Casting to Type

Another hurdle for companies that are considering testing is the potential legal challenges it brings. Many companies, including BellSouth Corp. in Atlanta, have faced class-action lawsuits from minority candidates who think the tests they took discriminated against them. That's why it's crucial for companies that use personality tests to make sure the tests have been validated under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's standards, says Teresa Butler Stivarius, an employment attorney with Epstein Becker & Green PC in Atlanta.

"The test you use has to measure what it says it's going to measure," says Stivarius, "and you have to make sure that it doesn't have a disparate impact on minorities." But she cautions that it isn't enough to have your tests validated under the EEOC's standards: a company could still be liable if its tests have a negative result for minorities. Unless you measure the results by looking at the applicant pool, determining what percent are minorities and then figuring out what percent the test is weeding out, she warns, "you may be on the wrong side of a lawsuit."

Also, companies can run into trouble with privacy laws if the tests ask questions of an overly personal nature. Target Corp. found that out the hard way in 1991 when it was sued for asking applicants for security positions to take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, as well as several other tests, which potential employees claimed unduly invaded their privacy by asking questions about religion and sexual preference. "The point is that using these tests is a business-risk decision for employers," says Stivarius. "You have to ask if the benefits are worth it."

That's a no-brainer for Leland Bassett, who has used handwriting analysis to hire every employee in his company, Bassett & Bassett Inc., for the past 12 years.

"I was initially skeptical," says Bassett, "but it really does work. It's very cost-effective. Basically, what [our analyst] is doing is looking at nonverbal and unconscious communication that we all provide in our handwriting."

Bassett says the most important information he gains from the handwriting analysis is whether applicants will fit into the company's "international, multicultural" environment. "We have people from all over the world working here," he adds. "I need to know if an applicant is going to be uncomfortable with that."

Kris Frieswick is a senior writer at CFO.

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