This is the first article in our new series, in which I answer specific questions about Performance Profiles, assessments and interviewing, or employment tests.  Our first question comes from a relatively new user of Performance Profile Reports; G. W. wants to know:

“Do the ratings on the Performance Profile Report vary according to the position that is applied for?”

And Here’s The Answer:

The first page of the Performance Profile Report lists ratings on fifteen basic personality characteristics; these ratings represent this particular individual’s preferences with regard to each of those personality characteristics.  They are like the numbers that your M.D. looks at that represent your blood pressure, temperature, or red blood cell count at a particular point in time; those numbers do not vary according to what the doctor suspects may be ailing you.  Similarly, the ratings on the first page of the Performance Profile Report represent the test-taker’s preferences at the time he or she answered the questions on the Performance Profile questionnaires, and they are not determined by the job for which the individual is applying.

Overall Recommendations Vary According To “Position Applied For”

On the second page of the Performance Profile Report are Job Match, Potential For Growth, and Overall Recommendations.  These recommendations are the result of my professional interpretation of the fifteen personality characteristic ratings, as well as consideration of what the position that is applied for will demand of the applicant in terms of psychological characteristics.

Let’s say, for example, that we have two individuals whose Performance Profile characteristics are identical.  The first one, Tom, is an applicant for a supervisory position where he will be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of 10 employees.  The second one, Fred, is an applicant for a research assistant position; he will not have any supervisory responsibility.  Both men have ratings of “8” on the Sociability characteristic, which measures how much a person enjoys working and interacting with people.  Remember, their Performance Profile ratings are otherwise identical.  Tom’s Job Match, as it turns out, is a “7” (he also has good experience), but Fred’s Job Match is a “5”.   Tolerance for extended contact with people is much more important for a person to function successfully in a supervisory position than for a person who will essentially work alone.  The difference in the two Job Matches reflects the relative importance of Sociability for the two different jobs; Sociability is not as important for Fred’s job, and so a high rating does not contribute to a good Job Match for him.

It sometimes happens that a client will ask me to look at a Performance Profile for an applicant for one position (for example, for Plant Manager) and then will call back a week later and ask me to look at the same individual as a candidate for a different position (for example, for Corporate Human Resources Director).  In that case, it is certainly possible that, while the personality characteristic ratings do not change, my Job Match, Potential for Growth, or Overall Recommendations might all be somewhat different.

What I Need To Know

The more information I have about the demands that will be made by different positions in your organization, the better the Job Match, Potential For Growth, and Overall Recommendations will be.  That’s why I so often ask for a copy of the job description when you have a candidate for a new (to me) position in your organization.

Keep Those Questions Coming

I know that it just seems to be good common sense that, all other things being equal, an applicant who is smarter ought to do a better job than an applicant who is not as smart.  And psychologists have actually spent a good deal of time showing that there is a moderate to high relationship between general cognitive ability and success in both school and job-related domains.  That’s “psycho-babble” for the idea that, in general, smarter people have a greater likelihood of being successful in school and on the job.  No big surprise there.

“Shouldn’t I Choose The Smartest Applicant?”

I am often asked this question by clients who are trying to make the best hiring decision.  And the answer is, as is so often true, that it depends.  In this case, it depends on two issues.

The first issue has to do with the real question that you, the hiring manager, should be asking:  how smart does a person have to be to do the specific job you am hiring for?  Are you hiring someone to do original research in nuclear physics?  Or are you hiring someone to manage a group of engineers and computer specialists?

There is a common assumption that smarter is always better and, concurrently, that having average intelligence (the big bulge in the middle of the bell-shaped curve where most people are) is not “good enough.”  In fact, in my experience, there are only a very few jobs that require high intelligence, and having average intelligence is, in most cases, entirely good enough.

The second issue that has an enormous effect on my evaluation of the Job Match and Potential for Growth of an individual, and that can certainly offset a lower level of mental abilities, is experience doing the job in question.  Relevant work experience can be a better predictor of job competence than intelligence.

What Does “Intelligence Rating” Tell You?

What the “intelligence” rating on the Performance Profile actually tells you is something about how quickly and easily this applicant is likely to learn a new job, task, or body of information.  Many factors can affect how effectively a person can actually use his or her intelligence; for example, emotional turmoil or outside events in a person’s life can have both long-term and short-term effects on the ability to learn.  On the positive side, motivation, social skills (that is, the ability to work well with others), and relevant job experience can enhance the effect of a person’s “raw” intelligence.

The Bottom Line On Intelligence

Remember that the psychologists have determined that in general people who are smarter seem to be more successful.  But you are not making a hiring decision in general; you are making a decision about a specific person, and each person brings a mixture of skills and preferences to the job.  Intelligence is a factor to take into consideration, and it is more important for some jobs than for others, but an applicant’s intelligence rating should be considered in the context of everything else the person brings to the job.

The results for the Work Attitude Questionnaire are summarized on the second page of the Performance Profile Report, and “Moderate Risk” is one of the levels of result that may be reported for all four areas that are measured:  Theft Attitudes, Drug Use Attitudes, Sexual Harassment Attitudes, and Violence Proneness Attitudes.

“Moderate Risk” sounds risky, and I think it is worth taking a few minutes to look at what it means, and what you should do when you see that result for an applicant.

What Does “Moderate Risk” Mean?

A person’s results will be “moderate risk” if he or she answers certain questions on the Work Attitude Questionnaire in a way that suggest that he or she has attitudes that justify inappropriate behavior in certain circumstances.  It does not mean that the test-taker will necessarily behave in an unacceptable way; it means, instead, that in the privacy of the test-taking experience, this person understood this question to refer to a behavior or attitude that he or she found acceptable to some degree.

“Moderate Risk” suggests that the structure and rules that your company provides should be made explicit and clear to the applicant, and that the consequences for breaking the rules will be fairly and consistently applied.

What Should You Do?

There are four things you should do:

1.  The first thing to do is to read the complete Work Attitude Questionnaire Results Report; it is always sent along with the Performance Profile Report as a separate attachment.  If you have trouble opening the Results Report, call us and we will figure out a solution.

The Work Attitude Questionnaire Results Report displays the questions that led to the “Moderate Risk” finding, and it also tells you exactly how the person answered those questions.  Remember that each question can be answered on a ten-point scale, to indicate the degree to which the test-taker agrees or disagrees with the statement.

2.  The second thing you should do is consider this person’s answers to questions that are listed on the Results Report.  Which answers raise a question in your mind about this person’s ability to adhere to your company’s policies and procedures?  Which answers do you want the applicant to explain more fully?  Make a list of open-ended questions that will allow the person to tell you why he or she answered the question(s) in that way, without confronting him or her with an accusation that may be unfounded.  There are suggested questions on the Work Attitude Questionnaire Results Report for you to use.  Remember, even though attitudes can certainly influence behavior, they do not predict it with certainty.

3.  The third thing you should do is follow up with the person:  ask your open-ended questions.  For example, if the person “somewhat agreed” with the statement that he thought it was acceptable to take company property to get back for being treated unfairly (an actual question from the Work Attitude Questionnaire), you might say something like, “Tell me more about your experiences with previous employers…” and follow up to guide his answer toward the issue of being treated unfairly.  Your goal is to be fully satisfied, with no lingering doubts, by his or her explanation.

4.  The fourth thing you should do is to be certain that you communicate in a straightforward way precisely what your company’s policies and procedures are in all four areas, and what the consistently applied consequences of deviations from those policies will be.  Use the Work Attitude Questionnaire’s Work Pledge Document to obtain the new employee’s signature as an acknowledgement of receipt of those policies and procedures.  If you don’t already have a copy of the Work Pledge Document, CLICK HERE and we will send you one that you can use.

Let’s Put It All Together

“Moderate Risk” means that this person’s internal attitudes, all other things being equal, are somewhat permissive for the risk area in question.  If you have done a good job, however, of communicating your company’s policies, procedures, and expectations, then this person will have been given the structure, or boundaries, that he or she needs to use in place of internal attitudes.