Using the Motivation test

Our Motivation test helps to ensure that your candidate is a good match based on their job preferences.

Mis-hires cost companies both time and resources. A candidate who looked perfect on paper may not work out because what they want from a job does not align with what you were offering them. The motivation test will help you to measure a candidate’s suitability for a position, based on your company’s needs and the candidate’s preferences. This test is available on Starter and Pro plans.

Approx. reading time 5 minutes

In this article

1. Video explainer
2. Purpose of the motivation test
3. Taking the survey
4. Interpreting the results
5. Common questions

Video explainer

The below video explains the usage of the motivation test. The text below the video is a breakdown of most of what is included in the video. 

Purpose of the motivation test

While an employee’s skill level is important, their motivation is affected by their own work preferences; possibly playing an even more important role in their overall job success.

Skill can be taught, but motivation comes from innate preferences that don’t tend to change much over time. In their Job Characteristics Model, organizational psychologists Oldham and Hackman proposed that a job itself – rather than an employee’s personality – has the greatest influence on motivation.

Employees are most motivated when they experience their work as meaningful and see themselves as responsible for the results and outcomes of that work. At the same time, the factors that impact that motivation are different for each person — a work setting that motivates one person may not motivate another.

Our Motivation survey builds on this research, identifying candidates who will be most motivated in the job that you’re hiring for. 

How the test measures motivation

To customize the test to the job role for which you are hiring, we ask you a series of questions related to the key elements that impact job motivation to create a robust profile of the role. Candidates receive a parallel version of the survey that asks what they seek in a job, including the work activities they most enjoy.

We then map the results of each candidate against your specifications to help you understand how well your candidates' preferences align with what you are offering.

Taking the Motivation survey

After adding the Motivation test to an assessment, click Finish to go to the assessment overview page. From here, you will be able to set your answers for the test. 

This section contains the following subsections — click ahead for convenience if you wish.

1. Set the answers yourself
2. Invite someone else to set the answers
3. Job-specific questions
4. Additional characteristics
5. Regularly performed activities
6. Reusing answers

Set the answers yourself

	Click the green button labeled Take the survey, found in the white at the top of the page. A new page will pop up with more information.
	Follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll be redirected to a new tab that gives a description of the survey and what you need to do next.

Invite someone else to set the answers

	Click the white bar labeled Motivation test survey, found at the top of the page. This will expand the bar, presenting you with more information
	Click the green link labeled Invite them here.
	Enter the credentials of the desired colleague. A popup will appear, prompting you for the name and email address of your coworker. Enter their details.
	Click the Send invitation button. Your teammate will receive an email with a link to take the survey.

Job-specific questions

The first section relates to the specific job role, and covers the following areas:

• Skill variety: how often employees will use different skills throughout their workday
• Task identity: will the employee have complete ownership of their duties or be playing a part in a larger-scale project?
• Task significance: the impact an employee's work will have on others
• Autonomy: how independent and self-directed does the employee need to be?
• Feedback: how much and how often will it be given?

	The question is displayed on the left of the test window. Take your time to read and understand the question, you don’t have a time limit.
	Select one answer from the options on the right side of the window. Choose the answer which most closely matches the requirements of the job role. To deselect an answer, click it again.
	Click Next to move to the next question, or Previous to go back to the last one.

Additional characteristics

The second section asks questions about other aspects of the job outside of their day-to-day duties. Things such as benefits or opportunities for development may motivate certain individuals. These questions are a mix of single-answer and multi-answer multiple choice.

	The question is displayed on the left of the test window. Take your time to read and understand the question, you don’t have a time limit.
	Select one answer from the options on the right side of the window. Choose the answer which most closely matches the requirements of the job role. To deselect an answer, click it again.
	Click Next to move to the next question, or Previous to go back to the last one.

Regularly performed activities

For the final section, you will be shown a list of activities that may be performed as part of the role. You will rate each activity based on its importance to your specific job role.

	The list of activities is displayed on the left of the page, along with alternative terms for each.
	Select your rating for each activity on the right of the page. Each one should be rated between 1 and 5, with 5 being the most important.
	Click Finish after providing ratings for all activities, or you can move back to the Previous section.

Reusing answers

It is not possible to reuse answers from previous motivation tests. Due to the fact that every job role will have different motivational factors, and that these factors could well change over time, answers must be selected every time the test is added to an assessment.

Interpreting the results

Your candidate’s results are displayed as colored circles on the results screen — with all sections having their own ball. Clicking on a section provides a further breakdown, with each area having a circle of its own. This allows you to see which specific areas may motivate your candidate the most.

The balls will be colored depending upon how closely the candidate's answers matched yours:

	Teal means the candidate is a  strong match . Their answers are closely aligned with yours. This indicates that they are likely to be happy and motivated by the answers you provided for this specific area.
	Gold means the candidate is a moderate match . While there is some overlap between your answers and theirs, there are also areas of difference.
	Red indicates a poor match between your answer and a candidates. The candidate answered the question very differently than you did, meaning their motivation in that area may not align with yours.

Example
Emily fills out the motivation survey stating the following regarding pay:

• Much variety in the job
• The job requires usage of a number of high-level skills - Mostly accurate
• The job allows the candidate to use a number of complex or high-level skills - Mostly accurate
  
  

When the candidate completes the survey, they answer that they want:

• A small amount of variety
• A low number of high-level skills required
• A low number of high-level skills allowed

In this scenario, the  skill variety bubbled under the Job characteristics heading would be  Red because there is no overlap in answers.

Job activities results

Results for job activities are displayed differently — using a bar rather than a ball. To put it simply, the more filled the bar is, the closer aligned yours and your candidate’s answers are.

Common questions

How can I change the answers I have provided?
You can edit the survey if no candidates have been invited to the assessment. Once external candidates begin taking the assessment, the answers cannot be changed.

Who should answer the survey?
The person with the most insight into the role is the best person to set the answers. This is usually the direct line manager your new hire will report to or a person currently working in this role.

Can multiple people answer the survey?
Only one person can answer the survey. While you can send invitations to multiple people, our system will only accept the first completed submission. 

Why aren't there pre-generated answers?
Every company and job has different needs. Because of this, we cannot provide generic answers. To receive the most accurate information, you need to complete the survey yourself.