Does your company use graphology for hiring and promoting employees?

A Cautionary Note on Using Graphology for Hiring and Promoting Employees | March/April 2005 Explorer

When it comes to hiring or promoting the right employee, some companies still rely on graphology, or handwriting analysis, in coming to a decision.

In the Rocket-Hire article, "A Cautionary Note on Using Graphology for Hiring and Promoting Employees" author Mark C. Healy, stresses the fact that relying on graphology may actually do more harm than good. Surprisingly, it's not all that uncommon.

The use of graphology in business is not new or particularly rare. Apparently, thousands of US firms2 have used it for a variety of human resource programs. Still, European companies are much more likely than American companies to require a handwriting analysis, with France a particularly common setting. UK graphologist Nigel Bradley’s web site3 provides a list of hundreds of well-known companies who have allegedly used graphology. Regardless of the estimates of usage, graphologists suggest that these numbers are an underestimate because firms do not want to admit they use handwriting analysis.

Graphology dates back to the early 1600's and today is highly useful in determining forgeries and identities. However, as a hiring tool, the evidence points against its use.

There is a distinct lack of evidence that substantiates the link between certain handwriting features and success on the job. This is the notion of “validity”, or hiring accuracy. Unfortunately, most analysts don’t observe actual job applicants on the job, and don’t quantitatively verify their findings either. To be sure, few legitimate studies have revealed a significant statistical link between handwriting features and job performance.

However, there is a substantial scientific literature that disputes the alleged link between handwriting and on-the-job performance. Frank Schmidt and Jack Hunter, in their oft-cited meta-analysis of the validity of all selection and assessment tools4, pegged the validity of graphology at zero. Moreover, compared to interviews, tests, simulations, and other hiring devices, graphology ranked at the bottom of the list. In other words, every other possible hiring tool was found to be more valid and accurate than graphology.

If you'd like to read more about the pros and cons of graphology, check out the full article here.