If you're in the process of job searching or considering using The Predictive Index (PI) to improve business outcomes, you may be wondering what the tool is and how it works. PI assessments measure behavioral drives such as Dominance, Extraversion, Patience, and Formality, as well as cognitive ability.
Rather than being a test that someone can pass or fail, PI's workplace assessments help business leaders better understand the needs of specific roles, teams, projects, or business strategies. By collecting candidate or employee "people data," PI assessments can help leaders make more informed and objective decisions, such as who to hire, how to manage, when to add a new executive, and more.
How PI can be used in hiring decisions
For example, if you're a healthcare organization looking to hire a registered nurse, you may need to determine whether a candidate is assertive enough to speak up for patient safety, enjoys working with and through others, and can keep up with new technology, procedures, and treatments. The PI Job Assessment can pinpoint the behavioral traits and cognitive abilities someone needs to be successful in the role, while the PI Behavioral Assessment can help you determine if someone has the right personality for the job, and the PI Cognitive Assessment can help you understand the speed at which someone learns new information. Together, these assessments can increase your ability to predict candidate success.
Unlike asking leading questions that may prompt candidates to give you the answers they think you want to hear, using PI assessments provides you with more objective and reliable data points to make better hiring decisions.
What are the PI Behavioral and Cognitive Assessments?
The PI Behavioral Assessment, which has been around since the 1950s, is scientifically-validated for workplace use and measures four behavioral drives: Dominance, Extraversion, Patience, and Formality. It is used by thousands of companies worldwide and can be used to predict not only job fit during hiring but also for promoting employees, improving team dynamics, and boosting productivity.
The PI Cognitive Assessment, on the other hand, predicts future job performance in terms of how fast someone will catch on, understand complexity, and figure things out. It takes about 12 minutes to complete and measures numerical, abstract, and verbal categories of questions. Instead of setting one baseline cognitive target, PI encourages using the PI Job Assessment to set a cognitive target based on the role and work environment.
How to use behavioral assessment data outside of hiring
PI assessments can be used for more than just hiring decisions. For instance, you can use the people data collected via the PI Behavioral Assessment for promotions, managing employees, and improving team dynamics. By using the PI Job Assessment to pinpoint the behavioral traits needed for a particular role, you can probe into any behavioral gaps with customized structured interview questions to help employees understand how and where they'd need to stretch to be successful. Moreover, all managers can use the PI platform to access the PI Inspire solution, where they can leverage the Relationship Guide, Manager Strategy Guide to help two teammates work more effectively together, accommodate employees' individual preferences, and uncover why employees are working together but not reaching their goals.
Every problem in business is a people problem, and the success of your organization is directly tied to the quality of your workforce. If you're looking to solve your people pains and improve business outcomes, contact Straightline Consulting Group, a certified Talent Optimization consultancy and PI master practitioner. They can walk you through the software, help you interpret the data, and provide customized solutions to fit your unique needs.
Overall, PI is a valuable tool for organizations looking to make more informed and objective decisions about their workforce. Whether you're using it for hiring, promotions, managing, or improving team dynamics, PI assessments provide reliable data points that can help you make better decisions and ultimately achieve better business outcomes.
