There’s a lot of misinformation these days, with attorneys and employer groups recommending that employers not use such character assessments as DISC, Profiles International, Kolbe, ZeroRisk HR, McQuaig, and so forth. The concern is that these tests might trigger some type of discrimination or breach-of -privacy claim. In reality, there have been only a handful of claims based on using character assessment tools. A number of years ago, a Target Department Store in the San Francisco Bay area was sued for combining an MMPI exam (a psychiatric assessment tool) with its own handmade questions, such as “Do you believe in pre-marital sex?’” A company that stupid deserves to get sued! However, we have yet to see a major assessment tool provider sued successfully under a discrimination type claim.
Of course, any tool used as a pass or fail mechanism must be reasonably related to the job at hand and validated over time. What’s more, these tests should not have a “disparate impact” on minority or other groups unless a there’s a legitimate business interest for this impact.
What employers groups and attorneys aren't telling you is that, although these assessment tools might pose a slight risk on the hiring side, they do an excellent job at helping you not hire the wrong employee. The greatest risk comes from not using these tools and relying on subjective views when doing a job interview analysis.
Every company I know that uses these tools swears by them and agrees that they’re better at telling you who not to hire than who to hire. Almost every company that hired against the recommendation of the assessment ended up paying a price.
Understand this: Risk management is not about eliminating all risks — it’s about choosing your risk exposure. The best place to manage your risk is in the hiring process. By not using employee evaluation tools, you’re increasing your risk of hiring a poor employee and facing a claim down the road. Of course, if you’re still concerned about the use of these tools, get advice from your attorney, but make sure to weigh it against the upside that these tools offer
Additional note: Try a wide variety of assessment tools to find out which one most closely predicts good job performance. Remember that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (designed in 1978) requires the use of the “four-fifths rule.” The rule provides that a “selection rate for any race...which is less than four-fifths (or 80 percent) of the rate for the group with the highest rate will generally be regarded by the [EEOC] as evidence of adverse impact.”