How Personality Assessments Improve Workplace Safety

Each year, accidents and work-related illnesses cost billions of euros in needless business expenses. In 2017, Europe lost more than €476 billion – an amazing 3.3 % of the European Union GDP. That figure can be reduced with better occupational safety and health strategies, policies, and practices.

The easiest way for companies to reduce these costs is to assess and predict potential candidates’ likely workplace safety behaviour 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 behaviour. In safety conscious industries—e.g., oil and gas, construction and medicine—being able to evaluate and predict a candidate’s safety behaviour is crucial.

The Hogan Safety Assessment aims to improve workers’ safety awareness and behaviour by scoring applicants on six components of safety-related behaviour. 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 behaviours that tend to make accidents more likely.

Hogan has assessed more than 40,000 people across Europe specifically with a focus on safety-related behaviours, leading to the following outcomes:

• € 64,260,000.52 – Approximate workplace injury and accident costs to employers saved
• € 1,605.50 – Approximate amount per report saved by employers
• 5,255% – Approximate ROI for European employers
• 1,728 – Approximate number of production days saved

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 behaviour 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, President of Hogan Assessments, said: “Without the proper workplace safety culture, a company puts its employees and revenues in danger. The Hogan reports allow organisations to identify safety-minded candidates and recognise 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.”