EG FUTURE LEADERS 2024 Victoria Whiteley, project manager, Knight Frank
Have you ever had to do a personality test? Have you ever questioned the purpose of it and vehemently denied that you are the personality type it has seemingly pigeonholed you into? Of course you have.
Knight Frank project director Victoria Whiteley has too, but, as she told an audience of hundreds at Church House, there is an alternative and more valuable use for personality tests.
She urged businesses to start using personality tests to develop people’s missing skills, rather than just focus on what the tests tell us we are good at.
“If we put people into a box, are we restricting their potential?” she asked. “And is there a way that personality tests can be used much more effectively and practically in a workplace to broaden career prospects?”
The answer, of course, is yes. Whiteley explained the concept of human sustainability, which is about how well businesses make you feel like you belong, like you’re valued and that you are worthy of progression.
In an industry that is forever fighting a war for talent, trying to not just attract new people to the sector but stop the merry-go-round of poaching, finding ways to make employees feel valued and therefore more loyal is key.
“Personalities and ways of working could be much more at the forefront of decision-making when assigning teams, rather than just who is available,” said Whiteley. “Continuously using personality tests, teams could learn and understand how to adapt, dial up or dial down to meet clients’ requirements and expectations. This could go a long way to creating strong and long-lasting client relationships and overall, more successful projects.”
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