Group assessment in selection process

[Carrigman]

My company is considering using group assessment in selecting new employess in addition to our conventional telephone and one to one interviews. The idea is that group assessment would help to further identify team working and communication skills. The format would be for,say, 6 candidates to be given a scenario and asked to discuss the situation for 15 minutes. They would be observed by three Team Leaders who would then assess each individual on the basis of the skills identified (or not, as the case may be). I'm not convinced of the efficacy of this method. I think the setting with observers present busy writing away could be offputting to some otherwise good candidates. Nor do I think that a 15 minute exercise would necessarily bring such strengths as a candidate may have to the surface. There is also the matter of properly capturing all that is said and done by the Team Leaders who will be charged with doing the assessment. Am I right to be sceptical? Is G.A. just a fashionable H.R. construct, or does it really represent a significant advance on traditional recruitment techniques?

John,
Ireland

[jacote]

John,

Go with your gut on this one. I wouldn't use a concept like the one you mention and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end. I'd feel like I was part of some Survivor episode wondering who was going to vote me off the island...

That's just me...All I'm saying is, go with your own instincts. I'd have a hard time taking a company seriously that engaged in this hiring process. I really would.

Which reminds, the dopiest interview I ever had was when I was an out of work web designer. I was interviewing for an HTML position with a consulting company. Well, the boss was a nice enough guy, but when he asked me to describe 3 things I would do with this brick he held in his hands I almost laughed in his face. Actually, I did, and probably said something like "are you serious?"

Well, needless to say, my answers were rather telling...I didn't get the job.

Answer 1: Tenderize meat with it
Answer 2: Put it in a garden as decoration
Answer 3: Use it as a door stop

Good luck John.

[SNHORNE81]

I agree that type of assessment only is very SHAKEY to say the least. If the recruitment department is looking to expand and use a lot of combined actvities to assess an applicant then I could see that as part, but ONLY part, of an assessment process. While it is true that teams are needed as well as interpersonal skill assessments still ther is more needing to be done in assessing qualified candidates.

[callcenteradmin]

The problem with group assessment is that it allows for personal bias by each member of the group. My advice would be to use skills assessment testing that has been tested to be both reliable and valid.

Best wishes,

Peter C. Geisheker
http://www.CallCenterCareers.com

[Matt Schmitz]

The ONLY time a group assessment is a viable method for candidate selection is when the organization doesn't have any skilled interviewers.

I would spend the time and effort to identify supervisors and managers who have good basic agent instincts, and then groom, train, and task them with the task of agent selection. Follow up with some basic QA analysis on the selections. (Which interviewer actually selected the best candidate based on agent longevity, quality, ect.?) This method yields "excellent" candidates.

If you already have a qualified interviewer, all of the other "group assessment" people will just defer to that "experts" opinion anyway. What a waste of valuable resources!

If you don't have a qualified interviewer, the GA method will yield "moderately acceptable" agents. Remember, the camel was just another horse designed by committee!

Matt