Characteristics of Personality
So what exactly makes up a personality? Traits and patterns of thought and emotion play
important roles as well as the following fundamental characteristics of personality:
Consistency: There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to behaviors. Essentially,
people act in the same ways or similar ways in a variety of situations.
Psychological and physiological: Personality is a psychological construct, but research
suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.
Behaviors and actions: Personality not only influences how we move and respond in our
environment, but it also causes us to act in certain ways.
Multiple expressions: Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen
in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.
PERSONALITY TESTING
Despite the various debates about the nature and source of
personality, psychologists have both categorized personality
types and sought out ways to test individuals for their
conformity with such types. These tests can give the
individuals as well as their employers useful insights into the
personality traits of those tested.
Since employees' personalities may dictate how well they
perform their jobs, such personality testing is meaningful to
and useful for management. Personality may indicate how
hard a person will work, how organized he is, how well he will
interact with others, and how creative he is. In recent years,
more organizations have been using self-reporting personality
tests to identify personality traits as part of their hiring or
management development processes. Employers recognize
that experience, education, and intelligence may not be the
only indicators of who the best hire might be. Additionally,
understanding one's own personality characteristics may
improve one's ability to develop as an employee and
manager.
There are a number of different ways in which personality has
been categorized, and different opinions exist about the
number of dimensions of personality. Early tests of
personality were developed to diagnose mental illness, and
while some of these tests were used in employment settings,
their acceptability and applicability were questionable.
However, there are now tests specifically for use in normal
adult populations, each of which is based on different
conceptions of the dimensionality of personality.
Big Five
The Big Five are the five broad dimensions of personality that most
researchers in the personality testing community use when evaluating a
person’s personality. For organizations, where an employee falls on the range
for these five traits (Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness and Neuroticism) can provide great insight into how a new
hire — or current employee — interacts with co-workers, manages work-
related stress, deals with managerial decisions, and more.
Occupational Interest Inventories (OIIs)
In organizations with multiple positions and different career paths,
occupational interest inventories can be effective tools for putting employees
in the right roles. These tests, like the Holland Code Career Test, measure how
interested a participant is in different tasks and roles. They also provide insight
into the career interests of that participant. OIIs are especially effective for
increasing employee retention when administered to current employees to
determine what their role in an organization should be.
DISC Behavior Inventory
Understanding an employee’s work behavior style can be important,
especially when it comes to team building. Used frequently in larger
organizations, the DISC classifies candidates into four different “styles” based
on questions about their behaviors at work. It helps organizations find out
more about a candidate’s tendencies toward: dominance, influence, support,
and control.
5. Situational Judgment Tests (STJs)
If you’re looking to see how an employee interacts with customers or handles
the pressure of common challenging situations, consider using STJs as a part
of your evaluation process. STJs put your employees in realistic, simulated
situations to find out which pre-loaded responses the employee feels are most
or least effective. Tools like FurstPerson’s customized hiring solutions are
especially effective for determining whether or not employees will make good
customer service representatives.
Myers Briggs
One of the most well known tools for mapping employee personalities, Myers
Briggs (MBTI) assessments describe an employee’s tendencies toward:
Extraversion vs. Introversion, Intuition vs. Sensing, Thinking vs. Feeling, and
Judging vs. Perceiving. Results from these tests place the employee into one
of 16 personality types, which each have their own strengths and
weaknesses. Although personality type doesn’t predict success on the job,
knowing a new hire’s personality type can help you to understand whether
they’ll be a cultural fit for your company, as well as guide you toward
integrating them effectively with the team.
