Our Science

How do personality assessments work?

The WorkTraits™ Compatibility System

The WorkTraits™ Compatibility System is based upon two areas of psychological research, Person-Job Fit and Organizational Culture. The purpose of assessing these two areas is to provide a view of the employee or job applicant which gives insight into how their personality and values fit into an organization.

Person-Job Fit

In terms of Person-job fit, WorkTraits assesses an area of personality called Behavioral Style. An individual’s Behavioral Style is like a blueprint for the type of role for which a person is wired. That blueprint is made up of four traits. These traits are essentially preferences for certain types of behavior like leading, selling, helping, or organizing. These four traits are Decision-Maker, Encourager, Facilitator, and Tracker and when measured in their different intensities, they reveal how suited individuals are for certain roles.

Organizational Culture

Just as people have personalities, so do organizations. An organization’s personality is called its “culture” and is a mirror of its values. WorkTraits measures four values prominent within organizational cultures: Ambition, Belief, Compassion, and Discipline. Measuring these values allows us to determine how in line an individual is with the culture of an organization. This is important because research tells us that for an individual to be successful within an organization not only must their Behavioral Style fit their role, so too must their values be compatible with the culture or personality of the organization.

What does that mean?

For example, WorkTraits is used by many health care providers to assess their organizational culture. Within the field of health care, we have learned that the most prominent organizational value is compassion. Employees or new hires that do not hold this value either leave or remain with a sense that they are a square peg in a round hole. They simply do not share the values of the organization.

Compatibility

To help assess the cultural fit of an individual within an organization, WorkTraits utilizes a proprietary formula that provides a compatibility score for every individual in the organization. The score ranges from 15-140. The higher the score the more compatible the values of the individual with the organization.

Therefore, the combination of assessing behavioral style and values provides a scientifically grounded basis to determine the long-term success of employees and their contribution to the workplace.