Drives Test

Our Drives test reveals the type of environment the candidate thrives in and ensures it’s closely matched to yours.

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  • What is a Drives test?

    Just as candidates differ in their personality and skillset, they also prioritize different aspects of their work and get motivated to perform their best by different factors.

    A Drives test allows you to assess the fit between a candidate's preferences and the opportunities provided within the role you're hiring for.

    The test provides insight into what motivates applicants to perform exceptionally well in the role. This information helps you provide an enabling environment for your future employee, which, in turn, will make their job more enjoyable and will increase their performance.

Jump to a section on this page:

  1. What is a Drives test?
  2. Why do employers use the Drives test?
  3. How does the Drives test work?
  4. Drives Test FAQs

Identify the best candidates and hire faster

Our pre-employment tests let you drill down to the best candidates at the click of a button.

  • Find those candidates who will excel in the role.

    Select the tests that match the skills or behaviours the role needs. You can test software or coding knowledge, situational judgement for skills like teamwork, and personality, then decide who to interview on the results.

  • Reduce costs and time.

    No more laborious sifting of resumes or cover letters. Pick your ideal assessment mix, invite your applicants to take them, see the results in your dashboard. Get to the interview stage fast.

  • Compare like with like.

    Every candidate takes the same tests under the same conditions, so you shortlist on the same evidence for everyone rather than on first impressions.

  • Why do employers use the Drives test?

    When it comes to making a decision about who to hire, many employers use the Drives test to help them determine if a candidate is a good fit for their company. Checking for alignment between applicants' preferences and what an organization can realistically offer is an important step in the hiring process.

    While many factors impact job performance, it is important to be aware of how candidates approach their careers and where their priorities lie long-term. It also helps to identify how an employer can best engage prospective employees in their work, motivate them to excel and stay with the company in the long run.

    Results of a Drives test can be useful during a selection interview, in order to better understand the candidates, but they can also be used post-hire to ensure the employee's needs are being effectively met.

    It is recommended that this test is combined with other assessments to get a comprehensive overview of the candidate's personality, qualifications and career motivations.

    drives test diagram

More Personality Tests

How does the Drives test work?

Our test is inspired by Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model, which outlines five core job characteristics influencing employee satisfaction, engagement, turnover, and performance.

Within our framework, candidates are asked to allocate 20 points across nine clearly defined drives that capture various elements of a job that would impact employee motivation. Candidates can choose how to spread their points, awarding more to the drives that represent key motivators for them.

The ranking of drives, together with the allocated points, are easy to interpret and you can use these results to understand each candidate's preferences and their fit for the role. While these preferences might fluctuate depending on different factors in a person's career, they remain relatively constant and are a good indicator of an applicant's long-term priorities.

Our team of organizational psychologists and psychometric experts have developed and reviewed this test, to ensure the results offer meaningful insight into what it takes to motivate a candidate. This test is consistently one of our most popular tests, often coupled with personality, aptitude, and skills assessments.

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Recommended tests

A short battery for the role, which you can edit

For the roles on this site we suggest a set of short tests that cover what the job actually needs. Add or remove tests before you send the link. Every test is scored the same way for every candidate, and the report shows the platform average so a score can be read in context.

  • Assessments

    A full suite of assessments

    Our library covers aptitude, software and coding skills, situational judgement, language and personality tests. Combine up to six in one assessment to match the role.

  • Analytics

    An array of candidate metrics

    For each of your candidates, you’ll be given a comprehensive report. Included will be all the metrics you need to build a detailed picture of each candidate and ensure you’re making the right hiring decisions.

Find the best candidate

Try out a Drives Test.

View example test
“The platform is so simple to use. I had used competitor providers for over six years and will never go back. Fast, efficient and friendly!”
Greg Chambers, HR Business Partner, Littlefish Ltd
Greg Chambers, HR Business Partner, Littlefish Ltd

Drives Test FAQs

How difficult is the test?

There is no difficulty as such. It's up to the candidate to allocate their points among the different work drives.

What skills does personality testing assess?

It covers a huge range of skills, traits, drives and values. On top of these, personality tests will reveal a candidate's ability to focus on key information, handle pressure and work under time constraints.

Is this test available in my plan?

We have a range of plans available. The difference between the plans is the number of test attempts permitted, not the type of tests. All our plans include our full test suite comprising all tests and all levels.

Can I see what the test is like?

Yes, of course. You can see a free example of the Drives test here.

“An unbeatable service, impressive platform and fantastic value for money.”
Laurence Fishman, Partner, NLPCA
Laurence Fishman, Partner, NLPCA

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