Is a personality profile a valid predictor of performance in the workplace?
There has been much discussion about the validity of personality profiling as a predictor of performance in the workplace. The vast majority of commentators now accept that the use of personality profiling and other similar measures in pre-employment screening significantly improves the predictivity of the selection process. It is also accepted that these tools can also be used as the basis of career-pathing and development programs. Hogan, Hogan and Roberts, after an exhaustive review, conclude that: • well constructed measures of normal personality are valid predictors of performance in virtually all occupations, • they do not result in adverse impact for job applicants or minority groups; and • using well developed personality measures for pre-employment screening is a way to promote social justice and increase organisational productivity. R. Hogan, J. Hogan and BW Roberts, Personality measurement and employment decisions, American Psychologist, vol. 51, no. 5, 1996, p. 469. This co
