Pre-Employment
Creativity Tests

Why Creativity is Important in the Workplace

Creativity is the source of innovation in the workplace. Companies benefit from having creative employees because they generate new ideas, and these new ideas allow companies to grow and evolve in the marketplace. While many types of positions are best performed by creative employees, other positions are less suited for people with creative inclinations. Pre-employment personality tests that evaluate how creative and experimental a job candidate is can be very valuable in determining "job fit," or how comfortable a person would be in a particular position.

People with creative personalities are better suited for positions that reward them for exploring new ideas or solutions in the workplace – these creative positions range from the creative arts to software engineers and analysts. Conversely, people with more traditional personalities may be more comfortable in positions that allow them to perform their job duties in a structured and orderly environment. Knowing a job candidate’s tendencies makes it easier to evaluate how comfortable he or she will be in a particular position based on the job's demands.

It is undeniably difficult to evaluate creativity through brief online pre-employment tests. There are certain personality traits, however, which are correlated with a willingness to experiment and a tendency to think in non-traditional ways. The Employee Personality Profile (EPP) is a general personality inventory that measures twelve personality traits that provide valuable insights into a person's work styles. One trait it measures is "Openness," which measures the extent to which an individual is imaginative and creative, as opposed to down to earth and conventional. Individuals with high openness scores are experimental, intellectually curious, open to change, and interested in abstract concepts. Individuals with low openness scores are often more conventional, traditional, detail-oriented, and prefer familiarity to novelty.

The Criteria Personality Inventory (CPI) is another personality inventory that specifically evaluates the "Big Five" personality traits: Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Openness, and Stress Tolerance. Just as in the EPP, the Openness scale refers to the extent to which an individual is imaginative and creative, as opposed to conventional.

If you're an employer interested in previewing these tests, start a 14-day free trial or book a consultation to learn more.