Personality questionnaires are thought to be one of the most effective methods of personality research, which is why they are widely used in personnel assessment all over the world. But at the same time, this sphere of practical psychology raises the question of the validity of such tests. As a rule, Russian HR managers use either non-business-oriented questionnaires or translated questionnaires that have not been adapted to Russia.
OnTarget is a Russian-based company whose main business is designing and adapting foreign personnel assessment tools (occupational ability tests, personal and motivational questionnaires, competency based questionnaires, etc.). We offer a 15FQ+ personal questionnaire, designed by British psychometric company Psytech Int, that has been translated and adapted for use in Russia. The very latest version of the 15FQ+ questionnaire provides a comprehensive assessment of personality. Building on the most up-to-date research, the 15FQ+ has been fully revised to make it suitable for use in the international business environment. Maintaining the breadth of the original 16 personality factors, first identified by Raymond B Cattell, the 15FQ+ sets new standards for reliability and validity.
Pic. 1. Model profile from automatic 15FQ+ report
To prepare this questionnaire for use in Russia, OnTarget and Psytech Int. translated, adapted and validated it. When translating the questionnaire, we corrected some questions to reach a high internal consistency for all 15FQ+ scales (from 0.6 to 0.9 for different scales). We also translated the automatic reports for this questionnaire and conducted research on its validity.
To validate the Russian version of 15FQ+, we used various data from Assessment Centers led by our partner, DeTech (Development Technologies Ltd.), in Russian and multinational companies. Assessment Centers are widely recognized as one of the most accurate methods of personnel assessment. The research sample consisted of 50 participants who took part in 1 of 5 Assessment Centers.
At the first stage of research, the participants’ results on every 15FQ+ scale questionnaire were compared to the final marks they got for every competency in the Assessment Center (Pic. 2). The validity of this method of analysis was proved by the fact that 15FQ+ results didn’t influence the final marks received for each competency. So the results of the questionnaire and competency ratings weren't interdependent.
Pic. 2. The first stage of the research.
We found a statistically significant correlation (at a 0.01 level of significance) between most of the main factors of the questionnaire and some of the competencies. The examination of correlation coefficients shows that they have so-called “face validity”, because the results of the 15FQ+ scales correlate with the competencies whose development is heavily influenced by these personal characteristics.
Here are the most interesting correlations:
- Scale β (Intellectance) positively correlates with one of the most important competencies — Planning & Organizing;
- Scale F (Sober Serious — Enthusiastic) has negative correlations with Planning & Organizing, Management Control and Customer Service;
- Scale G (Expedient — Conscientious) negatively correlates with Energy;
- Scale Q1 (Conventional — Radical) has a negative correlation with Tenacity and positive correlations with Planning & Organizing, Management Control and Leadership;
- Scale Q2 (Group-orientated — Self-sufficient) negatively correlates with Interpersonal Sensitivity.
Also, we discovered a statistically significant correlation between competencies and Big 5 scales. Those participants who scored low on the Introversion-Extraversion scale, obtained higher ratings in Planning & Organizing: those with high results on Big 5 scale O (Pragmatism — Openness) obtained higher ratings in Stress Tolerance, Decisiveness and Customer Service. Finally, those participants who described themselves as having Lower Self-Control (Big 5 scale C) were rated higher in Creativity.
We also examined correlations between competency ratings and OnTarget ability tests results. The evidence showed that the results of the Analyzing Numerical Information test (which is intended for top managers and analysts) positively correlate with ratings for such competencies as Flexibility, Problem Analysis, Commercial Awareness and Interpersonal Sensitivity. Meanwhile, the results of the Analyzing Verbal Information test correlate with Strategic Perspective and Listening. Interesting results were also reported for the Contact with Customers battery (for account managers): numerical test results correlate with ratings for Strategic Perspective and Listening, while verbal test results correlate with ratings for Stress Tolerance, Decisiveness, Strategic Perspective, Listening, Persuasive Oral Communication and Interpersonal Sensitivity.
During the second stage of our research, we grouped all the competencies into 8 big clusters to confirm the findings.
Pic. 3. The second stage of the research.
We identified the following eight clusters (indicators for the clusters are in parentheses):
- Persuasion (states his/her point of view clearly both in writing and in speaking; adapts his/her style of communication to the audience’s needs and characteristics; states his/her point of view without hesitation even when facing challenging arguments from his/her opponents; persuades and influences other people; uses convincing arguments to support his/her point of view, persuades people into agreeing with his/her arguments)
- Leadership (encourages subordinates to perform better; when solving problems or delegating responsibilities, takes the personal characteristics of his/her subordinates into account; pays attention to and spends time on developing his/her subordinates; encourages the effective solution of problem situations and a friendly atmosphere on his/her team; encourages his/her subordinates to believe in their work and in themselves)
- Problem Analysis (obtains all necessary information to solve the problem; divides the problem into smaller components and defines its key aspects; makes correct conclusions based on gathered information; makes correct decisions on time, integrating all the ideas and situations into one; foresees the long-term consequences of different decisions)
- Initiative (offers new ways of solving problems at work; looks for and takes opportunities to make his/her performance better; takes actions to avoid problems; anticipates future possibilities and problems; when mistakes are found, offers ways of correcting them)
- Drive for Results / Tenacity (strives for required results in his/her own and others’ work; overcomes obstacles on the path to reaching goals; works effectively even under pressure and in stressful situations; makes decisions according to his responsibilities and takes responsibility for all the outcomes of his decisions; meets all work requirements and all standards)
- Teamwork (encourages a cooperative atmosphere on his/her team; helps to solve conflict situations; organizes effective project groups; quickly builds good relationships with his/her colleagues; is attentive and respectful to other people and colleagues; listens to others to understand their problems; is oriented towards cooperation; adapts his/her method of communication according to the needs of the audience)
- Customer Service (finds out all the needs and interests of his/her customers and tries to satisfy them; is attentive to the customers’ requests; helps the customers fill in request forms; tries to set high standards of customer service; builds lasting, friendly relationships with his/her customers; works effectively with different types of customers, including difficult ones)
- Planning and Managerial Control (devises realistic plans; establishes the right priorities; allocates resources and sets the tasks for his subordinates according to the plan; checks the progress of task completion; makes necessary corrections to his/her plan; obeys rules and procedures)
The results of this stage confirmed the existence of statistically significant correlations between 15FQ+ results and competency ratings. For instance, Leadership correlates with Empathetic
Our findings confirmed the validity of using 15FQ+ in Russian personnel assessment. 15FQ+ can be used either independently or as a component of a more complex system like Assessment or Development Center. If there is a shortage of time or tools available for major assessment, 15FQ+ provides a fairly accurate evaluation of several competencies and additional information on some others.
