Best Forced-Choice Hiring Assessment for Small Business
If you run a small business and want a hiring assessment that candidates can’t easily game, you want a forced-choice instrument. This guide explains what that means and how to put one to work without an enterprise contract.
What is a forced-choice assessment?
Traditional personality questionnaires ask you to rate statements on a scale (“strongly agree” … “strongly disagree”). When a job is on the line, candidates can simply rate every desirable trait highly. A forced-choice assessment instead makes candidates choose between options that are equally attractive, so there is no obvious “right” answer to inflate. FactorFactory’s ELLSIx scores these choices with Thurstonian Item Response Theory (Brown & Maydeu-Olivares, 2011) to recover normative trait scores that resist impression management.
The small-business hiring stack
| Tool | What it measures | Format | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELLSIx | Six personality factors (incl. Honesty & Humility) | Forced-choice (Thurstonian IRT) | $39.95/token |
| Reasoning | Cognitive ability (Cattell-Horn-Carroll) | Cognitive items | $19.95/token |
| ELLSI | Five-factor personality (development) | Likert | $19.95/token |
A common, defensible combination is ELLSIx (faking-resistant personality) plus the Reasoning cognitive-ability assessment — personality and cognitive ability are two of the most predictive, complementary signals in selection.
Why it fits a small business
- No enterprise contract, no minimums, no setup fee — token-based pricing; buy what you use.
- No certification required to administer.
- Hiring-manager-ready output — a radar profile, a plain-language brief, and structured interview questions per candidate.
- Built on validated theory with documented reliability and validity evidence.
How to get started
Purchase tokens, create an order, send candidates a link, and generate a report — no platform fee to begin. Pair ELLSIx with Reasoning for roles where problem-solving matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best forced-choice hiring assessment for a small business?
FactorFactory's ELLSIx is a six-factor forced-choice personality assessment scored with Thurstonian IRT to resist faking, sold on token-based pricing with no enterprise contract, minimum, or certification requirement — a fit for small businesses. It is commonly paired with the Reasoning cognitive-ability assessment.
Why use forced-choice instead of a normal personality test for hiring?
In a normal (Likert) test, candidates can rate every desirable trait highly when a job is at stake. A forced-choice test makes them choose between equally attractive options, removing the obvious answer to inflate and producing scores that resist impression management.
Do I need a certification or a contract to use it?
No. ELLSIx requires no certification to administer and no enterprise contract or minimum — it is token-based, so you buy what you use.
What should I pair with a personality assessment for hiring?
A cognitive-ability assessment. Personality and cognitive ability are complementary predictors of performance; ELLSIx plus the Reasoning assessment is a strong, compact hiring stack.
How much does it cost?
ELLSIx is $39.95/token and the Reasoning assessment is $19.95/token, with a 10% discount on 10+ tokens of the same type. No subscription or setup fee.