A reader asks the question: I've been asked to find a better way to hire new managers for our fast growing retail furniture company. We've kicked around the idea of using personality tests or even assessment centers. Is this a good idea?

Any assessment is most effective when you can clearly link the tools you use to competencies needed for success on the job. Careful identification of the skills, abilities, motivations and work habits required for success as a store manager is an important first step in the development of any assessment program. While interviews are the most commonly used for hiring, unstructured interviews have limited success and don't give you the information you need to make a well-informed decision. A well-developed structured interview based on behavioral examples is much more likely to tell you what you need to know to feel confident about a candidate's fit for the position.

If you combine a structured interview with a cognitive ability test, you increase the extent to which you can predict success on the job. Adding personality testing to a structured interview and a cognitive ability assessment gives you the most information and the greatest chance of discovering what you need to know about how well-suited a particular person is for this particular job in your company.

The news on assessment centers is less encouraging. Analysis of many studies suggests only moderate predictive power. Schmidt and Hunter's list of 19 predictors of job performance places assessments centers at tenth place. Among the many dimensions measured by assessment centers, Problem Solving ranks highest in predicting success, followed by Influencing Others, Organization & Planning, then Communication. Other dimensions frequently measured by assessment centers appear to offer little information that adds value to your evaluation of a candidate.

Whatever combination of structured interview, cognitive ability, personality testing or assessment center you choose to use, you can improve how useful your tools are to you as you define more specifically what you are looking for. In other words, know what you need for job success and use a combination of assessment tools that identify those specific behaviors and characteristics.