Are you using personality profiling tools when recruiting

Are you using personality profiling tools when recruiting?

The idea that Humans can be sorted into different groups is somewhat alarming. In fiction and on screen money has been made with the idea that people are sorted into careers, for life. And perhaps these stories do so well because there’s a level of truth to the idea.

A lot of businesses use personality profiling as part of their recruitment process. By understanding who you are recruiting beyond their qualifications, you can minimize personality clashes and keep staff for longer. This is about assigning people based on their behaviour.

Why would you use a personality profile tool?

Self-understanding

Knowledge is power – power you can use to get the job done. First and foremost, do a personality profile on yourself. You will gain a self-understanding which will give some clarity to your behaviour. The drivers that keep you going will be displayed there – and you can go ‘oh, yeah, that’s me!’. The situations that cause you stress and conflict are laid out and can help you avoid them in future. The personalities you are more likely to gel with are detailed and you’ll gain a greater understanding of your approach to problems – and what others might do differently. More efficient management is a sure by-product of personality profiling.

A better team

It could be that the simple act of personality profiling your team causes them to become more self-aware of their behaviour. They may start adapting in subtle ways to avoid conflict, or get a job done faster. It means that you can better understand what drives others and how you should approach them with any issues.

Think recruitment, too. Look at your existing team and figure out which personalities are missing or which you have too many of. Teams tend to work best with a diverse mix of personalities, but this will depend on the job. A team of street sellers may need a stronger group of dominators and influencers, where a team of graphic designers may be better filled with creators. If your team feels like it’s lacking something, or has a weakness – perhaps direction, or a willingness to finish projects – it might be worth bringing in a personality not naturally suited to the role as they will complement the team as a whole.

Personality profiling will also help with conflict resolution. Some people want to be approached with the facts, others with more emotion. Some people take criticism much harder than others, and some people relish the chance to build on it. Adapting your approaches to these situations according to profiles means that the conflict is more likely to get resolved and leave nobody with their nose out of joint for your efforts.

Recognising and using personality profiles is not a new idea. Some of the best companies in the world have been doing this during recruitment and internally throughout the workforce for a long time. It’s something that all businesses these days can implement very easily and I would encourage any business owner or manager to start off going through the process themselves and then consider the use further.