Today we’d like to introduce you to Krista Hamrin and Meredith Burke Hammons.
The Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, Inc. grew from a testing program begun in 1922 by Mr. Johnson O’Connor for the General Electric Company in Massachusetts. Mr. O’Connor, who had graduated from Harvard University, started working at General Electric because he wanted to learn about engineering. One of his main projects was trying to find ways to increase efficiency in an effort to reduce overall costs. Along with Mr. F.P. Cox, Mr. O’Connor theorized that if people were doing work that was natural to their abilities, efficiency would increase and employees would be more satisfied and productive.
Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Cox decided to analyze various jobs to see if they could identify the natural ability each one would need. One of the first jobs analyzed was that of meter assemblers. As they continued to work on test development and analyses, the point of view of what they were doing was slowly shifting. Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Cox now began to consider individuals first, instead of their particular jobs, becoming more interested in placing them in the jobs most suitable to their abilities.
In 1939, the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation / Human Engineering Laboratory, Inc. was incorporated as a nonprofit educational and scientific organization. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have discovered their natural abilities and used the information to make career and educational decisions. The Foundation now has eleven offices around the United States, as well as a Research Department located in Chicago.
The Atlanta office opened in 1977 and continues to grow, reaching clients throughout the southeast.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As with any business or non-profit, there have, of course, been struggles along with way. The number of clients we see can be affected by economic shifts, like 2008.
Not too many career services offer what we do, so there has not been too much competition in the past. There are people who offer personality tests and a form of aptitude tests online, which can be done in less time at a lower cost. However, our research has shown that the hands-on testing we do can not be replicated online due to the loss of complexity, standardization, and personal touch. Our tests are not self-reports but are performance based activities that are timed, with scores compared to a large database. So our obstacle is getting to people to understand that what we offer is different from tests they took in school (“checked a bunch of boxes and it told me to a be a garbage man”).
Another challenge is that, historically, we have not advertised our services, so we rely on word of mouth referrals to let people know we exist, and to convince people the 1.5 days and travel to a testing office is worth the results they receive. Luckily, we’ve stayed alive almost 100 years thanks to satisfied clients sending in friends, family, their clients and strangers they meet!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are known for our comprehensive testing program, for our longevity (Johnson O’Connor began testing 96 years ago) and for our personal touch. We provide hands-on tests of natural abilities in order to help people make informed choices about their education and careers.
Our research department continually evaluates and updates our tests, as well as studying the evolution of career roles. Our research team is also involved with the greater scientific community, presenting at conferences and working with university professors on the relationship between brain development and aptitudes.
We also provide a personal one-on-one conference with each client, to help them understand the test results and how they apply to careers and education, and how the various aptitude scores interact with one another in nuanced ways. Clients love how their scores also seem to explain every day behavior and how they relate to other people.
In addition, once a person has tested with us, we are available for questions for the rest of their lives. We have had clients who tested thirty years ago call and discuss how to use their aptitudes in their retirement. Also, our tests are not paper and pencil and they are not self-reported (like the Myers-Briggs). We actually observe people doing timed tasks and thus a person’s desires cannot affect the outcome. Our research shows that the scores tend to remain stable over time. Thus, people can use their results throughout their lives.
We are most proud of our long history and our ability to help people at all ages and stages of life to achieve their greatest potential. In Atlanta, we like to think of our job as “confidence builders.” We love to validate people, and encourage them about their futures. We also love our small, 4-5 person staff. JOCRF tends to hire awesome and fascinating folk!
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was the quieter twin sister who was big into reading. I have an introverted side but also a curious/adventurous side that has me out and about most nights of the week. I’ve always been interested in observing people, their individual differences, why they do what they and then finding ways to help. At Emory University, I majored in Psychology (with a minor in Linguistics). I love the exactness and scientific method behind industrial psychology tests, but also love the personal side of the counseling we do: validating a person’s way of thinking and behaving, seeing relationships improved through greater understanding, encouraging people to strive for a better fit with their job/career. I come from a family that does a lot of non-profit/helping work and I feel like I’m making a difference every week at my job. I also love to beat the pants off of people at ping-pong.
Pricing:
- Aptitude Testing takes a day and a half and costs $720.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3400 Peachtree Rd. NE, Suite 1023
Atlanta, GA 30326 - Website: www.jocrf.org
- Phone: (404) 261-8013
- Email: atlanta@jocrf.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/jocrf_testing
- Facebook: facebook.com/JohnsonOConnorResearchFoundation
- Twitter: twitter.com/jocrf_testing
- Other: www.linkedin.com/company/3807845/
Image Credit:
Stephen Colbert
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