FAQ for Work Styles and Q Interests updates

FAQs for: Birkman Questionnaire (Interests section) Update and Work Styles Scales Retirement

Click here to view the list of revised or retired reports.

Question	Answer
What is changing?	Short Answer: The Interests section of the Birkman Questionnaire will be updated with approximately 30% new job titles. The Work Styles scales can no longer be derived after (1) above and will be retired. All affected reports that contain Work Styles scales will either be updated to remove the Work Styles or fully retired. Long Answer: At Birkman we have a 75-year legacy of continuous innovation and improvement. We are pleased to share that one of our top initiatives of 2024 is to enhance the career (Interests) section of the Birkman questionnaire by adding emerging job titles. The outdated job titles in the Interests section of the questionnaire create an overarching brand issue for Birkman and must be updated to keep pace with the modern workforce, so in 2025 we will have more relevant, relatable job titles for people of all ages. While this is exciting, improvements often involve sacrifice. Updating the career section, to bring it in line with current job titles and career paths, is essential for our growth. As part of this update, the Birkman Preferred Work Styles scales will no longer be in use after February 2025. Because these scales are less relevant than when first created, investing in updating them does not align with Birkman’s corporate strategy. Instead, we choose to invest in finding new and better ways for you to address these applications with your clients and/or employees. This change impacts various Birkman reports. See additional questions in this FAQ document to learn exactly which reports are impacted. Deciding between losing a piece of our history or moving The Birkman Method forward to meet the needs of the modern workforce is not a decision that was made easily or quickly. We feel confident this decision is in line with our goal of continuous improvement and will move us more successfully into the future.
When are these changes occurring?	The retirement of the Work Styles scales (and revisions / retirement of affected reports) will occur in early February 2025. The updates to the Interests section of the Questionnaire will occur in 2025 (official date to be announced).
Questionnaire FAQs
Why are we updating the Birkman questionnaire?	We’ve received feedback that many of the job titles in the Interests section of the Questionnaire were outdated and confusing and didn’t reflect the current workforce. To improve the respondent experience, many of the job title choices in the Interests section will be updated. This revision will make the job titles more relevant to younger generations in the workplace and result in an overall smoother experience completing the Questionnaire.
What is changing on the Questionnaire?	Outdated job titles in the Interests section of the Questionnaire will be replaced with job titles that resonate with a multigenerational audience. Birkman reviewed all job titles in the Interests section and identified several that were outdated and are therefore being replaced. This will result in an approximate 30% change of job titles in the Interests section. Nothing else on the Questionnaire changes. Here are some of the outdated job titles that will be replaced:  Secretary Law Clerk File Clerk General Office Clerk Telephone Repairer Toolmaker Here are some of the new job titles that will replace the outdated job titles: Social Media Influencer Robotics Technician Web Developer Career Counselor Forest and Conservation Technician Trial Lawyer
Will the Interests section changes be made to all language versions of the Birkman questionnaire?	Yes, the Questionnaire is available in 24 languages. All language versions will be updated with the new Interests items.
Will the Interests section changes affect the Job Families and Job Titles listed in Birkman’s career reporting?	No.
Will any of my or my clients’ scores change?	No. This update focuses on improving the clarity of job titles within the Questionnaire.
Work Styles FAQs
Why do the updates to the Interests section of the Birkman questionnaire impact the Work Styles scales?	The updated Interest scales will not function with the Work Style scales because the Work Style scales' scores are derived from older data collected on all the original Interest items. Retiring many original Interest items makes it no longer possible to derive the Work Styles scales' scores.
Why didn’t we just redo the Work Styles?	The Preferred Work Styles scales are an increasingly outdated measuring stick. Because these scales are less relevant than when first created, investing in updating them does not align with Birkman's corporate strategy. Instead, we choose to invest in finding new and better ways for you to address these applications with your clients and/or employees.
Which scores are being retired?	Knowledge Specialist Directive Management Delegative Management Work Motivation Self-Development Corporate Adaptability Social Adaptability Social Responsibility Public Contact/Detail Global/Linear Conceptual/Concrete
Which reports that contain Work Styles scales are being revised?	Current reports that will be REVISED: Advanced Behavioral Analysis (English US) Advanced Summary (English US, Dutch, German, Korean, Spanish LATAM) careertyping (English US) Coaching Report (English US, Dutch) Comprint (English US, Dutch, German, Korean, Spanish LATAM)
Which reports that contain Work Styles scales are being retired?	Current reports that will be RETIRED: Organizational Fit (Insights/Ind.) Organizational Fit (Insights/Grp.) Understanding Work Styles (Insights/Ind.) Work Styles (English US, Dutch, Spanish LATAM) Classic* reports that will be RETIRED: * older versions of current reports exclusively non-English in very limited distribution Coaching Report (Korean, Portuguese) Comprint (German, Korean, Thai) Group Graph (German, Korean, Spanish LATAM, Turkish)  Preferred Work Styles (Chinese-Simplified, French Canadian, French European, German, Korean, Portuguese, Thai) Birkman On Demand** (BOD) reports that will be RETIRED: ** older versions of Insights reports in very limited distribution Accountability (Individual) - still exists as a current Insights report without Work Styles in it Accountability (Group) - still exists as a current Insights report without Work Styles in it Organizational Fit (Individual) Organizational Fit (Group) Understanding Preferred Work Styles (Individual) Teaching in the spiritual community (Individual)
What can I do if I want to keep access to the Preferred Work Styles scores for respondents in my database?	Prior to February 2025 you can login to your BirkmanDirect system, generate any reports you want to keep, and then save those reports to your personal computer to access once the system has been updated.
Can I see a sample of the revised reports?	We are currently working on adding sample revised reports to this page. Please check back later.
What do we tell our employees/clients, etc.?	We have created an email template that our customers can use to email their customers and stakeholders about these changes. Click here