Employee Screening Questionnaire

Douglas N. Jackson, Ph.D. © 2001

Identify more applicants like your best employees. The Employee Screening Questionnaire (ESQ) is a 15-minute test of conscientiousness, integrity, and dependability. It predicts applicants' likelihood of engaging in several positive and negative work behaviors. The ESQ helps improve profitability and reduce voluntary turnover by identifying candidates that are productive, accurate, committed, provide excellent customer service, and do not display counterproductive behaviors.

Applications

• A pre-hire assessment for selection and placement.
• Excellent for a broad range of positions, from Retail and Customer Service to Healthcare and Security professionals.

Description

The ESQ contains 27 sets of four statements. Applicants indicate which of the four statements is most characteristic and which one is least characteristic of him or her.

Resistance to Faking

Unlike other assessments, the ESQ is unique in that it is inherently resistant to "faking". Most assessments are transparent. Oftentimes people are able to significantly inflate their scores when applying for a job. Faking good on traditional selection measures compromises their validity. The ESQ forced-choice format differentiates this assessment from others. The ESQ is two times more powerful at predicting future work behaviors than traditional selection instruments.

Forced Choice Format

The ESQ's forced choice format makes it extremely difficult to fake. It is the first selection assessment that uses a forced-choice format. One of the techniques used is to pair items that are equally desirable (both statistically, and also according to two expert panels of judges) and force respondents to choose between them. Honest, dependable people have a different response pattern from less desirable applicants.

Superior Development

The ESQ leverages decades of research into personality and work performance. The ESQ is based on and uses the best and most relevant items from three well-known and thoroughly researched personality measures, the Personality Research Form (PRF), Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised (JPI-R), and the Six Factor Personality Questionnaire (SFPQ). There are over 2500 published research articles citing one or more of these assessments. This personality-based test is fully compliant with the American with Disabilities Act of 1991.

Reliability

The ESQ has shown good internal consistency reliability. Cronbach alpha values for the 15 ESQ scales, based on 163 job applicants, range from .75 to .84 (median = .83). Intercorrelations among the personality scales of the ESQ are sufficiently independent of one another so that each contributes uniquely to the prediction of job-relevant outcomes.

Validity

Empirical data from the JPI-R, PRF, and SFPQ are recorded in over 2500 articles published in scientific journals. Research indicates that the ESQ demonstrates approximately two times the predictive validity of traditional assessments (0.38 vs. 0.18). This means companies utilizing it will make better hiring decisions and will enjoy greater profitability. In addition, decades of research indicate that personality as a predictor of job performance exceeds other non-cognitive selection measures in its validity. Better than interviews, references, and educational background.

Fax-in Scoring

After an applicant completes the ESQ, the answer sheet is faxed to SIGMA's toll-free number. Our fax-in scoring system generates the report and the ESQ report is returned in minutes. The materials required for fax-in scoring are ESQ test manual, question booklet and answer sheet.

Internet

The Employee Screening Questionnaire can also be completed at SigmaTesting.Com, our exciting online testing platform that allows you instant local and remote testing and administrative access to a full range of tests and test results.