March 16, 2015
Author: , Ph.D.

Managers need to hire motivated, productive employees.  Unfortunately, all applicants say (or lie) they are motivated.  Fortunately, pre-employment personality tests plus certain pre-hire assessment methods can help you hire employees who are productive and motivated to help you grow your business. 

5 MAIN WORK MOTIVATIONS ON THE JOB

Jobs usually have five categories of work activities employees may focus on: 

1.  Financial Gain
2.  Helping People
3.  Creative Work
4.  Exerting Control
5.  Increasing Knowledge

So, what should hiring managers do to hire employees who are motivated by the right factors to become productive employees? 

First, use a pre-employment personality test to benchmark motivation test scores.  To do this, have your best employees in each job take the pre-hire test.  Since you crave to hire employees who have same qualities as your best, their scores becomes the benchmark test scores. 

Pre-employment test benchmarking research I do continually finds that sales reps are most highly motivated by (A) seeking Financial Gain, i.e., making sales and (B) Exerting Control, e.g., following-up with customers.  So, when testing sales rep applicants, you could prefer applicants who get high test scores on those two motivations.  

Another research tidbit for you:  In my personality test research, I often find a company’s best customer service reps and administrative employees get high pre-hire test scores on (A) Helping People and (B) Increasing Knowledge.  Tip:  When you test and assess applicants for such jobs, you may prefer applicants who get high test scores on those two motivations. 

BEWARE:  ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION IS WORTHLESS IN YOUR HIRING DECISIONS

Managers sometimes ask me if “Achievement Motivation” is important.  They wrongly think that people high in Achievement Motivation are likely to be high-achievers.

Nonsense!  Reason:  High Achievement Motivation does not correlate with becoming a productive high-achiever at work:  People only feel motivated to make achievements they personally consider important.  They are not motivated to achieve things they consider unimportant. 

For instance, if a person who has ‘general’ high Achievement Motivation is put in sales rep job, but that person is not motivated to (A) seek Financial Gain by making sales and (B) Exert Control to follow-up with customers, then that person will fail in sales job. 

Interestingly, I know someone whose adult son took a personality quiz that indicated the son has a high Achievement Motivation.  But, the son was going nowhere in his jobs and career.  They begged me to talk with their adult son.  I did.  I quickly discovered he feels high Achievement Motivation to do activities he loves doing, specifically, playing video games and spending much time on social media!  No wonder he is a failure in his jobs and career. 

Lesson:  Do not confuse a job applicant’s high Achievement Motivation with achieving a lot on the job.  People only want to achieve in activities they feel motivated to do. 

OTHER PRE-HIRE APPLICANT ASSESSMENT METHODS TO HELP YOU

A personality pre-employment test may tell you if a job applicant got same motivation test scores as your company’s best, superstar employees in each job.  If an applicant got the same motivation test scores, then you can use other applicant assessments, also. 

First, give pre-employment intelligence test.  Find benchmark intelligence test scores of your superstars in each job.  Then, you could prefer job applicants who get the benchmark intelligence test scores. 

Second, in interviews, ask applicants for results they achieved.  Since many applicants lie about their results, you should ask:   “Whom can I contact to verify the results you said you achieved?”  Watch the applicant’s body language to help determine if applicant was honest about results or exaggerated. 

Third,  another applicant assessment method is realistic job observation (RJO):  Have applicants who got good pre-employment personality and intelligence test scores, plus impressed you in job interviews, spend a half-day observe an employee performing the job they applied for.  Then, you ask (a) if applicant still wants that job and (b) employee the applicant observed for their impressions. 

PRE-EMPLOYMENT PERSONALITY & INTELLIGENCE TESTS PLUS OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS HELP YOU HIRE MOTIVATED & PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES

Since all applicants will tell you, truthfully or not, that they are motivated workers, you need to assess their claims.  Use pre-employment tests, job interviews, and realistic job observations.  Then, you can make your hiring decisions based on insightful pre-hire assessment methods. 

COPYRIGHT 2015 MICHAEL MERCER, PH.D.

Michael Mercer, Ph.D., is creator and researcher of all 3 Forecaster(tm) Tests – pre-employment tests – and author of the book Hire the Best & Avoid the Rest(tm).  Dr. Mercer also wrote 5 other books, and he delivers informative and entertaining speeches and seminars.  To learn how Dr. Mercer can help your organization succeed, go to www.Pre-EmploymentTests.com or phone Dr. Mercer at 847-382-0690.