Are you a business or HR leader seeking help with talent acquisition? If so, are you looking for reliable tools to understand and leverage your employees’ potential? This blog compares two such assessments that have gained traction: the Birkman Method and the Prevue assessments. Each offers unique insights into individual personalities, preferences, and work styles. However, they each have their own set of advantages and limitations. Let’s examine the origin and pros and cons of each.

What is The Birkman Method?

The Birkman Method, developed by Roger Birkman in the 1950s, is a comprehensive personality assessment tool that combines behavioral and occupational insights. It deeply explains an individual’s usual behavior, underlying needs, stress behavior, and career interests. The Birkman Method is used widely in organizational development, team building, and leadership coaching. My first exposure to the Birkman Method was during the hiring process at Cox Enterprises. I was working with a recruiter and he explained to me that taking the assessment was a requirement to work at Cox. I had never taken an assessment like it before, but I ultimately learned that Cox would post a job and give their final candidates the assessment to use a data-driven approach to hire the right candidate based on their best fit work environment as well as their fit with others on the team and hiring manager. Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Holistic Approach: The Birkman Method provides a comprehensive view of an individual’s personality, combining behavioral styles, motivations, and occupational preferences. This holistic approach offers nuanced insights into both personal and professional aspects of an individual’s life. Birkman is the only assessment that helps an individual understand their underlying and motivational needs. It goes beyond behavior and interests and helps you understand how you need to be treated by others and how you need to re-charge your batteries and in what type of environment.
2. In-Depth Analysis: It offers an in-depth analysis of individual strengths or usual behaviors, needs, and stress behaviors. Think of it this way as purely an example, if your need for food is met you are acting in your usual behavior and if your need for food is not met, you are acting in your stress behavior because you are “hangry.” This granularity on nine different components enables organizations to tailor development plans and roles that align with employees’ preferences and aspirations.
3. Effective Communication: By understanding one’s communication and conflict resolution styles, teams can enhance collaboration and reduce misunderstandings. The Birkman Method facilitates effective communication by shedding light on interpersonal dynamics within teams. It also provides a non-judgemental language that teams can use to enhance communication by leveraging a strong understanding of other team member needs.

Cons:

1. Complexity: The Birkman Method can be complex and time-consuming both for administrators and participants. Its extensive questionnaire and detailed reports may overwhelm users, potentially leading to misinterpretation or disengagement.
2. Cost: Implementing the Birkman Method can be costly, particularly for small or medium-sized businesses. The retail cost is $175. The fees for training, certification, and assessments may pose a barrier to adoption for some organizations. Birkman has recently launched a new tool called Birkman Enterprise that is meant for small to medium sized businesses with 120+ employees and an online application to help drive adoption deeper into the organization. This tool can help reduce the cost per assessment to a degree and provide more value. 
3. Limited Application: While the Birkman Method offers valuable insights, its application might be limited to specific contexts. Due to its detailed nature, it may not be as suitable for quick assessments or large-scale recruitment processes. It can take time to analyze and absorb the information and some companies may not wish to invest the time to get the right person in the role when speed is of the essence. 

The Prevue Assessment?

The Prevue Assessment was developed in 1994 by Ken Muir, who founded Prevue HR after finding existing assessments for hiring sales employees inadequate. Other occupational psychologists, also spent several years developing a series of assessments exclusively for Prevue. The Prevue Assessment is a psychometric tool designed to help businesses make informed hiring, development, and succession planning decisions. It evaluates candidates across four key areas: Abilities, which measure cognitive aptitude, including numerical, verbal, and spatial reasoning, to predict job performance; Motivation & Interests, which assess what drives a candidate and ensure alignment with job roles and company culture; Personality, which evaluates traits like sociability, independence, and emotional stability to determine behavioral fit; and Behavioral Fit, which compares a candidate’s profile to job-specific benchmarks for better hiring decisions. Commonly used in talent acquisition, leadership development, and team building, the Prevue Assessment provides employers with data-driven insights to improve job match quality, enhance employee growth, and reduce turnover.

Pros:

1. Efficiency: The Prevue Assessment is known for evaluating candidates for specific job roles. Its standardized format and quick administration make it suitable for high-volume hiring or rapid screening processes.
2. Job Fit: By analyzing candidates’ cognitive abilities, personality traits, and interests, the Prevue Assessment helps identify individuals well-suited for particular roles. This enhances job satisfaction and reduces turnover rates.
3. Predictive Validity: Research suggests that the Prevue Assessment demonstrates good predictive validity for job performance. Organizations can rely on its results to make informed decisions about candidate selection and development initiatives.

Cons:

1. Surface-level Insights: While the Prevue Assessment provides valuable insights into job fit, it may offer a superficial understanding of individuals’ personalities and motivations. This limitation could impact long-term employee engagement and development.
2. Risk of Stereotyping: There’s a risk of stereotyping or pigeonholing candidates based solely on assessment results. Employers must supplement the assessment with other evaluation methods to avoid bias and promote diversity and inclusion.
3. Limited Customization: Unlike the Birkman Method, the Prevue Assessment may lack customization options tailored to specific organizational cultures or roles. This one-size-fits-all approach might not fully capture the nuances of diverse workplaces.

The Birkman Method and the Prevue Assessment offer valuable insights into individual and team dynamics. While the Birkman Method provides a holistic understanding of individuals’ personalities and preferences, the Prevue Assessment shines in its efficiency and job fit analysis. Organizations must carefully weigh the pros and cons of each assessment to determine the most suitable tool for their talent management strategies. 

Ultimately, the effectiveness of these assessments lies in how well they are integrated into the organization’s broader HR practices and culture of continuous development. To explore how Birkman can help you with talent acquisition, schedule a complimentary consultation with J. Todd McCarty from Career Upside to get started today as your trusted executive and team-building coach in Atlanta, GA.