Personal Assistant In-Tray Exercise

I used to have a list of typical daily tasks with a few "URGENT URGENT URGENT" ones thrown in and ask them to rank them in the order they would complete them.

The idea was (and I always stressed this in the interview), is that there was no right answer, the aim was to see how they would prioritise their day and we'd have a discussion afterwards where they'd put their reasoning forward as to why they ordered it as they have.

Has always worked out great for us as it gave us an insight into how they work and it gave them a better idea of what sort of tasks they'd be doing day to day.

A properly designed 'in-tray' exercise is an assessment that should both have face validity (i.e. replicate the tasks of the job) and be both valid (in that it measures what it purports to measure) and reliable (in that it measure it accurately).

In tray exercises often form part of larger assessment centres and must be planned carefully in order to avoid potential indirect discrimination. For example, it may be that some tasks take longer if a candidate has dyslexia.
Since any such assessment can leave an employer vulnerable to claims of unfair treatment at interview it's important that the in-tray exercise is tailored to the job in question and fulfills the criteria I mentioned earlier.

Sadly there doesn't appear to be a CIPD checklist for psychometric testing or assessment centres at present to which I can direct people; but understanding the rationale and risks involved is important.

A properly designed 'in-tray' exercise is an assessment that should both have face validity (i.e. replicate the tasks of the job) and be both valid (in that it measures what it purports to measure) and reliable (in that it measure it accurately).

In tray exercises often form part of larger assessment centres and must be planned carefully in order to avoid potential indirect discrimination. For example, it may be that some tasks take longer if a candidate has dyslexia.
Since any such assessment can leave an employer vulnerable to claims of unfair treatment at interview it's important that the in-tray exercise is tailored to the job in question and fulfills the criteria I mentioned earlier.

Sadly there doesn't appear to be a CIPD checklist for psychometric testing or assessment centres at present to which I can direct people; but understanding the rationale and risks involved is important.

Hi Beverley

You can buy in-tray tests from psychometric testing companies that will be based on solid research so that you can be sure the test is both reliable and valid.