We all have to make selection decisions at some time in our jobs. Whether we are choosing a consultant, an employee or repositioning people in our team. All of these positions require people to make decisions and in this article I am going to show you how to use modlettes to make good recruitment decisions.
The Situation Judgement Test
The SJT (Situational Judgement Test) is a type of pre-employment psychometric test that assesses a candidate’s behaviour competencies and effective judgement in realistic work-based scenarios. Unlike other psychometric assessments that measure cognitive skills or personality traits, the SJT test focuses on candidates’ behaviour, helping to predict their suitability for the job.
For example, if you are hiring for a sales position, you could tailor your SJT to assess only the relevant competencies for sales and use real-life challenges and scenarios candidates are likely to encounter in your company. This customisation is a key reason why situation judgement tests are becoming so effective. They can provide a clear, relevant picture of how a candidate would perform in your specific role.
What is work-related behaviour
Work related behaviour refers to how individuals behave in the workplace, especially when faced with difficult challenges, tasks, and decisions. This includes a range of behavioural competencies, strengths, judgement and values that reflect how employees perform their role responsibilities and interact with colleagues, clients, and the work environment.
Measuring work-related behaviour in the recruitment process is crucial because it helps recruiters identify candidates whose natural strengths and competencies align with the specific behavioural demands of the role and the organisation’s culture.
At what stage of the hiring process should we use SJTs
Situational judgement tests can be inserted at various stages of the recruitment process, depending on the role’s seniority and the organisation’s size. However, they are most practical when used early in the pre-employment stage. By inviting candidates to take a SJT test early on, employers can quickly and efficiently identify best-fit candidates with the key competencies, whilst candidates can immediately learn about the job to self-assess their interest in the position.
Using modlettes to test candidates using SJT
The modlettes’ quiz has three types of formats:
- A learning quiz where the answers are in a multi-choice format. When an answer is chosen the quiz will tell you if your answer is correct and why. If you are unsuccessful the quiz will tell you why and what the consequences of a wrong answer.
- A testing quiz where there are no explanations with answers and the results are returned to the modlette supervisor.
- A free text question which requires the participant to type in an answer that will be assessed by the modlette supervisor.
Both 2 and 3 are suitable for creating Situation Judgement Tests.
Example: This question relates to a customer Service situation.
You are working as an assistant in a large Auto Parts wholesaler. You take a call from an upset customer. He is claiming that he was expecting a refund for a part that as being unsuitable for the repair he was working on. He goes on to explain that he spoke to a colleague of yours who he names and who promised a refund would be posted as a credit to his account. The colleague promised this would happen last week. He is getting more upset and is raising his voice to you. Go to the next step to decide on the best option to deal with this situation.
Next Step:
Your customer is now very agitated so you must make a decision from the following options:
- “I will do what I can to help you with this issue. If you give me your account details I will investigate what has happened here.”
- “Let me check with my colleague. If you can hold for a couple of minutes I will speak with him.”
- “Sir, I can hear that you are really upset but I need you to calm down so that I can help you.”
- “I am sure there is a logical explanation for this. If you give me your details I will look into it.”
What did you choose? Would you have qualified?
For examples relating to a trainee graduate and several other positions, email [email protected] with SJT in the subject.