Why do you collect personal information with the questionnaire?

Examples of information requested along with The Birkman Method assessment include:

• Name
• Birth Year
• Postal Code
• Educational Level
• Gender
• Purpose for Taking Assessment
• Ethnicity
• Employment History
• Current/Previous Job Title(s)
• Years in Job (Tenure)
• Organization Size

Birkman asks for this personal and demographic data for legal reasons and to enable us to research trends. All personal information is kept strictly confidential for the security and privacy of respondents and organizations alike. 

There are several reasons we collect personal information from those taking The Birkman Method (TBM). The first involves legal reasons. There aren’t necessarily laws stating we need to collect these data. However, in the US, when any assessment is used for employment decisions in any context, there must be evidence that procedure is not discriminating against protected demographic groups, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In the US, that includes age, gender, and ethnicity. If TBM is used to hire people for a position and any sort of cut scores are used, it must be shown that using those scores is not going to create adverse impact (a disparity in hiring people of minority groups). In the US, those include ethnic minorities, females, or people over the age of 40. Collecting these demographics helps BI ensure that using TBM in selection or staffing decisions will not create adverse impact.

Another reason we collect personal information is for research purposes. TBM gives us personality and occupational interest data. Combining these with demographic variables lets us examine relationships that may exist to answer certain research questions. For example, looking at personality data with current or previous jobs reported, we can see how Social Energy (formerly Acceptance) or Insistence (formerly Structure) differ between different job categories. We may find that sales-related occupations are higher in Social Energy but lower in Insistence. If we wish to go further, we can examine across industries, where sales in one industry may be less sociable or more conscientious, and so forth. Additional research insights may involve turnover, work satisfaction, cross-generational differences, etc. Having additional variables other than just social perceptions and interests allows for further research questions to be answered, thereby creating a better understanding into employee and workplace behavior.

The Birkman Research & Development department has recently collaborated with multiple university researchers to publish scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles. The variables used for some of these studies include gender, culture, work satisfaction, and interests across ages, just to name a few. Collecting the personal information that we do, Birkman can publish important research findings relevant to the psychological community in general and our consultants.

To summarize, collecting personal information is important for legal reasons and to answer relevant research questions. It is important to mention that all data collected are for research purposes only and are kept strictly confidential. BI does not release any personal information nor do we use individual results for research studies or publications. All research studies are conducted in aggregate to ensure confidentiality.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding the use of personal information or research studies involving The Birkman Method, please contact us via email at [e-mail].

Additional Resources

Birkman Data Privacy - https://birkman.com/data-and-privacy/

Birkman GDPR Compliance details - https://birkman.com/gdpr-compliance/

Birkman Privacy Policy - https://birkman.com/privacy-policy/