There are many personality assessments around today, which Human Resource departments use to determine what kind of person you are and to see if you will “fit in” with the team.

All assessments have certain objectives in mind, but what industry leaders want to ensure is that those objectives have a purpose and that the battery is ethical, validated and registered.

It’s a great idea to see what kind of personality/interests etc. employees have and make no mistake, they are useful to help understand people and why they behave in a certain way. The key is to match the assessment to the context in which the employee needs to operate, ensure the competencies and personality profile that will add value to the team and ultimately allow the individual to achieve their potential.

Assessment centre and batteries should be customised to assess the competencies, values etc. required of the role, but they should also serve to inform development and talent management programmes.  It’s no good conducting the test, then filing it away and ticking some checkbox.

Information only becomes knowledge, then insight, when it is used, so I encourage all HR colleagues to go beyond the test phase and use the outcomes of scores and surveys to enable  staff at all levels to better align with the company’s strategic intent and  organisational design, and to get the best out the talent management programme.

HubSpot has an article on the subject of Type A vs. Type B, which you may find interesting.