SHL On Demand

Best Practice Template Guide:

Graduate Recruitment

September 2009

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Best Practice Template Guide

Graduate Recruitment

Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................... 2

When to use the project template ...................................................................... 3

What is in the project template .......................................................................... 3

Default Assessments ..................................................................................... 3

Reports ....................................................................................................... 3

Auto-generated reports ................................................................................. 4

On demand reports ....................................................................................... 4

Selecting the Correct Verify Assessments ............................................................ 5

A Best Practice Process ..................................................................................... 6

A step by step guide to setting up the project ...................................................... 7

Using the Verification Test ............................................................................... 14

Changing the project template defaults ............................................................. 17

How to change auto-generated reports .......................................................... 17

How to select reports for on demand generation ............................................. 19

About the Best Practice Project Templates ......................................................... 21

Introduction

This best practice template guide has been designed to help you use the SHL On

Demand Assessment system more efficiently and effectively, when recruiting

graduates into your organisation.

The guide helps you configure the system exactly the way it should be configured

according to best practice in graduate shortlisting, a very useful aid given the wide

variety of choices the system offers you. This in turn makes your job simply one of

choosing the applicants who show the strongest potential to be successful in the role

being recruited.

Correct pre-configuration will provide valuable reports that ensure your main focus is

on selecting the candidates with the most potential to perform well in the roles you

are recruiting them for.

This guide does not replace the judgement of a suitably trained user. Your SHL-

registered user should have been involved in the template choice, and if in doubt,

you should ask them about how it should be implemented in your organisation.

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When to use the project template

This project template is designed to be used in situations where it is necessary to

identify the most promising applicants for a specific role you have in your

organisation and is designed to be used with applicants who are graduates. It is

important to use the outputs from these assessments in the context of a specific job

role. To do this, you need to create a profile for the role, possibly using the

Universal Competency Framework. Contact SHL if you need help in determining a

role profile or are unsure about how to use the output reports provided.

Within this template, there are three types of Verify test – numeric, verbal and

inductive reasoning. It is unlikely that you will always want to assess individuals

using all three of these. When you are creating the project, you will need to follow

the instructions in Step 5 of the „A step by step guide to setting up the project‟

section to select only the appropriate Verify assessments. More information about

the different Verify assessments and when they should be used is provided in the

„Selecting the Correct Verify Assessments‟ section below.

What is in the project template

Default Assessments There are four assessments that are already set up for each individual in this

template. These are shown in the table below. They are configured by default to

use general population comparison groups. To choose different comparison groups

during the project set up phase, see the „Changing the project template defaults‟

sections on page 17.

Questionnaire What does this help me achieve?

Personality – OPQ32r This provides detailed information about „How‟ the person

typically behaves at work.

Verify – Verbal

Reasoning

This provides a measure of the individual‟s level of verbal

reasoning ability.

Verify – Numeric

Reasoning

This provides a measure of the individual‟s level of

numeric reasoning ability.

Verify – Inductive

Reasoning

This provides a measure of the individual‟s level of

inductive reasoning ability. This is a good indicator of

the individual‟s ability to solve complex problems.

Reports There are two types of report generation methods in the SHL On Demand system;

„auto-generated‟ reports and „on demand reports‟. Auto-generated reports are

generated by the system as soon all of the required assessments have been

completed for an individual. By default, if you have been set up as feedback

provider, the system will send you an email to let you know as soon as an auto-

generated report is available. Simply clicking on the link will display the report as a

Microsoft Word document. On demand reports are generated at the request of an

administrator or feedback provider.

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The tables below show the auto-generated reports and the on demand reports

available in the „graduate recruitent‟ project template.

Auto-generated reports

Report What does this help me achieve?

Universal Competency

Report (OPQ32)

Provides a description of an individual‟s likely

performance against the core 20 competencies from the

SHL Universal Competency Framework.

Manager‟s Plus (OPQ32) Designed specifically for line managers, this report shows

how the assessed individual prefers to work, is likely to

perform against a range of competencies proven to be

important at work and is likely to interact with

colleagues.

Candidate (OPQ32) Ideal for internal or external candidates, this report is

designed to be given to the candidate and reflects best

practice in this regard.

Verify Ability Test Report Provides information about the levels of ability in each of

the Verify tests they take.

On demand reports

Report What does this help me achieve?

Maximise your Learning

(OPQ32)

This report provides information on the ways in which an

individual is likely to learn best

Leadership (OPQ32) Provides a detailed insight into an individual‟s leadership

capability by analysing their unique style of operating

and suggesting the areas of leadership they have the

potential to excel at as well as areas they may find more

challenging.

Team Types and

Learning Styles (OPQ32)

Indicates the type of role each individual will play within

a team. This is followed by short descriptions of how the

person‟s behaviour is likely to match or differ from typical

role behaviour. This tool builds a profile of a candidate

based around Team Types, Leadership Styles and

Reporting Styles.

It is possible during the project setup phase to change the reports which are auto-

generated if you would prefer to have additional reports generated. To see how to

do this, view the section „How to select reports for on demand generation‟

below on page 19.

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Selecting the Correct Verify Assessments

It is important to select only those assessments which measure things that are

appropriate for the role you are recruiting into. It is unlikely that you will want to

assess your candidates with all three Verify assessment types; Verbal, Numeric and

Inductive reasoning. Having determined which of these abilities, if any, are

important for the role that you are recruiting, you will need to make sure that you

select only those assessments for the project.

Verify Verbal Reasoning measures a candidate‟s ability to evaluate the logic of

various kinds of statement presented in written form. The test measures the ability

to determine the support for conclusions drawn, using content that typifies a variety

of work settings.

Verbal Reasoning is relevant for use in assessment where the following tasks are

critical aspects of the job or role:

Analysing and interpreting written and oral information

Preparing written documents

Preparing and delivering presentations.

Verify Numerical Reasoning is designed to measure a candidate‟s ability to make

correct decisions or inferences from numerical or statistical data. The test measures

the ability to work with numerical data in a realistic workplace context.

Numerical Reasoning is relevant for use in assessment where the following tasks are

critical aspects of the job or role:

Analysis and interpretation of numerical data including statistical analyses

Preparing budgets, analysing financial information including costs, margins

and trends

Verify Inductive Reasoning is designed to test a candidate‟s ability to draw inferences

from, and understand the relationships between, various concepts, independent of

acquired knowledge.

Inductive Reasoning is relevant for use in assessment where the following tasks are

critical aspects of the job or role:

Understanding new concepts and approaches to problems

Dealing with complex, ambiguous and new problems.

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A Best Practice Process

We recommend using this best practice template in the following type of process:

Determine the role profile and identify which VerifyTM assessments are applicable

Use best practice template to configure SHL On Demand Assessment system

Invite applicants to take assessments as part of the selection process for next stages

Use reports and Verify scores to determine which candidates have the best fit for

the role. Use this to identify those to invite to interview and use the information to

probe specific areas. Administer Verification tests to check their ability scores. Give

Candidate report to individuals to take away

Choose one or more individuals to fill the roles available

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A step by step guide to setting up the project

Step 1: Click on the Project Maintenance tab on the top toolbar, to go to that page.

Step 2: Click on the 'Create new project' link on the left side of the screen.

Step 3: Choose the project template you would like to use to create the new project.

In this case we are choosing the “Best Practice: Graduate Recruitment” template.

You must also complete the “Project location”, “Project name” and “Project

description” fields before clicking the “Create new project” button as shown in the

example below.

Step 4: Then complete the following two areas on the „project details‟ page.

1. Add the specific project dates, particularly the deadlines for completion.

2. If you want reminder emails to be sent to individuals who have not completed

their assessments. Complete the „Reminder‟ section

These areas are highlighted in the screen shot overleaf.

Ensure maximum project flexibility by checking the ‘Add Focuses after

Project Start’ checkbox you can then add more people to be assessed

whenever you want.

Once you have made any changes necessary click on the „Save‟ button at the bottom

of the page.

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Step 5: Navigate to the „Configure Project Rules‟ page (hint: choose the Modify

Project Details‟ link on the „Project Details‟ page) and then click the „Select

Instruments and Reports‟ link. On the „Select Instruments‟ page, choose which of

the Verify Assessments is appropriate for the job you are recruiting for. In the

example below, we have chosen verbal and inductive reasoning assessments. You

should also choose the appropriate comparison groups for your industry sector.

Note: more information about choosing the right Verify assessments is provided in

the „Selecting the Correct Verify Assessments‟ section above.

On the same page, you must also select the equivalent Verification tests to ensure

they are available to Verify the ability test scores of any of your candidates.

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Once you have chosen the correct Verification tests, click on the „Select Reports‟

button and then click the „Save‟ button at the bottom of the „Select Reports‟ page

Step 6: Now add the project administrator, by clicking on the „Add project

administrator‟ link on the left hand side.

Find the appropriate user by entering all or part of the first or last name. For part-

name searches add an * at the end. For example, enter Hallw* in the last name box

to search for Nick Hallwood. The results will return all users with a last name starting

Hallw. Too many results? Narrow the search by adding more detail. You can also

create a new user by clicking on the „Create new user‟ link.

Click the „Add to project‟ link against the selected user name as shown below.

Step 7: A feedback provider is required to receive the reports generated from the

system. This can be the person distributing the information to managers and

employees or the person providing the feedback sessions to employees.

To add a feedback provider click the „Add feedback provider‟ link on the project

details page. The same search process can be followed as described in step 6.

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Once you have found the user you require, then simply click the „Select as feedback

provider link against their name as show below.

You will then see the following screen asking which users you would like to add this

individual to as a feedback provider. In this case, we have not added any

assessment focuses so none are displayed. This functionality allows you to add

different feedback providers to different assessment focuses. Once you have chosen

the appropriate individuals for this feedback provider, or if there are none available,

then click the Save Changes button.

Step 7: You can add individuals to the project to be assessed now. If you made sure

the „Add focus later‟ box was checked in Step 4 above, then it is not necessary to do

that now. If you want to add people to be assessed now, then click the „Add

assessment focus‟ link on the project details page.

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Step 8: To enable the Verification tests to be completed, you will also need to add

an instrument supervisor to each assessment. From the „Project Details‟ page, click

the „Add instrument supervisor‟ link. Follow the same process as Step 7 above to

find all those users who could be allocated as an instrument supervisor. Once you

click on the person you want to be the instrument supervisor, you will see the screen

below where you can select the candidates to be supervised by your chosen user.

Typically you will choose an instrument supervisor who is in the same location that

the candidate will be interviewed in.

Step 9: The final step is to launch the project. This enables the assessments to

start. Note: once you complete this step you will not be able to change the

assessments, comparison groups or auto-generated reports.

An email will be sent to each individual advising them that they have been asked to

complete assessments and giving them login details.

The nominated project administrator will also receive an email informing them that

the project has been launched, see the sample below.

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Once you have added assessment focuses to the project and they have completed

their assessments, the person nominated as the feedback provider will receive

emails letting them know when auto-generated reports are available. These can

then be used as the basis for development activities with each individual.

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Using the Verification Test

One of the key features of the Verify range of ability tests is the Verification test that

enables you to determine if the person you have brought in for interview has an

ability level equivalent to the individual that completed the initial online,

unsupervised ability test. This section explains how to administer the Verification

test to those individuals who you are considering making an offer of employment to.

Step 1: Navigate to the „Project Details‟ page for your project and then click on the

„View project stages‟ link.

Step 2: On the „Project Stages‟ page, choose the „Verify Ability Test Results‟ option

from the top drop down list and the „Ability Test (un-progressed focuses)‟ option

from the second drop down list and then click on the „Display Report‟ button.

Step 3: When the candidate names and ability test scores are displayed, you need to

review them to identify the candidates who you would like to test with a Verification

test. For those candidates, select the „Yes‟ radio button in the „Progress to

Verification Test‟ section at the right hand side of the screen and then click the „Save

Changes‟ button.

Note: in the screenshot below, the second candidate has not yet completed their

assessments and so cannot be progressed to the next stage.

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Step 4: The „Confirm Progress Decision‟ screen will be displayed giving you an

opportunity to make sure that you are progressing the correct candidates. Any

changes you make cannot be undone so you need to check carefully. You also have

an opportunity to change the person who will be allocated the task to supervise the

Verification test. This is the person who will see this task on their task list the next

time they log in to the SHL On Demand system.

Step 6: If you are happy, then click on the „Confirm Changes‟ button.

Step 7: Once the individual to be assessed is ready, then the instrument supervisor

should log in and click on the „Supervise Verification Test‟ link. In this example, the

test type to be supervised is a Verbal test.

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Step 8: The individual taking the Verification test should be asked to log into the

system using their password. Their username will already be populated into the

login screen. You should make sure the candidate remembers to bring their

password with them.

The individual taking the Verification test will see the various assessments that they

needs to complete on their Assessment Home page. As with the original Verify

Ability tests, they will be required to complete the assessments in a specific order.

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Step 9: Once they have completed the assessments they should log out of the

system. Verification reports will be generated and will be available for the feedback

provider to review.

Changing the project template defaults

Although the Best Practice templates have been designed to have appropriate

defaults so no modifications are necessary, you may wish to adapt the project to

your own circumstances. These changes need to be made before you launch the

project, (Step 8 in the guide above). Some typical changes are described below.

How to change auto-generated reports This step can be completed either from the „Configure project rules‟ page you will see

in Step 4 above or by clicking on the „Modify project details‟ link on the left hand side

of the project details page. This can only be done prior to the project being

launched.

On the „Configure project rules‟ page, click on the „Select Instruments and Reports‟

link

This will lead you to the Select Instruments page where you need to click the „Select

Reports‟ button at the bottom of the page.

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The „Select Reports‟ page will now appear, as shown below. This will display a list of

the automatically generated reports. In the example below, to ensure each

individual had an Employee Motivation Report generated automatically for them, you

would click the checkbox next to that report. You can also choose the language for

the report to be generated in.

Once you have chosen the auto-generated reports you want click the „Save‟ button.

This will lead you back to the „Configure Project Rules‟ page where you must also

click the „Save‟ button at the bottom of the screen.

How to select reports for on demand generation To generate on demand reports, you need to select the „Generate Optional Reports‟

link near the bottom left hand side of the „Project Details‟ page (highlighted below)

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This will take you to the Optional Reports page:

First select the individuals you want to generate the on demand reports for.

Simply check the boxes against the ones you want.

Then choose the reports you want by selecting them from the „Select a

Report>>‟ drop down list.

Once you have selected the report, you can select the language you would

like it to be in using the „Select a Language >>‟ drop down list.

You should start with the ‟First Report‟ line and add a second and third if needed.

To generate the reports, simply click on the „Generate Reports with default Norm

Groups‟ button.

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You will then see the next page. Simply click on the „Generate Reports‟ button and

the reports you specified will be generated.

About the Best Practice Project Templates

The Best Practice project templates have been designed to make it straightforward

for an infrequent user of the SHL On Demand system to set up assessments and

received out put reports for common situations. The default settings for

assessments, comparison groups and automatically generated output reports will

ensure that the process adopted meets what is generally considered to be a best

practice approach.

For each template in the Best Practice range, there is a set of documentation and

how to use guides available including this document. All of the information is made

available through the shl.com website.

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