Character Personality Test: Enhance Your Workplace

What is a Character Personality Test?

Want to know more about yourself or your employees? A character personality may hold all the answers you are looking for! A character personality test explores and categorizes your unique traits, behaviors and attitudes. By taking one, you can uncover insights about yourself, find out what careers suit you best, and even improve your relationships. 

To add, an increasing number of companies are using character personality tests for hiring, team-building etc. Keep reading as I dive into the world of character personality tests.

How can personality tests help your team?

You may be wondering why use personality tests to help your team? Character personality tests are fantastic for more than just hiring the right people. They can also transform your team dynamics as well as make your workplace more enjoyable and productive. Here are some benefits: 

1. Better Teamwork and Understanding

Personality test can help you understand your coworkers better. When you know how your teammates think and work, you can collaborate more effectively and create a friendlier work environment. 

2. Personal Growth

Discovering your strengths and weaknesses through these tests can inspire you to improve. This self-awareness will help you grow both personally and professionally, making you a more valuable employee.

3. Increased Engagement

When managers understand the different personalities on the team, they can create strategies that make everyone feel more involved and motivated. For example, knowing how different people learn can make training sessions more effective and enjoyable for everyone. 

How can personality tests help employee growth?

In terms of employee growth, personality tests can be beneficial in these ways:

1. Understanding Strengths and Weakness

Personality tests can help you identify your unique traits and strengths. This self-awareness can guide you in setting clear career goals and recognizing areas of improvement. 

2. Clarifying Goals

By understanding your personality, you can align your professional goals with your personal interests and values. This connection can boost your motivation and commitment to your career development.

3. Enhancing Learning and Development

Knowing your personality can make learning and development more engaging and effective. When you see how professional growth aligns with your personal goals, you are more likely to stay motivated.

Pros and Cons of Personality Tests in Hiring 

Personality tests can be a useful and valuable tool in terms of the hiring process, but it is also important to use them wisely and consider their limitations. 

Pros of Using Personality Tests for Hiring

1. Streamlined Candidate Screening

Personality tests can narrow down the pool of candidates quickly, saving time and resources during the hiring process.

2. Evidence-Based Hiring Decisions

Personality tests can provide data-driven insights to support more objective and informed hiring decisions.

3. Improved Job Fit

By matching candidates' personality traits with job requirements, personality tests can help ensure a better fit, leading to higher job satisfaction and performance.

Cons of Using Personality Tests for Hiring

1. Potential for Discrimination

There's a risk that personality tests could unintentionally favor certain groups over others, leading to biased hiring practices.

2. Limited Predictive Power

While helpful, personality tests alone may not fully predict a candidate's future job performance or success.

3. Ethical Considerations

Personality tests can raise ethical questions about privacy and the appropriateness of assessing personal traits for job suitability.

What is the best workplace personality test? 

Enneagram

The Enneagram framework is built around nine distinct personality types, each with its own defining traits. Here is an overview of the nine types:

• ‍1. The Reformer: Principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and sometimes perfectionistic‍
• 2. The Helper: Demonstrative, generous, and can be people-pleasing‍
• 3. The Achiever: Adaptive, excelling, driven, and image-conscious‍
• 4. The Individualist: Expressive, dramatic, and can be temperamental‍
• 5. The Investigator: Perceptive, innovative, and secretive‍
• 6. The Loyalist: Engaging, responsible, and suspicious‍
• 7. The Enthusiast: Spontaneous, versatile, and distractible‍
• 8. The Challenger: Self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational‍
• 9. The Peacemaker: Receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and can be complacent

Benefits: Enneagram tests can provide deep personality insights that help map out paths for growth and transformation. Understanding how different personality types interact can lead to better communication and conflict resolution.

Limitations: Over simplifying personalities into nine categories can be limiting. Moreover, its accuracy also heavily relies on participants' honest self-assessment which can be skewed by personal bias. 

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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

MBTI has been a very popular and trendy personality test tool which was originally founded by Carl Jung. It categorizes people into 16 personality types based on four dimensions: 

1. Introversion (I) or Extraversion (E)

• Do you gain energy from spending time alone (Introversion) or from interacting with others (Extraversion)?

2. Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)

• Do you focus more on basic information you take in (Sensing) or do you prefer to interpret and understand the meaning behind it (Intuition)?

3. Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)‍

• Do you make decisions based on logic and consistency (Thinking) or based on people and special situations (Feelings)?

4. Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

• Do you prefer to get things decided (Judging) or stay open to new information and options (Perceiving)?

After selecting within each dimension, which resonates more with you, each person will be identified by a 4-letter code (E.g. INFJ or ESTP).

Benefits: Widely used and understood, MBTI helps in understanding different working styles and improving communication among team members.

Limitations: Again, critics often argue that it oversimplifies personality and lacks strong scientific support, making it less reliable for predicting job performance.

DiSC

DiSC assesses personality based on four traits. The 4 types are: 

1. Dominance (D)

• Individuals who are high in dominance are usually assertive, result-oriented and enjoy challenges as well as direct competition. They are also people who often take up leadership roles.

2. Influence (i)

• People with high influence scores are social, persuasive and outgoing. They often excel in situations where communication and collaboration is key. To add, these people often thrive in sales, marketing or public relations roles. 

3. Steadiness (S)

• People with high steadiness scores are usually dependable, cooperative and prefer stable environments. They are also great team players and would excel in roles that require consistency and a methodical approach.

4. Conscientiousness (C)

• Individuals with high conscientiousness are detail-oriented, analytical, and prioritize accuracy and quality. They do well in roles that require precision such as Finance and Engineering.

Benefits: Disc personality tests are easy to understand and apply, it enhances team collaboration and conflict resolution by highlighting behavioral styles.

Limitations: It focuses on observable behavior rather than deeper personality traits, limiting its ability to predict long-term job performance.

CliftonStrengths Assessment

CliftonStrengths Assessment, previously known as StrengthsFinder, is a psychological assessment tool designed to help identify your top strengths from a list of 34 themes. Also categorized into 4 broader domains: 

1. Executing

• Individuals strong in executing know how to make things happen. They are usually efficient at managing projects, tasks and responsibility, demonstrating a great capacity to turn ideas into reality.

2. Influencing

• Those people naturally influential are good at reaching out to people and persuading them. They are key players in driving a team’s agenda and make sure their ideas are heard and acted upon. 

3. Relationship Building

• Strengths in relationship building is essential for fostering a collaborative environment and team cohesion. People strong at this are good at nurturing positive relationships and creating strong partnerships. 

4. Strategic thinking

• Those who are good at analyzing situations and making decisions based on insights are people who are strategic thinkers. They are usually innovative thinkers who often are good at conceptualizing.
  

Benefits: Promotes a positive focus on strengths, boosting morale and productivity by helping employees leverage their natural talents.

Limitations: It doesn’t address weaknesses, which can be crucial for comprehensive personal development.

The Big 5 Personality Test

The Big 5 measures five key traits: 

1. Openness to Experience

• People high in openness to experience are typically more adventurous and creative

2. Conscientiousness

• This dimension includes a high level of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed behaviors. In particular, highly conscientious people are organized and mindful of details.

3. Extraversion

• This trait usually involves excitement-seeking and sociability. Extraverts enjoy being with people and are often full of energy.

4. Agreeableness

• This personality includes traits like trust, kindness and affection. People who score high in agreeableness tend to get along well with other people.

5. Neuroticism

• This personality reflects emotional instability and tendency to experience negative emotions like anger or depression. People who are high in neuroticism are more likely to be moody and tense.

Benefits: Strong scientific foundation and broad acceptance, providing a comprehensive view of personality traits.

Limitations: Can be too broad and less practical for specific workplace applications compared to more tailored tests.

Hogan Personality Inventory

The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) test assesses normal personality characteristics that affect job performance. It is grounded by a 5-factor Model specifically for the workplace to predict job success and career falls.The HPI assess 7 primary scales and 6 occupational scales:

Primary Scales:

• ‍1. Adjustment: Emotional stability and confidence under stress‍
• 2. Ambition: Initiative, competitiveness, and the desire for leadership roles‍
• 3. Sociability: Preference for social interaction and desire to be noticed‍
• 4. Interpersonal Sensitivity: Tact, perceptiveness, and ability to maintain relationships.‍
• 5. Prudence: Self-discipline, responsibility, and conscientiousness.‍
• 6. Inquisitive: Imagination, curiosity, and creative potential.‍
• 7. Learning Approach: Valuing education and enjoying learning.

Occupational Scales:

• ‍1. Service orientation: How friendly and helpful someone is towards customers, indicating their ability to provide excellent service‍
• 2. Stress tolerance: Your ability to stay calm and effective under pressure, showing who thrives in high-stress situations‍
• 3. Reliability:  How dependable and conscientious you are, indicating their commitment to consistency and integrity‍
• 4. Clerical potential: A person’s accuracy and attention to detail, perfect for tasks that require precision‍
• 5. Sales potential: A person's energy and drive for sales, highlighting those who are persuasive and persistent‍
• 6. Managerial potential: Assesses leadership qualities, identifying individuals who are good at making decisions and motivating teams

Benefits: Predicts job performance and suitability effectively, widely respected in professional settings.

Limitations: Can be costly and complex to administer, requiring professional interpretation.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) classifies people into four temperaments, offering insights into communication styles and behavior.

• 1. Artisan (SP): Artisans are spontaneous, tactical, and action-oriented. They usually excel in situations that require flexibility and the ability to think on their feet. Typical roles of Artisan people often include craftsmanship, tactical abilities, or artistic expression.
• 2. Guardian (SJ): Guardians are dependable, helpful, and detail-oriented. These are people who value security and tradition and often excel in logistical roles or any position that requires careful planning and dependability.
• 3. Idealist (NF): Idealists are enthusiastic, ethical, and compassionate. Idealistic people often seek meaning and significance in human relationships and are drawn to careers in counseling, education, and religion.
• 4. Rational (NT): Rationals are analytical, strategic, and logical. Rational people usually pursue knowledge and competence, and often excel in roles that require systematic innovation such as science, technology, and strategic planning.

Benefits: Useful for understanding team roles and improving communication by highlighting different temperaments.

Limitations: It can be too general, lacking the depth and specificity of other personality assessments.

FAQ

What should you consider when taking a personality test?

When taking a personality test, you must stay focused and read each question carefully before answering. Try to respond with your immediate instinct rather than overthinking your response. Quick and honest answers will provide the most accurate results, reflecting your true personality rather than what you think is ideal.

How reliable are personality tests?

Personality tests are not always completely accurate or fully reflective of your character, but they can be useful for understanding basic traits and how you might fit into a work environment. These tests can be influenced by your mood, environment, and emotions. Honest answers usually yield more accurate results. While they have flaws, personality tests can still provide valuable insights when combined with other assessment tools.

Do personality tests predict performance?

Personality tests can highlight key traits, strengths, and weaknesses, but they aren't always great at predicting job performance. Research shows that cognitive ability tests might be better for assessing professional skills. Use personality tests as one part of a broader evaluation process.

Conclusion

Character personality tests offer valuable insights for personal growth and team dynamics, helping you understand strengths, improve communication, and foster a positive work environment. Use them correctly and wisely to enhance your hiring processes and boost employee satisfaction. Explore more tools for workplace success at Litespace.