How Hogan's Personality Assessments Improve Workplace Safety

Each year, accidents and work-related illnesses cost billions of dollars in needless business expenses. Serious workers’ compensation claims can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars each and can incur hidden costs for business continuity.

The easiest way for companies to reduce these costs is to assess and predict potential candidates’ likely workplace safety behavior during the recruitment process. In traditional job interviews, candidates present the best versions of themselves, and this may not accurately portray their day-to-day behavior. In safety conscious industries—e.g., oil and gas, construction and medicine—being able to evaluate and predict a candidate’s safety behavior is crucial.

At Hogan we have been developing selection solutions for companies worldwide since the early 1970s. We provide different assessments for different business needs; organizations wanting to recruit safety-minded staff will benefit hugely from the company’s Safety Assessment. The associated Safety Report evaluates candidates’ suitability for employment in safety-critical work environments.

The Hogan Safety Assessment aims to improve workers’ safety awareness and behavior by scoring applicants on six components of safety-related behavior. Safety conscious individuals are compliant, resilient, cheerful, vigilant, cautious, and trainable. Individuals who are safety risks are defiant, panicky, irritable, distractible, reckless, and arrogant. The Safety score predicts the likelihood that an applicant will engage in certain behaviors that tend to make accidents more likely.

Hogan has assessed individuals across a range of industries and roles specifically with a focus on safety-related behaviours. Assessing safety related personality characteristics in selection and development has been found to significantly reduce reportable workplace injury and accidents saving employers money and preventing a range of associated consequences.

These results show that the Safety Assessment prevents unnecessary accidents when companies recruit safety-minded employees. It also improves training and creates awareness around safety issues when employees understand how their behavior impacts workplace safety and how they are accountable. This builds a safer, more engaged culture which prevents accidents, saves time, and improves overall employee satisfaction on the job.

Dr Robert Hogan said: “Without the proper workplace safety culture, a company puts its employees and revenues in danger. The Hogan reports allow organizations to identify safety-minded candidates and recognize and repair safety-related gaps in the company culture. As a result, the assessment saves clients time and unnecessary costs while making the workplace a safer environment for everyone.”

*This post originally appeared on Hogan Assessments.