If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this phrase, “We have done MBTI, DISC, and several other personality models and just haven’t seen that much value.”  Some organizations extract great value from personality assessments, while others seem to barely scratch the surface. Why is this?

My top three reasons why organizations realize limited value from personality profiles:

1. Relying too much on canned reports without adequate knowledge of how to apply the information in real-life situations.

2. Front line supervisors have inadequate knowledge of the personality profile and report recommendations.

3. Dissatisfaction with the product because the report itself isn’t practical and actionable, or the results aren’t accurate enough over time.

Over time, these conditions can cause an organization to look for a newer, shinier, faster model, or to simply skim the surface, spending good money without much return.  I’d like to offer the following recommendations to maximize the value of whatever personality assessment framework you use.

1. Pick a vendor that offers training and support for leaders. Can you obtain training to help leaders understand and apply the information they are given? Are interpretive guidelines and recommendations actionable, practical, and relevant? Is there support for interpreting results or making customized recommendations in special circumstances?

2. Develop Cultural Competence. An assessment tool is only as good as the culture that supports it. Once you decide on the product, commit to a culture of awareness, proficiency, and application around its’ use. Finding good job fit and leveraging diversity of gifts and abilities (presumably why we use Personality Profiles in the first place) is supported by the culture surrounding the employee after the hire.

3. Think Beyond the Individual. If you are making individual hiring decisions based on personality profiles, why not apply that knowledge more broadly?  Does your product support applications of personality technology to areas such as company incentive systems, recruiting, customer service, conflict management, leadership development, supervision, or engagement?

4. Develop Internal Champions. Regardless of the size of your company, the value of personality profiles increases considerably when educated and enthusiastic champions outside of HR are carrying the torch.

Go deep and increase value with whatever personality profile system you choose. Next Element utilizes the Process Communication Model (PCM) as a framework to help organizations develop broad-based cultural competence around personality, diversity, communication, and engagement.

To learn more or receive a list of client references, please give us a call at 316-283-4200, or e-mail Michele@Next-Element.com.

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Nate

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