Why are free personality inventories expensive for you?

Personality assessment is a booming field, not least because people like to learn more about themselves. A quick Google search for the term “free personality inventories” reveals a multitude of online questionnaires.

While these inventories can be entertaining, their relevance and reliability, especially for business use, are often questionable.

Are free personality inventories just entertainment?

On social networks, personality tests are very successful. Many are sharing their results to find out which movie or series character they are most similar to. For example, a popular test published by BuzzFeed allowed Internet users to know if they were more like Joe Exotic or Carole Baskin, the protagonists of the Netflix series Tiger King.

While these inventories are clearly designed for entertainment, assessing their validity by the general public remains complicated. However, others are more serious and are developed by psychologists. Among the best known are Hogan Assessments, used in professional contexts, in particular for recruitment and personal development.

Are free personality inventories valid for the business?

When it comes to talent assessment, it's essential to distinguish entertaining tests from truly scientific tools. A personality inventory can only be relevant for a business if it has a high predictive validity, that is to say if it really makes it possible to anticipate the performance and suitability of an individual for a position.

However, free inventories have several weaknesses :

1. A lack of scientific validation : Contrary to some rigorous psychometric evaluations, free inventories have often not been validated by independent studies.
2. Low legal reliability : A personality inventory used for recruitment must be legally defensible. Most do not meet these requirements.
3. An unregulated industry : Unlike medications that are controlled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the market for psychometric evaluations is largely open to actors who do not care about results.

Thus, a test that has no scientific basis may seem attractive and fun, but it does not provide no real value for business decision making.

How to avoid ineffective personality inventories in business?

Faced with the multitude of existing tests, how do you sort them out? To avoid the pitfalls of invalid personality tests, here are some recommendations:

1. Refer to psychometric experts

Some independent organizations such as The British Psychological Society Or the Buros Center for Testing assess the quality of the tests. Checking if a test is recognized there can be a good indicator.

1. Analyze the validity and reliability of the test
2. A valid test must have been scientifically validated Through published studies, the case of Hogan Assessments is an example, with more than 1,650 studies in published research.
3. Reliability (ability to provide consistent results over time) and validity (ability to predict professional performance) are essential.
4. Be wary of marketing promises
5. Many tests present themselves as “revolutionary” tools, but it is crucial to verify the scientific basis behind them before using them for important HR decisions.

If you want to use a test for recruitment, internal mobility or talent development, choose tools that have been scientifically and legally proven.

3 key points to remember:

1. Free personality inventories are primarily entertainment tools and should not be used for business decisions.
2. Psychometric tools that are not scientifically validated cannot be reliable for recruitments or promotions.
3. To choose a reliable inventory, you must rely on objective criteria : validity, reliability and recognition by psychometric experts.

Before investing in a personality inventory, it is therefore essential to assess its relevance and validity to ensure informed and effective HR decisions.

Our various Hogan assessments tools

The Hogan Assessments article that inspired this one: Why Free Personality Tests Aren't Worth the Price

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