MBTI - Myers-Briggs
I've been taking a Myers-Briggs Qualifying Course through the Center for Applications of Applied Psychological Type in New York this week (I'm an ESTJ). It's made me think if the concept of "testing" in the workplace and a few key points.
It's amazing how many people administer the MBTI who don't know what on earth they are doing! See, Michael's post on George's Employment Blawg here regarding the inappropriateness of the MBTI for selection. I've seen it used hundreds of times in corporations and academia by people not even close to being qualified to administer it. Having said that, it's amazing how many tests are administered in the workplace that have not been validated, aren't even job related and administered under the worst conditions. How many times have applicants been sent off to some psychological testing center for some, presumably, related test? I remember I was a candidate for a VPHR job several years ago (for a company that will remain nameless). Just as the CEO and I were about to firm up a deal, I got a call from some administrative person who told me to expect a call from the psychological testing service. I spent two hours on the phone with a dimwit asking me crazy questions. When he got to the one about which color I'd like to be if I had to choose one and which animal I'd like to be if I had to choose one, I really thought he was crazy. Hey, I'm not a psychologist, but I can't see the correlation between asking someone if they wanted to be green or orange and job performance!
I hope that the HR folks and other selection professionals out there reading this will think twice about the tests they are using. There are a ton of other issues - we could talk for hours about legal issues in test validity, but I have a class tomorrow!