Did you miss the discussion on using personality assessments in talent development and management?
FAR January Flash Newsletter
January Presenter Paul McMurray
Personality Assessments in Talent Development & Management
The who, what, where, when, and legal pitfalls of personality assessments is essential for association leaders to understand as they recruit and develop staff. Paul McMurray, from Insight Management Consulting, led a dynamic interactive session that included real time polling with the FAR members and their guests in attendance. Paul led us through the types of assessments available, how and when to use them in talent development, and how to be compliant with federal laws.
The benefits of assessment include an objective measurement of an individual’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. Time and cost savings by using off-the-shelf assessment tools. They are a good predictor of outcomes of interest such as job performance, leadership, and team work. And lastly, they assess how a person is likely to behave in certain situations and how this may impact performance in those areas.
Noting there are over 2500 assessments, Mr. McMurray provided an overview of the top three most widely used products, Myers-Briggs, DISC, and Strength Finders. He presented examples of what point in the process to use each assessment and the benefits. Prior to selecting a product, it is important to know if you will use the test to recruit candidates, develop/promote current staff or for team building.
Mr. McMurray presented the three key laws to review prior to implementing personality assessments: the American Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA). The assessment and implementation must be void of judgement and adhere to the statutes within these laws. He then discussed examples of lawsuits related to personality testing. Paul further explained that well designed, standardized, and objective assessments measure the whole person and increase an organization’s legal defensibility by providing a fairer comparison among job candidates and or team members.
The results of the real time polls showed 50% of the FAR member companies in attendance use no personality tests, those that do are split evenly in using them for hiring or team building. 68% percent of the audience have taken the DISC assessment and 48% Myers Briggs.
If you’re looking for more information on using these types of assessments at your organization, you can contact Paul at
