IRIS Situational Judgement Tests
Online sifting tools for Graduate, Junior Management, Sales, Administrative and Customer Service roles
| Author/s: | Helen Baron, Chris Lewis, Neil Scott et al; 2009 |
|---|---|
| Administration: | Untimed (30 minutes - 1 hour), online, unsupervised |
| Qualification code: | Not Applicable |
| Scoring: | Automated |
IRIS SJTs - Brief Introduction
IRIS Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are Pearson TalentLens's range of off-the-shelf online work simulations designed to assess candidates against a broad range of behaviours or skills required for effective performance in graduate, junior managerial, administrative, customer service and sales roles.
Realistic scenarios
Our SJTs are carefully designed to contain realistic scenarios and situations that are likely to be faced in a particular role. Tests can be linked to an applicant tracking system or sent out by the hiring manager and they are completed online at home.
Measure the effectiveness of someone's decision-making
Test-takers are asked to rate responses to the situations and each response carries a score. The tests, therefore, measure how effective someone's decision making and judgement is when faced with the sort of situations they will routinely experience. Those whose judgement is not what is expected are unlikely to perform well in the role.
Our reasearch identified that those in certain roles e.g. tele-sales, customer service or those new to junior managerment positions face and encounter similar situations and scenarios irrespective of the sector. Our off-the-shelf SJTs are, therefore, likley to be suitable for these roles.
Example of items from Sales SJT (click to enlarge):
Example 1
Example 2
SJTs are popular tests used by many organisations to assess job applicants. They are often tailor-made to a role but to design and validate a bespoke test is expensive and, therefore, they are often only used for assessing for roles where there are large numbers of applicants.
Pearson TalentLens's off-the-shelf tests allow users to access SJTs without all the costs associated with designing SJTs . A degree of tailoring of existing tests is possible and we can also design tests from scratch if required - see the benefits tab below.
Find out more about our SJTs
To find out more about our SJTs or to discuss a trial, call Wyn Davies on 020 7010 2866 or email IRIS@pearson.com
Use these quick links to find out more about IRIS SJTs:
New Sales SJT | What are IRIS SJTs | Benefits | Research & Development | Content | Example Item
New IRIS Sales SJT - Sept 2012
We are pleased to launch the new IRIS Sales SJT. This has been designed to test those applying for roles in sales focusing on:
- new business
- handling and prioritisation of enquiries and sales leads
- cross and up-selling to existing clients
Because the test will contain reference groups from the general population and those in sales roles, it can be used to assess those new to sales and for applicants already experienced in sales.
The content of the Sales SJT has been developed and refined to ensure it covers a variety of challenging scenarios routinely faced by those in sales. In the development and standardisation stages of the test 98% of respondents who took the test said the content was relevant to a sales role, whilst 96% of those in sales management said the scenarios accurately reflected those typically undertaken in a sales role.
The report contains an overall score and five sub-scale scores. Some managers plan to use the instrument's sub-scales to help develop existing teams.
Sub-scales should not be used in isolation to make hiring decisions (only the overall score should be used) but they can be useful to highlight areas for development. The sub-scales are:
- Managing new enquires
- Navigation of gatekeepers
- Advancing the sales process
- Prioritising prospects and tasks
- Understanding the customer and qualifying opportunities
What are IRIS SJTS?
IRIS SJTs assess work-based behaviour and decision-making underpinned by skills, motivation, and abilities commonly required across a number of different roles.
In each SJT, candidates are placed in engaging work scenarios and required to deal with a number of situations by rating a number of possible responses. Each scenario is task-driven and so provides realistic content for these roles, whilst being relevant across organisations.
Benefits
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Cost-effective online sifting - IRIS SJTs can be completed online and unsupervised, so the costs and time associated with assessing high volumes of candidates are reduced.
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Realistic scenarios and situations - SJTs provide an effective measure of potential work performance as candidates are responding to relevant siutations and scenarios they are likely to encounter at work.
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Improved diversity - Research has shown that for SJTs there are reduced differences in performance between candidate groups from different backgrounds when compared with more traditional assessment methods.
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Enhanced employer brand - Candidate perceptions of SJTs are more positive than some traditional recruitment methods. This can enhance employer brand and reputation and can mean that talented candidates are likely to be engaged and retained in the process.
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Rigorous research and testing - To date, over 200 subject matter experts (including line managers, trainers and job incumbents) from a diverse range of backgrounds and organisations have been engaged in the design of scenarios, tasks, content and scoring systems.
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Tailoring - IRIS SJTs can be tailored specifically for an organisation or they can be designed exclusively from scratch to fit specific roles, organisational contexts and cultures.
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Self-selection - Exposing candidates to realistic scenarios they are likely to encounter at work allows candidates to build an impression of the role. They can decide whether to pursue their application to the next stages. This self-selection process saves the organisation both time and money.
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24/7 access - Candidates can complete IRIS SJTs at any time of the day, within the testing period, and progress can be monitored.
For more information please contact IRIS@pearson.com
Research and development of SJTs
IRIS SJTs have been thoroughly researched. In the research, design and development stages the Pearson team has analysed numerous competency frameworks across a large number of organisations in both the private and public sectors. To date they have engaged over 200 subject matter experts (including line managers, trainers and job incumbents) to design the scenarios, content and scoring systems.
Further technical information regarding the research and development of IRIS >.
Content
To assess a wider range of work behaviours, we recommend that the SJT solution contains three different tasks.
Completion of the three tasks takes between 20 and 45 minutes to complete (depending on the level). Candidates are asked to judge the appropriateness of a series of responses. An example of each task is outlined below.
IRIS SJTs for administrative, customer service and sales staff:
- Task 1 - Working on a process
- Task 2 - Supporting staff
- Task 3 - Client interaction
- Task 4 - Sales (under development)
IRIS SJTs for graduates, junior managers and sales managers:
- Task 1 - Dealing with a mechanistic process
- Task 2 - Dealing with an organic or evolving process
- Task 3 - Innovation and change processes
- Task 4 - Sales (under development)
Detailed breakdown of what is involved in each task >
Example item from an Administrative & Customer Services IRIS SJT:
For more information on IRIS Situational Judgement Tests by Pearson Assessment please email IRIS@pearson.com or telephone 020 7010 2866.
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