People often confuse personality and behavioral assessments and try to use them interchangeably. In contrast to personality assessments, behavioral testing doesn’t reveal core personality types. Instead, it reveals how an employee acts in an environment. In other words, personality is one half of the equation; the other half is how the personality responds to a particular situation.

Personality and situations interact, and produce thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Assessments that characterize personality types are only useful if people have a practical way to apply the information from the results to the work environment. Personality begins with a unique genetic makeup and forms as a person accumulates life experiences. It’s also multi-faceted. For example, some people are extroverted, others are introverted. Personality characteristics are hard-wired.

Personality testing is commonly used inappropriately to assess job placement and candidate fit. There are a number of popular instruments for measuring personality. The most widely known is the Myers-Briggs Type indicator.

You can discover personality types through assessments but cannot change them. People tend to adapt to their surroundings and a behavioral assessment will show how individual adapt to their surroundings – how they work within situations. So there is much more to be gained from understanding how a person adapts and how their particular behaviors will fit within a particular job and environment than merely learning if they’re extroverted.

I’ll be covering the assessment topic extensively at this blog. Watch for upcoming posts on how assessments can predict on-the-job success, reduce turnover and increase workplace productivity.

One of the chief advantages for managers who have assessment data on hand for their employees is an understanding of each employee’s preferred communication style.  By reviewing output from an employee assessment, managers can tailor their communication approach. This information is particularly critical when delivering feedback to an employee that might be related to performance issues. Building a positive coaching environment will gain buy-in and make the achievement of meaningful goals more attainable.

Continue reading “Taking a Personalized Approach to Communicating with Employees” »

In the U.S. 227,000 new jobs were created in February 2012, which exceeded what economists predicted. With a renewed optimism that the economy is rebounding, more employers are opening requisitions for sales representatives and anticipating a potential avalanche of resumes.

Wouldn’t life be easier if the right resumes leaped to the top of the heap? While assessment testing is one of the best ways to spot the high performance that can help your organization excel, you can start the vetting process by taking a systematic approach to reading resumes will help single out the best candidates. Here are some of the accomplishments you should look for in sales candidates:

Continue reading “Hiring Rebounding? Time to Review Resumes” »

Many business leaders tell us they’re challenged in finding and recruiting top salespeople. That’s one side of the equation. They are equally challenged in keeping these top performers, especially after they’ve been on the job for a while. Top performers are also tough negotiators, and they know their market value. Continue reading “Retaining Top Sales People” »