• 3 min. read

Pre-employment tests: why Wonderlic’s PCI is the best way to assess candidates

By using a pre-employment test, recruiters can make better informed and more defensible hiring decisions. If well-designed and scientifically validated, tests can be one the most objective ways of assessing candidates and predicting job performance and company fit.

Written by Daniela Costa

By using a pre-employment test, recruiters can make better informed and more defensible hiring decisions. If well-designed and scientifically validated, tests can be one the most objective ways of assessing candidates and predicting job performance and company fit.

We know how important it is to quickly identify top talent and avoid potentially bad hires. Having that in mind, skeeled chose to use Wonderlic’s PCI (Personality Characteristics Inventory) to provide customers with a scientifically proven personality assessment and enable an evidence-based recruitment.

Wonderlic is one of the leading providers of pre-employment testing and assessment and as a strategic partner helps us to provide our customers with valuable data-driven insights so they can hire better and faster.

What is the PCI (Personality Characteristics Inventory)?

The PCI (Personal Characteristics Inventory) assesses if a candidate’s personality traits are suitable for a specific job.It consists in a 150-item personality inventory that measures the Big Five and its related subscales, which are all important as job performance predictors.

This pre-employment test is based on the Five Factor Model and measures the Big Five dimensions of personality in a work behavioural context. It is especially designed to help organisations hire more effectively as it is built upon several years of experience in research in the context of how personality can predict job performance.

This is an ideal pre-employment test because it allows to quickly identify if a candidate is suitable for a position, given that it covers nearly all potential workplace personality traits a person has and relates them with potential job performance.

What personality traits does the PCI (Personality Characteristics Inventory) measure?

Wonderlic’s PCI measures the following traits and scales to assess whether a candidate is a good match for a specific job:

- The Big Five: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Stability. - Twelve Subscales: Sociability, Need for Recognition, Leadership Orientation, Cooperation, Consideration, Dependability, Efficiency, Even-Temperament, Achievement Striving, Self-Confidence, Abstract Thinking, and Creative Thinking. - Four Success Scales: Teamwork, Commitment to Work, Learning orientation, and Integrity.

The Four Success Scales alone provide important insights about job performance and company fit:

Teamwork - measures how well a candidate will work in group projects; Commitment to Work - assesses the candidate’s tendency to stay in a position for a long period of time; Learning Orientation - evaluates the candidate’s willingness to learn new skills, behaviours, methods, etc., to improve efficiency; Integrity - assesses the candidate’s honesty and the likelihood of engaging in counterproductive behaviours.

What do the PCI (Personality Characteristics Inventory) results tell recruiters?

After the candidate takes the pre-employment test, the PCI results are summarised in a feedback report that gives recruiters the information on the Big Five and its related subscales in terms of characteristics and behaviours.

These characteristics vary whether the score appears on the Low, Average, or High percentile range. A “high” score does not mean it is good neither does a “low” score mean it is bad.

In fact, for each percentile range, there are facilitative and inhibitory characteristics associated with the score. This means that there are characteristics contributing to successful job performance and others interfering with successful job performance.

How does the PCI (Personality Characteristics Inventory) help your recruitment?

Using the PCI as a pre-employment test to assess candidates' personality traits during the recruitment process gives companies a better understanding regarding how a candidate's personality can influence job satisfaction and performance.

Pre-employment tests are key to find the right candidate for a specific job by matching personality and job requirements. Wonderlic’s PCI is a valid and reliable test that allows companies to qualify, compare and select the best candidates, while also increasing recruitment efficiency by reducing the cost per hire and the company’s turnover rate and increasing productivity, performance and satisfaction.

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Skeeled offers you the perfect opportunity to bring innovation and digitalisation to your hiring. Check our website or our LinkedIn and Facebook pages for further information.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Your team here at skeeled

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