Selection.

Selection:

This blog will look at selection, and will give an example of a company that uses an assessment centre as part of their graduate recruitment and selection process.

Fig 1: bcs website

Here we will review a job description and personal spec for a graduate role within an identified company, and in turn identify exercises used in an assessment centre that link to the skills required for the chosen roles.

The advantages and disadvantages of using assessment centres will also be discussed.

A selection of the methods employed in assessment centres are varied, and can include interviews, group tasks and Psychometric testing. Psychometric tests are designed to measure particular mental attributes or abilities, such as personality, numerical reasoning or text checking. 

Figure 2: PTC logo

A further guide to the application and the setting of standards in psychological testing can be viewed here (Society, 2013) The candidate may be expected to undergo a varied range of assessments within the selection process, and for the purpose of similarity we have included a link to the Chartered institute for IT, for perusal: bcs

As seen there are a variety of tests available to the employer and although bcs utilise an in - depth array of assessment process, we will look more closely to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (pwc) for this blog. The job description and Personal spec detailed below are for a position offered within this company; therefore, terms used are for an actual role offered.

Job description:

Pwc's work is project-based; the potential candidate will work on only one project at a time in their first few years, so they will be able to focus on the job in hand. For each project worked on at pwc, a specific team will be organised– which varies in shape and size depending on the project in question, ranging from a small team of strategists to a large multi-disciplinary team.

The role is looking for an exceptional candidate. The candidate will work, if employed, alongside inspirational colleagues and have direct exposure to clients at all levels, up to CEO and Board members. 

In addition, after carrying out research, strategic analysis, modelling, interviews and practical field research the candidate will develop strategic insights for the project, discuss them with colleagues and present recommendations to clients.  Very quickly, the candidate will find that they are giving pwc clients advice that could range from insights into growth strategy through to market entry, competitive strategy, organisation structure or Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) strategy.  

The candidate will gain a broad experience  and will develop a strong base of individual consulting skills. From the start, pwc will encourage the right candidate to take on as much responsibility as they can handle. 

Personal Spec:

The personal spec outlined on the company website lays out exactly what type of person is required for this role, and is an actual outline on pwc website for the role of Consultant Strategy in Management Consulting.

Pwc are looking for talented, ambitious people and will give the candidate the tools needed to learn, and be encouraged to progress quickly and promoted on merit. 

If the candidate is what the company are looking for and they are are good, they will get on.  Pwc look for a rare combination of razor-sharp commercial awareness, analytical skills, and the confidence and credibility to present opinions to senior colleagues within the organisation as well as experienced clients externally.

This role is not a routine 9-to-5 job. Rigour and curiosity are vital for the right person and they  will be expected to tackle the most important issues that one the largest organisations in the world face. They will be expected to be highly motivated and ambitious, someone who is hungry for early responsibility, client interaction and the chance to make a difference from day one.

Pwc do not exclusively recruit people with an academic background, but also will look to recruit people with a sporting background and/or team working skills; or leadership qualities that have been accrued through work experience. 

The ability to speak more than one language is considered desirable.
Graduates are expected to have a 2.1 degree in any discipline.

The ability to see things from the clients point of view will add to making a positive impact on PWC clients. Strategy Consulting offers a unique chance to the right person to work alongside the best in that field to become an excellent business consultant fast.

Here we look more closely at the assessment centre activities that are expected within PWC:

Group/individual exercise:

This type of activity allows pwc to observe how people perform when working in a team. The candidates will be given a scenario beforehand and asked to come up with solutions to a range of issues. This type of work is used to asses the candidates communication, influencing skills, teamwork, and ultimately their ability to manage a project. 

They candidate may also be asked to take part in an individual exercise depending on the size of an assessment centre and/or the location they have applied to. The individual exercise assesses the same skills as the group exercise but the candidate will interact with a trained assessor rather than other candidates.

The candidate can expect this process to take approximately one hour to one hour fifteen minutes.

Case Studies:

Applicants to Consultant Strategy may also be required to complete a case study exercise during the assessment centre.  This will be based around a project that is typical of the work undertaken within consultancy . 

Pwc assess the candidate’s ability to answer a number of questions using information they provide of their own life experiences. 

Presentation Exercise:

The selection process for Consulting Strategy will also include a presentation exercise at the pwc assessment centre, this is designed to help pwc assess analytical capabilities and thought process, this in turn leads to an understanding of information, flexibility and communication.

Written Exercise:

The written exercise is designed to assess written communication ability. The candidate will have 30 minutes to read an exercise and will then be expected to prepare a written report on the given subject. This exercise is designed to assess ability to produce written reports to an appropriate standard. The report will be assessed based on the candidates application of structure; this will be expected to be in clear and concise language and be logical and coherent.

All of the aforementioned processes seem to be user friendly in design and thought. Here is an extract taken from the pwc website.

In short, a candidate who has been through the process has spoken of the benefits of pwc, and their use of their assessment team, in that he was “put at ease” as soon as he arrived “and the assessment team explained clearly what I had to do” (Cooper, 2013)

Advantages and disadvantages: 

One advantage of using assessment centres is that there can be more in-depth analysis of candidates through group interaction. This is particularly useful were similar candidates are being assessed for a particular job (Mullins, 2002). This in turn offers employers, a greater chance to glean more from candidates using case studies and/or a combination of written exercise, presentations etc. than would normally be garnered from traditional type interviews.

As we have seen, assessment centres can be advantageous, but the disadvantage here is the cost. This is prohibitive for most sme’s and only companies the size and stature of pwc have the budget to incorporate this into their induction programme, and if not overseen by competent assessors or Psychologists the candidate assessment findings may not be based on clear-cut objectives therefore, findings could be misconstrued.

Conclusion:

As seen, the use of assessment centres add a valued dimension to the recruitment process in that, candidates are being assessed on a number of levels for skills required for the job description. 

The candidate is assessed for interpersonal skills in the group discussions plus co-operation and teamwork. Time management skills are also being assessed.

Initiative creativity and persuasiveness are the characteristics the assessors are looking for when the candidate is applying their own judgement and skills within the written, case studies and presentation exercises. These are all qualities that the assessors are seeking, for the role of Consultant Strategist.

The use of the assessment centres are the most reliable indicators of successful future job performance and are also seen to be fair and objective.

In short, this is the most reliable and in-depth form of assessment of potential candidates, this formula can and does ensure the correct candidate is employed for the positions offered.

Works Cited

Cooper, P.W. (2013) pwc [online]. pwc United Kingdom. Available from: http://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/experienced/assessment/index.jhtml [Accessed: 8 april 2013].

IT, T.C.I.f. (2013) Enabling the information society [online]. bcs. Available from: http://www.bcs.org/content/ConWebDoc/3040 [Accessed: 8 April 2013].

Mullins, L.J. (2002) Group exercises. In: Management And Organisational Behaviour. sixth ed ed. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Ltd, pp.749-50.

Society, T.B.P. (2013) (PTC) Psycological Testing Center [online]. (PTC) Psycological Testing Center. Available from: http://www.psychtesting.org.uk/ [Accessed: 10 April 2013].