Outgoing or introverted, intuitive or analytical, empathetic or judgmental? Personal chemistry and temperament are key factors in how well we work together, which is why more employers are turning to personality tests to screen job candidates.
'It's hard to quantify the effectiveness [of the tests],' says Wing Yau Wing-yuk, director of Culture Homes (Elderly Centre). The company, which specialises in catering, care services and centres for the elderly and employs about 250 staff, uses the Enneagram system as part of its hiring consideration - and not just at the managerial level.
Even so, Yau says 'it helps reduce the turnover rate, from three out of 10, to one out of 10'.
There are no figures on the number of companies in Hong Kong that apply personality tests as a hiring tool. However, more companies have begun to include them in recruitment since they surfaced in the city 15 years ago. In the early 1990s, personality tests were mostly employed by big multinationals. But in the past five years, they have become almost standard for mid-size and large companies, says Ritchie Bent, group head of human resources at Jardine Matheson.
One reason for the more widespread use is cost. 'It's always important that you find people who can work in the culture of your organisation in a productive way,' says Bent, who also chairs the human resources development committee of the Hong Kong Management Association. 'You don't want people who are massively destructive, and [drive] everybody to resign.'
The Enneagram is among many personality tests available on the market. Based on theories developed by Bolivian-born psychologist Oscar Ichazo, it classifies people into nine personality types: 1) reformers, 2) helpers, 3) achievers, 4) individualists, 5) investigators, 6) loyalists, 7) enthusiasts, 8) challengers and 9) peacemakers.
