Case Studies

Sifting

In recent years tests have been increasingly used near the beginning of a recruitment process to reduce the work required to sift through initial applicants for a job. Tests are increasingly being used to reduce the number of applications you have to work through. Because tests are objective, can focus on specific, critical areas of a person’s skills, abilities and personality and are extremely cost and time efficient, many companies are finding them useful for “sifting” through applicants at an early stage.

Selection

Tests have been used in the selecting candidates for jobs for many years. They can be used at any stage in the process: at first interviews, between two interviews; at shortlist stage; as part of a wider assessment centre alongside techniques like in-tray exercises, role plays and group discussions. Our members’ case studies show the care which organisations take in their selection activities. Many of them realise that recruitment is a key business issues: get it wrong and you’re in trouble; get it right and a lot other business issues become easier.

Individual Development

For companies it’s cheaper and safer to develop an existing member of staff to take more responsibility than it is to recruit someone knew. All managers know that they’re using a small % of their staff’s skill, energy and knowledge. How can they unleash more of it? Tests can provide an objective foundation on which to decide the best development technique, where development is needed and the benchmark against which you’ll measure a technique’s effectiveness. Along the way they can measure the progress made. At the end of the process, they can evaluate effectiveness and feed into future plans.

Team Development

High-performing teams – whether a permanent department or a six month project grouping – can make the difference between success and failure. How teams operate - what makes a good team; what causes them to fail; how to put together a group which will work well together and how to salvage a team which has “gone wrong” – is a very developed area of business psychology and consultancy. In recent years, organisations have paid a lot of attention to “cross-border” teams; where people from different organisations (say a buyer and a supplier) work together on a long-term project and need to align cultural differences and ways of working. Our members’ case studies give examples of this increasing area of work.

Organisational Development

Put all the other areas together and you have a tool kit for organisational change, taking in the individual talent and substructures within a company. Tests can also be used to measure culture and attitudes within an organisation to decide on what changes are necessary and what is the best way to introduce them.