How Personality Shapes Future Workplace Performance

Competencies, defined by the HUCAMA Factors test publishers, are ‘components of performance that are underpinned by dispositions and instrumental in the delivery of desired results or outcomes’. 

In the workplace, competency is often assessed through competency-based interviews, observation of job-related tasks, or multi-rater feedback such as the HUCAMA Competency Factors (CF) assessment.

These approaches provide valuable insights into how individuals are currently performing. But what about understanding an individual’s future potential?

Linking Personality and Competency

Understanding an individual’s personality preferences can help predict how people might approach opportunities and challenges in the future. Personality influences behaviours such as problem-solving, collaboration, and adaptability to change, all of which play a crucial role in shaping workplace competencies.

To support this, the HUCAMA Factors test publishers developed the HUCAMA Personality Factors (PF) Competency Prediction Report, specifically designed for competency-based human resource processes such as recruitment, development and performance management.

The HUCAMA PF Competency Prediction Report highlights:

• Areas of high potential: competencies where a combination of personality preferences make high performance easier or more likely.

• Potential development areas: competencies where a combination of personality preferences make high performance more difficult and may require more energy.

• Competency energy overview: a user-friendly graphic which summarises this information.

This provides practitioners with a clear, evidence-based view of someone’s competency potential, predicting the skills required in a specific role or organisation.

Supporting Development

In a development context, understanding an individual’s potential competency can help guide meaningful goal setting. The HUCAMA PF Competency Prediction Report bridges the gap between personality assessment results and focused development planning by highlighting where individuals are likely to develop competence more easily versus areas that may require additional learning opportunities, coaching, or experience.

This allows managers and practitioners to create targeted, personalised development plans that build on strengths while addressing growth areas proactively.

Alternatively, both the HUCAMA CF and the HUCAMA PF Competency Prediction Report can be used together. This provides a more complete picture of not only what an individual is capable of doing now, but also the competencies they are most likely to develop and demonstrate with ease in the future.

Streamlining Recruitment

In recruitment, and especially early-career contexts, it’s not always possible to gather multi-rater feedback or observe candidates completing job-related tasks. Instead, asking a candidate to complete a short personality assessment can provide valuable insight into where their preferences lie and how this might influence their potential to develop key related competencies. This can help to quickly identify where a candidate is likely to be a strong fit, and where it would be useful to explore further at an interview.

This gives organisations a way to assess future potential and fit, rather than relying solely on past experience.

Multi-rater assessments like the HUCAMA CF help to provide rich insights into current competence and behaviour, while the HUCAMA PF Competency Prediction Report offers a forward-looking perspective into the competencies individuals have the potential to develop.

You can click here to download a sample HUCAMA PF 48 Competency Prediction report, or contact us if you would like to discuss how this tool could support your work.