Posted by Josh Millet on Wed, Apr 08, 2009 @ 06:43 PM
In a series of blog posts last year I discussed the evolution of employment personality testing, from the Myers-Briggs to the "Big Five" to more job-specific personality inventories. The last of these continue to grow in popularity, especially in the fields of customer service and sales.
Our customer service test is now one of the most widely used tests in HireSelect. One reason for this is that customer service representative positions tend to have higher than average turnover, and so HR managers are constantly looking for tools that can help remedy this problem. But another reason we're seeing these tests grow in popularity is that many organizations seem to be placing a heavy emphasis on cultivating a "culture of customer service" across an entire organization. We hear this regularly from customers as diverse as medical care providers, banks, and non-profits. The result is that applicants for managerial and administrative positions may be asked to take these tests if their jobs will involve frequent interactions with customers and/or the public. So these tests are not just used for Customer Service representatives anymore.
So what does a customer service personality test measure? Our customer service test is called the Customer Service Aptitude Profile (CSAP), and it measures a series of personality traits that are widely regarded as important for successful interactions with customers. These traits include such things as patience, cooperativeness, and personal diplomacy. Because customer service personnel are foot soldiers on the front lines of an organization's efforts to build and mantain its reputation and brand, companies look for individuals who will be able to answer questions and resolve customer complaints in a helpful, compassionate way. Impatience, competitiveness, and uncooperativeness may be traits that can lead to success in some fields (such as sales, actually--more on that in my next post), but they are not traits you'd look for in customer service representatives.
Click here to see a sample score report for the CSAP.
Posted by Wayne Chuen on Wed, Nov 05, 2008 @ 06:31 PM
As a kid, it was fairly well ingrained in me that when taking a test, the goal was to try to achieve the highest possible score. If I received low scores on a test, then it meant I didn't sufficiently understand some concept in algebra or properly comprehend the significance of a novel like Catch-22. In other words, tests served to point out deficiencies, so the higher the test score, the better. However, with pre-employment testing, and personality tests in particular, this is not necessarily true.
One of Criteria's personality tests, the Criteria Personality Inventory (CPI) measures the "Big Five" personality traits - Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Openness, and Stability. Suppose you gave the CPI to two candidates: Amy and Bob. Amy scored in the 25th percentile on Agreeableness and 33rd percentile on Extraversion while Bob scored in the 90th percentile on Agreeableness and 84th percentile on Extraversion. Who is the better candidate?
With how we're accustomed to thinking about tests, it would be easy to reason that since Bob scored higher, he must have done better on the test, and thus, must be the better candidate. However, this is not how personality tests work. The key is to examine the results in tandem with the job description. If you're testing for a position — such as a Customer Service Representative — that requires frequent and pleasant interactions with others, then Bob may be the best candidate because his results point to a personality that is more cooperative and outgoing. If, on the other hand, you're testing for a position that requires objective problem-solving skills and involves little social interaction — such as data analysts, for example — then Amy may be the best candidate because her results point to a personality that is less dependent on social interaction. Because there are no "high" or "low" scores on personality tests, the CPI should be viewed as an evaluation of candidates' personalities, rather than a test they need to ace.
For this reason we recently redesigned the score report for the CPI. Based on customer feedback, we believe the new score report helps emphasize the point that there are no "high" or "low" scores on the CPI. The most significant difference you will notice is the Results Summary graphs. These graphs show where on the spectrum the candidate scored in each of the "Big Five" personality traits. At a glance, you can see how candidates compare to the general population. The Results Snapshot gives you a quick description of the candidate's personality traits based on the results, and the full text for each trait emphasizes how the score should be interpreted. Finally, we added an Interview Guide where appropriate. These questions were designed to help you further probe a candidate if his/her results don't seem to correspond with the type of personality demanded by a certain job.
We hope you'll find these new score reports more useful and informative. If you have any questions, give us a call or leave a comment below.