Benefits of Using Personality Tests at Work

One thing your employees are not bringing back into the workplace in 2021? The same work attitudes and preferences that they held prior to the pandemic. 

According to a recent survey of 3,244 Truity test-takers, 63% of respondents said that when it comes to how they work, they prefer a hybrid model (part-time work from home, part-time work in-office). This preference is significantly higher than those who reported preferring full-time work from home (20%) or full-time work in-office (17%). 

What’s more, our survey found that senior managers are significantly more likely to feel enthusiastic about returning to the office compared to lower-level employees, suggesting a potential disconnect between management and staff when it comes to overall attitudes and expectations. 

So, what can employers do to bridge the gap between leaders and employees? And how can they adapt to the shifts in beliefs around what constitutes a healthy and productive workplace? 

Personality at Work

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that keeping employees happy revolves around a few things: they want to be paid decently, to work in a job role that’s aligned with their skills and expertise, and to feel appreciated for their efforts. 

But there’s no magic button you can push to create the ideal workplace or team. Developing strong teams takes concentrated effort on behalf of leadership — and an understanding that each employee has their own strengths, blind spots and needs. 

That’s where personality type comes in. Personality assessments for business help teams discover their talents and allow for clearer communication and improved employee relationships. 

Research-backed personality tests also help managers better understand and appreciate the individuals on their teams, leading to higher productivity and reduced turnover. Here are the main benefits of using personality tests at work. 

1. Discover team strengths and blind spots 

One thing personality research shows us is that each individual has their own unique strengths and blind spots. By identifying these traits in their employees, managers can ensure each team member is working on tasks that fulfill them and that they are naturally skilled at while paying attention to potential challenges. 

For example, let’s say you have a sales representative who scores high in traits like analytical and detail-oriented, but low in traits related to social skills. You know this employee is skilled at selling by using data-driven information but they’ve received complaints about being too blunt and aggressive in past conversations. 

With their personality assessment results, you now understand exactly what your employee’s innate talents are. And you can work with them on the weaker areas while also shaping their role in a way that allows them to enhance their natural strengths. 

This information helps improve overall team performance as well. If you realize your entire team scores high in the same area and has the same blind spots, you can be aware of what issues may arise and consider what qualities to look for in your next hire. 

2. Improve communication and collaboration 

Most employees enjoy taking personality assessments for fairly simple reasons: they’re fun and insightful. But of course, to get the most from a team assessment you’ll want to take a test that’s much more thorough and science-backed than a standard Buzzfeed quiz. 

Truity offers TypeFinder® for the Workplace, based on Myers and Briggs' 16 personality types. As a Truity @ Work partner, you can also get the Big Five, DISC, and Enneagram assessments for the workplace. 

When employees engage in personality tests as a team-building activity, they become more aware of their personal skills and weaknesses as well as those of their fellow team members. This awareness improves communication and reduces potential misunderstandings and conflict. 

Not only that, but it’s also an interesting topic for team lunches and happy hours. People enjoy talking about themselves and want to be understood by other people. Personality tests put easy-to-understand language to traits some employees may have struggled to previously express.

3. Reduce turnover 

Research shows that employees who are happy with their jobs are less likely to look for work elsewhere. Essentially, happy employees stick around. Job satisfaction research shows that there are a few key components of happy employees: 

• Communication: Allowing employees to be open, honest, and collaborative improves their overall job satisfaction.
• Leadership: Strong leadership is directly linked to employee satisfaction. 
• Professional development: Employees want to understand where they fit within their team and the organization as a whole. When there is a plan for growth, they tend to stay happier, longer. 

Each of these factors can be improved by understanding and applying the benefits of personality psychology in the workplace. When you give workers the tools they need to communicate and lead better, as well as develop a long-term growth plan, they’re more motivated to continue working at the company. 

4. Save time and money 

When it comes to making a decision to use personality tests at work, many leaders want to know how the choice will impact their bottom line. The long-term cost savings of employee satisfaction and increased team productivity are always going to be unique to each business. However, it’s safe to say that investing in personality assessments is a cost that quickly pays for itself. 

Starting at only $17 per user, Truity’s business tests scale down in cost proportionately as your team size scales up. Easy to set up and share with your team, the investment is small compared to the advantages received. By reducing turnover and improving productivity, businesses can easily save wasted time, money and resources, while keeping their employees happier and more engaged. 

Are Personality Tests Right for Your Business?

Now, we're not suggesting that personality tests are used for hiring — as that is not what they are designed to do. But if you want to boost engagement, reduce turnover, improve communication, create stronger teams, build a strong company culture and allow people to work with their strengths instead of against them, then tests can be a great tool. 

Discover your team’s true potential with a Truity at Work personality assessment. Click here to find out which Truity at Work assessment is right for your team.