How was our drives test was developed?

General Overview

  • Point allocation task
  • Time limit of 5 minutes
  • 9 career drives 

Test Format

Candidates allocate 20 points across 9 conceptually important and clearly defined drives. While an individual’s cognitive and technical abilities set a bar for their minimum level of performance, their motivation is what drives exceptional performance.

Test Development

Our team of organizational psychologists and psychometricians developed the test, strictly adhering to industry best practices to maximize reliability, validity, and fairness. By combining knowledge of work motivation theories (i.e. Hackman and Oldham’s (1976) Job Characteristics Model) and decades of research insights, the team has developed a drives framework that effectively measures the career motivations in a sample of job applicants who have varying professional experience. 

A draft version of the test was piloted with a panel of individuals representing diverse backgrounds, after which the test was rigorously analyzed to ensure the results are meaningful and not disrupted by irrelevant bias or insensitivity. It is consistently one of our most popular and highly valued tests.


Scoring

Results are easy to interpret as the drives are simply listed in the order the candidate prioritized them along with the allocated points. This provides a picture of that candidate’s preferences and can be reviewed for alignment with the role. Drives often differ by contextual factors such as culture or industry and may fluctuate throughout one’s career. Thus, the test results should be interpreted as capturing one’s current primary motivators.


Implementation Guidance

Rather than using this test as a standalone datapoint where candidates are ranked against one another, it is advisable to combine it with other tests to provide additional information on a candidate’s fit rather than qualifications. The drives test is unique as it sheds light on a softer, less tangible side of the individuals applying to a company and how they might get on once in the role. Results can be used post-hire to ensure the employee is engaged and supported in a way that best facilitates their individual motivation.


Key Pilot Statistics

  • Data was collected from 103 potential job seekers.
  • Sample demographics were as follows:
    • Average age was 33.7 years;
    • Genders included male (50.2%), female (47.7%) and  other (1.3%);
    • Ethnicities included Asian (34.9%), White (31%), Black or African American (22.5%), Other Ethnicity (6.8%), and Mixed or Multiple Ethnicities (4.8%);
    • Countries included India (17.9%), Great Britain (10.9%), Nigeria (8.5%), United States (6.2%), Australia (4.6%), Canada (4.6%) and 18 others.