Hogan Assessments, a comprehensive suite of personality evaluation tools, has revolutionized this space, offering deep insights into the characteristics, risks, and potential of employees and candidates. This article delves into the conception, methodology, and transformative potential of Hogan Assessments in personal and organizational development.
The Hogan test Founded in the 1980s by Drs. Joyce and Robert Hogan, Hogan Assessments emerged from the desire to decrease workplace turnover, enhance productivity, and improve leadership through robust personality assessment. The Hogans’ pioneering work laid the foundation for using personality assessments to predict workplace performance, challenging the traditional methods that focused on physicality or intelligence tests.
The Hogan Suite
Hogan Assessments provides a range of tools, each designed to reveal different facets of an individual’s personality:
- Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) – The HPI evaluates seven primary scales and six occupational scales to assess how individuals relate to others under normal circumstances. It predicts job performance by identifying the fundamental characteristics that foster productive relationships and effective working strategies.
- Hogan Development Survey (HDS) – The HDS identifies personality-based performance risks and derailers of interpersonal behavior. These are the characteristics that can impede work relationships or hinder productivity under stress or fatigue.
- Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) – The MVPI delves into an individual’s core values, goals, drivers, and interests, helping to understand what motivates employees to succeed, fit with organizational culture, and job satisfaction.
- Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory (HBRI) – The HBRI evaluates two kinds of problem-solving: tactical and strategic reasoning, predicting an individual’s problem-solving style, and ability. It’s unique in focusing on reasoning skills rather than IQ.
- Hogan Judgment – This module assesses decision-making style, post-decision reactions, and feedback receptivity, providing insight into how individuals process information and make decisions.
- Hogan 360° – A tool that combines an individual’s self-assessment with the perceptions of others, providing a holistic view of current performance, areas for improvement, and strategies for personal development.
Methodology: Hogan’s methodology is grounded in decades of research and the application of rigorous scientific principles. Their assessments rely on the Five-Factor Model, ensuring comprehensive analysis across key personality dimensions. The process involves participants responding to stimuli (questions or situations), and algorithms then analyze these responses in relation to established psychological theories, generating detailed reports.
Applications in the Workplace:
- Recruitment and Selection: Hogan Assessments are invaluable in the recruitment process, offering a psychological perspective that complements traditional selection methods. By understanding a candidate’s personality, employers can make informed predictions about job performance and organizational fit.
- Leadership Development: Leaders’ decisions shape organizational success. Understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and drivers help organizations cultivate effective leadership strategies, ensuring leaders are self-aware and capable of managing their teams successfully.
- Team Optimization: By understanding the personality composition of teams, organizations can leverage individual strengths for optimal performance. Hogan’s tools reveal potential areas of conflict and facilitate the development of complementary team roles.
- Organizational Culture: Aligning personnel with core company values is crucial. Hogan Assessments help in understanding employees’ motivations and values, ensuring synergy between individual and organizational goals.
- Career Development: Employees are more engaged when their job resonates with their personal ambitions. Hogan’s suite aids in mapping out career paths that reflect individuals’ capabilities and aspirations.
Practice
Practicing for assessments like the Hogan Assessments, or engaging in preparation, is important for several reasons, even though they measure inherent personality traits and typical behavior patterns rather than learned knowledge or skills.
Familiarity with the assessment style can prevent confusion, ensuring that your responses are representative of your true self, not skewed by misunderstanding the question format.
How to Prepare for the Hogan Assessment
Preparing for the Hogan Assessment requires a unique approach compared to studying for typical tests, as it’s designed to assess your personality in the context of potential workplace performance. Here are steps and tips to help you prepare:
- Understand the Purpose:
- Realize that Hogan Assessments are designed to evaluate your personality traits and how they might influence your behavior at work. They are not tests you pass or fail but assessments to gauge fit for a role or identify areas for development.
- There are different types of Hogan Assessments (HPI, HDS, MVPI), each with a specific focus. Understand what each assessment is measuring.
- Get Familiar with the Format:
- Hogan Assessments typically include true/false questions or statements where you’ll rate your agreement on a scale. They are not timed, so you can take them at a comfortable pace.
- Review sample questions or practice tests to get comfortable with the format. However, remember that the actual content will be different, as it’s assessing your inherent traits.
- Reflect on Your Work Personality:
- Consider how you behave in a work environment. What are your strengths? What stresses you out? How do you handle conflict or teamwork? Being aware of these aspects can help you understand and interpret the questions better.
- Reflect on feedback you’ve received in the past from managers, colleagues, or in performance reviews.
- Answer Honestly:
- Don’t try to game the test or answer how you think the employer wants. Inconsistencies can flag your results, making them less reliable. The assessment is designed to identify the real you.
- Remember, there’s no “right” answer. The best response is the most honest one that truly reflects your preferences and tendencies.
- Stay Relaxed:
- Approach the assessment calmly. Stress can impede your ability to answer honestly and can make the experience uncomfortable.
- Ensure you’re well-rested and take the assessment in a quiet, comfortable environment where you won’t be disturbed.
