There are several things that anyone preparing to give personality questionnaires feedback should be aware of. By following these rules the process will go more smoothly.

How to Give Feedback from Personality Questionnaires

Best Practices for Personality Questionnaires Feedback

Feedback of personality questionnaires should only be given by people who are properly trained in its use and interpretation. Feedback should generally take place as soon as possible after questionnaire completion.

Ideally feedback should take place on a separate and distinct occasion. Unless the evaluation is itself part of the process, for example, within a development centre.

Time needs to be set aside specifically for the purpose of feedback and it should be as full and detailed as possible. At the same time, it needs to be managed with tact and sensitivity. Confidentiality should be assured and adhered to.

Most people have areas of vulnerability and yet many people will be ready to accept apparently new personal information about themselves. This places a real responsibility upon the person giving the feedback.

That is, they should treat the person with due respect and be aware of their own limitations. The personality questionnaires use should be restricted only to applications for which it was intended and never “go beyond the data” unless supported by additional evidence.

It is also important to consider the issue of feedback to relevant third parties, such as the individual’s own line manager. In this instance, line manager feedback could well take the form of a short written report.

This would typically combine information from the profile. Alongside any information gathered from feedback.

Read: The Benefits of Occupational Personality Questionnaire Feedback.

Preparing to Give Feedback from Personality Questionnaires

Adequate preparation is an essential prerequisite of a good feedback discussion. The person giving the feedback should have a thorough understanding of both the personality questionnaires and the particular results concerned.

They should also be able to describe the latter in simple, jargon-free terms. To these ends, it is important to:

• Fully understand the meanings of the scales of the personality questionnaire, together with what the scores mean. This should be supplemented by identifying real examples of such behaviours taken from the workplace.

• Allow adequate time to prepare for the feedback discussion, including the preparation of questions to ask.

• Book sufficient time for the feedback discussion itself. It is suggested that you allow about 30 minutes of time for face to face personality questionnaires feedback.

Obviously more time will be needed if you want to combine an in-depth development or coaching discussion with the personality questionnaire feedback.

• Ensure privacy and freedom from interruptions. This is crucial if a really open discussion is to be achieved.

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(Main image from Kinharvie Institute)