3 ways personality tests improve productivity and retention

Personality tests are a powerful and effective way to inform your final hiring decision. But instead of considering it as a selection tool, why not consider it as a way to improve productivity and retention too? 

You may be familiar with personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), which are a great way to gain a deeper understanding of your top shortlisted candidates. While personality tests shouldn’t make or break your hiring decision, they can inform your decision. Personality tests are also a great method of improving productivity and retention by helping you better understand new hires, your current team, the way they think and who they’ll work well with. Here are the benefits you can expect to see by using personality testing as a retention tool. 

1. Improved communication and understanding 

Gaining a better understanding of the way you and your team members think will help you understand the best way to work well together. By becoming aware of the small and major differences in your thought processes, you can identify the best ways to brief them for new tasks or help them overcome shortfalls.

For example, if you are a sensory thinker and your team member is an intuition-based thinker, the way you phrase a brief may affect the way they understand the task.  By using personality insights, you can drastically improve communication in your team, obtain buy-in an increase productivity.

2. Improved work style 

A personality test may reveal you prefer thinking in a “judging manner”, meaning you like to be organised and make a clear plan. On the other hand, you may discover your team member prefers thinking in a “perceiving approach”, that is, big picture thinking, instead of focusing on the smaller details. As a team, this probably means you’ll disagree about strategy and may have to compromise a lot; but understanding their personality and working style can enable you to complement each other’s strengths and work in a style that helps you reach your end goal. 

Understanding people’s preferred way to work will give you a road map on how to accomplish projects and tasks (thus increasing productivity!). 

3. Resolving personality clashes 

Unfortunately, personality clashes between colleagues can drive people out of an organisation. By conducting personality testing, everyone in your team will understand how their way of thinking fits with others, which can improve communication and understanding. This arms you and your team members with the knowledge and skills to reach compromises, diffuse situation, communicate effectively and work well together. 

For more information on how personality testing can improve productive and retention in your organisation, speak to one of our Shortlisting and Selection Specialists today. Call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.