Personality assessments have been a staple in the workplace for decades. They’re great for discovering valuable insights in team development, communication, and personal growth, but they do have their limits. Having worked with Personality Dimensions® for years, I’ve seen how valuable personality assessments can be when they’re used correctly. When they’re not used as intended, though, the results can be disastrous, especially when it comes to hiring new talent.
Let me share a story that has stuck with me, that really drives this point home. Years ago, Denise Hughes, founder of CLSR Inc., told me about a company department that decided to hire based on personality type. Along with the other usual workplace challenges, they were having trouble meeting deadlines, and the leader figured if all their staff had the same personality type as them, everything would run smoother. They thought everyone would think the same way and approach work similarly. For those of you familiar with Personality Dimensions®, the leader was an Inquiring Green, who hired a bunch of Inquiring Greens. What they didn’t expect was how much people with the same personality type could clash. Even worse, they missed out on having a team with different natural talents and perspectives.
But there’s even more reason not to use personality assessments for hiring. The simple truth is that personality tests don’t predict job performance. Just look around your workplace, successful employees come with all sorts of different personality preferences. There are fantastic salespeople who are more introverted, detail-oriented people who are highly creative, and analytical thinkers who excel at building relationships. Success in any role comes down to skills, experience, and adaptability, not personality type.
As you can see from Denise’s story, there’s a big risk in creating teams where everyone thinks and works the same way. While this might seem to make sense at first, it usually backfires. Teams need different perspectives and approaches to succeed. You want some people who drive action, others who ensure thorough analysis, some who champion people-focused solutions, and others who maintain efficiency.
There’s also the legal side to consider. When hiring decisions favor certain personality types for specific jobs, it might unintentionally discriminate against qualified candidates. That’s not just bad for building effective teams, it can and actually does violate employment laws.
Personality Dimensions® is clear about this: it shouldn’t be used for hiring. It’s right there in the manual and emphasized in the certification training. Other well-known tools like MBTI® and DiSC® say the same thing, their assessments aren’t meant for hiring because they weren’t designed or validated to measure job performance or fit for specific roles.
So, what can you use for hiring? You need to dig into your professional toolkit, and focus on evidence-based practices that directly relate to job performance: Use structured interviews with consistent questions about past experiences and future scenarios; Give candidates opportunities to demonstrate their skills through practical tests or work samples; Look at their track record and concrete accomplishments.
This doesn’t mean personality assessments have no place with new talent, they absolutely do! They’re fantastic tools once someone’s already part of the team. Even better, use them during onboarding. They set the stage to help people work better together, communicate more effectively, and understand different working styles. You can refer back to the results during team building, leadership development, or when working to improve workplace dynamics.
If your organization is using personality tests for hiring, please stop. Don’t just reconsider, but stop completely. The risks of missing out on great candidates and facing legal issues far outweigh any perceived benefits. A truly effective team isn’t built by matching personality types, it’s created when you bring together people with the right skills and experience who can tackle challenges from different angles.
Brad Whitehorn – BA, CCDP is the Associate Director at CLSR Inc. He was thrown into the career development field headfirst after completing a Communications degree in 2005, and hasn’t looked back! Since then, Brad has worked on the development, implementation and certification for various career and personality assessments (including Personality Dimensions®), making sure that Career Development Practitioners get the right tools to best serve their clients.