Centier Bank PI Assessment Practice
The Predictive Index case study on Centier Bank contains the clearest candidate-facing sentence in PI's whole customer library: every candidate in the pipeline sat the Behavioral Assessment before interviews went ahead.
What the Evidence Says
Centier Bank is a family-owned community bank in Indiana, and the Predictive Index published a case study about it in January 2020. Most vendor case studies are vague about whether candidates actually sit anything. This one is not, and that is why it is worth your attention: it states that integrating the assessment into hiring was the first step, and that “soon each candidate in the pipeline was given an assessment prior to moving forward with interviews.”
If you are applying to Centier, that sentence is the practical one. It places the PI Behavioral Assessment before the interview rather than after it, which means it is a gate you pass through rather than a formality once someone already likes you.
The case study also describes the PI Job Assessment being used to create Job Targets for key roles, and a second, internal use that the bank’s President, Michael E. Schrage, describes directly: “We use the behavioral data to promote folks and make sure that we’re moving them into the right positions.” So the same instrument is doing two jobs, one at the front door and one inside. It reports turnover falling from 20% to 7% and staff averaging over ten years of service.
The PI Behavioral Assessment
The Predictive Index describes the format as two questions over a single shared list: candidates “are presented with two questions, each pertaining to a single shared list of adjectives.” You read the same word list twice, first choosing the words that describe how others expect you to behave at work, then the words that describe who you really are. PI states it is untimed and takes about six minutes.
Results are reported on four drives, in PI’s own descriptions:
- Dominance– how a person naturally approaches control, independence and decision-making on the job.
- Extraversion– how people communicate, persuade and engage with others.
- Patience– how someone prefers to manage time, pace and change.
- Formality– how strongly a person seeks structure, rules and precision in their work environment.
In a bank, Formality and Patience are plausibly relevant to teller and operations roles, but that is reasoning about the job rather than anything the case study states. Treat it as context, not as a target to aim at.
The PI Cognitive Assessment
The case study does not mention a cognitive test, so this describes the product rather than Centier’s process. PI publishes the specification: 50 cognitive reasoning questions in 12 minutes, mixing verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning, roughly 14 seconds a question. PI states scores reflect speed and accuracy, and that a linear-on-the-fly design gives each candidate a unique item set, which is an anti-cheating measure rather than adaptive difficulty.
Practice the Tests
Behavioral
Cognitive
The full range is on the Predictive Index practice hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Centier Bank test job applicants with PI?
The Predictive Index case study states that each candidate in the pipeline was given an assessment before moving forward with interviews. That is about as direct as vendor evidence gets. It describes a practice as of 2020 rather than a published current policy, so your invitation is still the authoritative source for your own process.
Will there also be a timed cognitive test?
Nothing in the case study says so. It names the PI Behavioral Assessment and the PI Job Assessment only. Employers often pair the behavioral questionnaire with the PI Cognitive Assessment, so it is worth being ready for, but we are not going to tell you Centier sends one when the source does not.
How old is the evidence?
The case study was published in January 2020 and last modified in 2024, and it cites a 2010 Indiana Chamber of Commerce ranking, so the implementation it describes began well before publication. It remains live on the Predictive Index website.
Can I prepare for a behavioral assessment?
You can remove the surprise, which is most of the benefit. There is no content to revise: it is an untimed word-selection exercise with no right answers, scored into four drives that an employer compares against what they think the role needs.
Are your tests the real Centier Bank assessment?
No. These are independent practice exercises matching each test’s published format. They contain no real test items and are not supplied, reviewed or endorsed by Centier Bank or the Predictive Index.