Conducting personality assessments within a department or across an entire company has become relatively common practice. It is less common, however, for companies to unlock the full potential they contain.

For businesses considering whether or not to provide personality assessments to workers, below are some tips.

Create a multistage learning event.

Although many organizations assume the payoff for conducting staff personality assessments is when results are revealed, there are learning and morale-building opportunities throughout the entire process.

The first step for employers is to provide workers with ample time to take the assessment while on the clock. Those managing the process should also provide participants with some helpful instructions. Although most questionnaires are web-based and easy to administer, it is wise to give workers about two weeks. This provides most employees with enough time to plan ahead and work around other deadlines. Assessments conducted under time constraints or by workers who feel overwhelmed by other tasks are often less revealing and possibly inaccurate.

Employees should also be advised to answer assessment questions in the context of the workplace setting. This is an important point because some people display varying personalities depending on their environment. Certain jobs may require employees to exude a more outgoing personality. However, that same person may be much more reserved and quiet in the evenings at home.

Make the reveal entertaining and insightful.

Often, the most memorable part of the personality assessment process comes on the day when employees receive their own results and share them with others. In doing this, facilitators should take ample time to explain the assessment, the personality types it reveals and the common strengths and challenges for each category. Participants should also be reminded that assessment results are generalizations. No person precisely matches all the traits commonly used to describe each personality type. Therefore, it is important to note both the similarities and the differences between results and reality.