants and the comprehensive assessment of potential management hires, at a low cost and a high reliability. Hiring Solutions Inc., is located at 1305 South Washington, Suite 104, Lansing, Michigan 48910. Sandy Soltysiak can be reached at (517) 347-0590 or email Sandy at: hsinc@hiringsolutionsinc.com Remember, when taking a pre-employment test, how you answer the following question could mean the difference between a paycheck or a life filled with daytime TV, “When I hear the term company picnic I think of, a) a delightful break from the routine, b) a time of fun with fellow workers or c) rifling through other people’s lunch bags in the breakroom fridge”. This article originally appeared in the September/October 2001 issue of Michigan Health & Hospitals magazine and is being used with permission. |
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It’s unlikely that conducting performance appraisals will ever be the highlight of your management experience. But you may dread them a little less if you follow these simple suggestions: Rethink your form. Make sure the document you use to structure your evaluation clearly reflects the skills you value and provides a way of outlining expectations and gauging improvement that is easily understood by all involved. Rethink your ratings. Are you a manager who always gives good ratings rather than focusing on the negatives? Or are you a manager who never gives top marks because you don’t believe in perfection? Unless your ratings truly reflect performance, they have little meaning and it will be difficult for your staff to take them seriously. Rethink your language. Words and expressions can have different meanings to different people especially in a diverse workplace where regional and cultural colloquialisms abound. To make sure you and your employees are on the same page, use simple, easy-to-understand language and ask workers to repeat back what you’ve said in their own words. Adapted from “Evaluating Employees with Ease,” by Sharon LaDuke, in Nursing Management |
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An Illinois employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by requiring promotion-seeking workers to take a version of the popular Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, according to a federal court. Mandating the psychological test constituted an illegal “medical examination,” a 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled recently. The ADA does not allow employers to require medical exams until they make a conditional job or promotion offer. And because the Minnesota exam goes beyond evaluating personality traits, the court ruled, Illinois Rent-A-Center’s “use of the MMPI likely had the effect of excluding employees with (mental) disorders from promotions.” Adapted from “Court Rules Use of Psychological Test Violated ADA,” on HR.BLR.com |
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Steve
O'Connor, SPHR, |
Professional Search Services
When you need a healthcare management recruiter, call Steve O’Connor at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association in Lansing, MI at (517) 663-5755. He’s the search consultant who produces this monthly newsletter and has hundreds of management candidates currently registered with his service. Most are open to relocation. You are also invited to browse his web site for more information on Professional Search Services at www.mhaservicecorp.com. Available positions may include: CEO/COO/VP • Dietitians • Finance • Food Service • Fund Development • Health Information Management • Home Health Care • Human Resources • Information Systems • Managed Care • Management Engineering • Marketing/Public Relations • Materials Management • Nursing Administration • Pharmacy • Physician Practice Administrators • Planning • Plant Operations • Quality Improvement • Rehabilitation Management • Risk Management • Social Work • Training and Development • Utilization Review For more information contact: Stephen
O’Connor, SPHR, Senior Director Corporate Office: Regional Office:
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Professional
Search Services
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Management
Recruiting for the Health Care Community |
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Stephen
O’Connor, SPHR, Senior Director
Jennifer Marshall |
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