Personality testing is a trendy tool that many employers use to find out their team’s strengths and weaknesses. However, when used incorrectly, personality tests can cause significant harm to a team’s morale and to the company at large. These are some ways to never use a personality test.

Hiring Purposes

When hiring new employees, some companies like to test candidates’ personalities before moving forward in the interview process. Although this may be necessary for some positions, a vast majority of roles do not need personality testing. As personality tests are not the be-all-end-all of someone’s success in a particular job, it is more important to ask questions that allow you to observe a person’s work style, work ethic, and any other necessary traits. Personality tests also consider many aspects of life, not just those in a workplace setting, which can skew results.

Additionally, when promoting someone in the office, you should never consider personality. Someone’s track record and how they do in an interview will speak more to an employee’s success than a system of questions that limit a person to a personality type.

Favoritism

Managers should never favor one employee over another, even if they do tend to get along with some better. Personality tests are occasionally incorrectly used to favor some types over another. This should never be the case, as it again limits a person to a type, rather than a well-rounded human being. Regardless of whether you prefer certain personality types, you must treat everyone with respect and with the same level of expectation.

Reviews

When preparing for a review, managers are tasked with identifying areas of growth, as well as strengths of an individual. Do not use a personality type as an excuse for lazy reviewing. For example, someone may have a personality that is usually associated with disorganization, but they could not fit that trait and be quite organized, instead. You need to look directly at the employee’s work and their habits to identify both strengths and weaknesses.

Personality testing can be a fun activity that helps teams bond over similarities and differences. It can also be a great way for employees to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. However, when used incorrectly, personality tests can open up a manager to scrutiny and may even cause a team to lose its morale. Be cautious about when and how you use personality tests to ensure you do not make anybody feel less-than.