You’ve already read about the benefits of using personality quizzes in the workplace. Now we’ve broken down some of our favorite professional assessments that we’ve found can be helpful contributors to employee (and employer!) success.
1.Predictive Index
Purpose
The PI Behavioral Assessment helps management dive deeper into how employees can be successful. We love the format of this assessment! See the process below:
Process
The assessment is taken through PI’s online software. Test takers are given two lists of adjectives. In the first list, they’re asked to indicate which words describe how they believe people expect them to act. In the second, they’re asked to choose the words that describe themselves.
Personality Types
Every adjective is associated with one of four factors of workplace behavior:
- Dominance
- Extraversion
- Patience
- Formality
Analyzing and Applying Results
The results indicate where each person falls on the spectrum of each behavior. Based on this newly acquired knowledge, leadership teams can better support employees the way that works best for them individually.
2. Kolbe Index
Purpose
Have you ever referred to your “gut feeling” as the reason for a decision you made? The Kolbe A™ Index is a personality assessment tool that helps put a name to that feeling.
Process
The 36-question tool measures your natural instincts to produce a result called your MO (Method of Operation).
Personality Types
The Kolbe Index gives you information about three different parts of your psychology:
- Cognitive: Your natural intelligence
- Affective: The ability to utilize emotion
- Conative: Instincts and and innate method of operation
Analyzing and Applying Results
This assessment allows people to uncover what their core values are, providing the opportunity to unlearn certain behaviors or beliefs that aren’t necessarily true to who they are deep down. When you have a clear understanding of what you’re feeling, you can focus on your natural strengths and values to create better communication and more effective productivity.
3. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
Purpose
This assessment utilizes C.G Jung’s psychological types to help people understand why they behave the way they do, so they can utilize that information for individual success.
Process
The MBTI assessment is a multiple choice questionnaire that can be taken online or in person, administered by a certified professional. You can find free versions online, but they are often edited and not as accurate as finding a certified proctor.
Personality Types
The sixteen personality types outlined in the MBTI® break down preferences in four different areas:
- Extraversion vs. Introversion
- Sensing vs. Intuition
- Thinking vs. Feeling
- Judging vs. Perceiving
Analyzing and Applying Results
The four categories are pieced together to describe each person’s unique personality type. A benefit of the MBTI® is that it provides a baseline for how a person may act in all situations, from their personal life to professional.
4. CliftonStrengths
Purpose
Formerly known as StrengthsFinder, CliftonStrengths is responsible for one of the best selling business books of all time.
Process
This hour-long assessment provides 177 statements for you to pick whether something does or does not describe you. The test is meant to measure your natural tendency of thinking, feeling and behaving to provide a list of your greatest strengths.
Personality Types
Your strengths are then organized into a combination of 34 strength themes, broken into four domains, including:
- Strategic Thinking
- Relationship Building
- Influencing
- Executing
Analyzing and Applying Results
The cool thing about this test is how deeply it dives into a person’s strengths. This allows them to understand how to better maximize their natural talents (rather than focusing on overcoming their weaknesses).
5. DiSC®
Purpose
The DiSC model is popular in professional spaces because the focus is on behaviors that are important in the workplace. In order to promote effective teamwork strategies & increase productivity.
Process
There are several test options for obtaining DiSC Profile results. Once you determine which DiSC assessment works best for your company, you can purchase the assessment and administer to your team members through an online program.
Personality Types
The assessment places employees somewhere on a spectrum between four main behavioral types:
- Dominance
- Influence
- Steadiness
- Conscientiousness
Analyzing and Applying Results
These behaviors are organized in a circle to illustrate how each personality compares to the one next to it, and where people fall on the chart. These results can be an extremely effective in strategically building teams that will work well together.
6. Caliper Profile
Purpose
Not only does the Caliper Profile provide information on a person’s strengths, but it also uses comparative data to help employers see which competencies come naturally to employees and what could use some development.
Process
The Caliper Profile is a questionnaire administered online that provides immediate access to reports. The user’s results are compared to others in the industry to produce a score meant to indicate how natural certain abilities are for each person.
Personality Types
Different abilities are featured depending on the test-taker’s selected industry. Each ability is measured by level of importance and organizes the employee’s results based on level of importance in that particular field.
Analyzing and Applying Results
Results are meant to provide managers with information on how well the person fits the role, which makes it a popular choice for the hiring process. Understanding where people stack up against expectations can be a great way to understand what kind of training they might need in order to be successful in the role.
7. Enneagram Test
Purpose
The Enneagram Test is a popular assessment tool for both personal and professional use. The idea is that it reveals your innermost personality, and therefore rarely changes. Similar to the MBTI, it is a great baseline to use in conjunction with other professional assessments.
Process
The website provides a free questionnaire that allows you to choose which of two statements is true for you. While there are no wrong answers, going with your immediate reaction provides more accurate results.
Personality Types
Personality types are measured on a scale of 1-7 with each number representing a certain personality type. Your number may be broken down further by including an additional number that helps focus where you fall on the spectrum of that particular personality type.
Analyzing and Applying Results
Since the results of this test are based on your innermost workings, they can easily be applied to many other facets of your life. Understanding your employees both in and outside of the workplace can help strengthen your working relationships.
Implementing personality assessments in the workplace
Taking professional assessments can be a fun office activity, but results should be analyzed to allow action items for development, so your employees don’t feel like they’re just taking on busy work. Using employees’ results to inform how to fine-tune your internal process is a great next step!