This week, Testgrid was extremely honoured to receive an early visit from the man of the season himself: Santa Claus.

After spending time with Santa chatting all things psych testing (over milk and mince pies, obviously), our psychologists were able to put together a psychometric profile of Santa, which we like to call ‘The Man Behind the Red Suit’:

Santa’s cognitive assessment results were well above average, indicating that he has exceptionally strong problem-solving abilities. These will come in handy when Santa encounters unexpected obstacles whilst delivering presents (lack of chimneys, rogue guard dogs, etc.), as he will be able to think on his feet and rapidly arrive at a solution.

Santa’s strong numerical reasoning skills will serve him well when navigating different time zones in a flash. His spatial reasoning skills aren’t bad either, so if Rudolph happens to get lost on Christmas Eve… Santa can easily step in to lead the way. The only area in which Santa’s results were below average was Mechanical Reasoning, so if his sleigh breaks down, he may need one of the reindeer to lend a hand in fixing it.

On another note, the psychometric profile showed that Santa speaks 1000 languages – no small feat!

His emotional intelligence assessment results were also above average. It is likely that even when under extreme pressure (for instance, the week leading up to Christmas), Santa is able to effectively regulate his emotions and maintain composure in the workshop. Santa agreed with this interpretation, proudly declaring that he hasn’t received a single complaint from a disgruntled elf – and he employs thousands of elves in the workshop each year. He is highly attuned to the emotional state of his reindeer (particularly Rudolph, who can be temperamental at times), and demonstrates respect for all cultures across the globe. Santa also leverages his emotional reasoning abilities when it comes to deciding who makes his ‘Naughty’ and ‘Nice’ lists each year.

Santa completed a range of personality (or ‘behavioural’) assessments on our platform to create his psychometric profile. From his results, we learned that Santa is open to new experiences (for instance, visiting new destinations on his delivery route), and is likely to enjoy reading and analysing information – which is lucky given the volume of letters he receives each year! Santa is likely to radiate high energy, and to be very reliable: he has never missed a Christmas. In regard to Santa’s possible performance risks (or ‘derailers’): he may be slightly mischievous or impulsive at times, and where self-discipline is concerned, he may struggle to moderate his intake of mince pies.

Typical features of this profile include:

·       Being people-oriented and helpful

·       Anticipating how others will feel (when they open their presents)

·       Generating enthusiasm and festive spirit

·       Picking up on non-verbal cues (from his reindeer)

·       Teaching (the elves how to wrap gifts)

·       Being expressive and musical (i.e., singing carols)

·       Being humanistic: motivated by bringing joy to others and fostering a sense of community

It was a pleasure dining with Santa. When he asked what Testgrid would like for Christmas this year, we said:

·       More superstar candidates for the organisations we work with

·       For all individuals across the globe to discover the value of psychometric testing

·       A coffee machine. (Only if he has room in his Santa sack)

Until next year… Testgrid wishes you and your loved ones a very happy and relaxing Christmas break!

Get in touch to learn how you can build a psychometric profile of your candiates