REQUIREMENT

• An IT-enabled services company based in India wanted to recruit executives using objective assessment methodologies. The company was flooded with applications in response to its advertisement. The Company (client) had charted out the processes they sought to follow, with Psychometric Assessment being one of the processes identified.
• The client identified several competencies which they wanted to measure in the applicants for the position. Eduquity studied the competency profile and indicated our ability to measure, with a high degree of confidence, seven of the nine competencies listed.
• The client sought to have detailed reports on each of the applicants assessed, and a final ranking of all the candidates based on their performance compared within the group.

SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT

• A pilot test was conducted on the client’s employees to enable them to evaluate the nature of the assessments proposed by Eduquity.
• Discussions with the client ascertained the specific tools which would be used to conduct this assessment. The following plan was agreed upon -.

Competency	Primary Assessment Tool	Validation Tool
Active Listening	Group Process	Aural Comprehension Test
Speaking	Group Process	Voice Audition test
Handling Difficult Calls	Psychometrics
Stress Tolerance	Psychometrics
Interpersonal Skills	Psychometrics	Group process
Customer Focus	Psychometrics
Schedule Adherence	Psychometrics

• Weightages for each of these competencies were also decided upon in consensus with the client whereby varying levels of importance were accorded to the different competencies.
• A suite of psychometric, technological and observation instruments were identified and the framework for measuring the respective competencies (as combinations of personality and EQ elements) was designed.
• A group process was designed to measure the remaining competencies simultaneously. Specific behavioral patterns and instances were charted and assessors primed to identify these behaviors and rate them as they occurred. Assessors were also identified for their maturity in being able to deliver objective and unbiased assessments of candidates.
• A scoring and consolidation methodology was finalized for the group process, in a manner that also facilitated the final consolidation of scores with the psychometric scores, to rank the candidate.
• A sample report was designed to indicate to the client the proposed flow of content in the final reports. The sample was designed in a manner which facilitated easy understanding through graphical and tabular representations of the results. The same was reviewed with and approved by the client.

IMPLEMENTATION

• The assessment solution was technology enabled such that the psychometric and skill tests could be administered online. The testing interface was customized to include the client’s logo and branding strategy.
• Processes for scoring and analysis were also automated, so as to enable speedy generation of results and reports.
• Passages in three languages - English, Hindi and Kannada - were composed, converted into audio clippings and plugged into the Aural Comprehension Engine to assess the applicant’s language comprehension ability based on differential weightages for each language section.
• Two employees belonging to the client company (a male and a female) were identified as having pleasant voices. These voices were then used as benchmarks and candidates were compared for their match against the same.
• The group process was designed to be a role-based situation presented to each of the participants of the group (members designated randomly). The participants were instructed to act out their parts in a manner which justified theirs as also their group’s cause. The ratings of two assessors who assessed each candidate were consolidated to derive the final score.
• Assessors were oriented to conduct these assessments and a pilot run facilitated on a sample population.
• Proctors were nominated for the purpose of assisting the candidates through the different stages of the assessment under the guidelines for test taking.
• The applicants were batched. Testing was scheduled to be conducted in 10 batches, each of one hour’s duration. 150 candidates were assessed over two days at the Eduquity premises.
• Minimum representation and involvement was sought from the client in the actual selection assessment process. Representatives from the organization participated in this process only during the orientation phase when Eduquity arranged to have some relevant information about the client dispensed to all the applicants for the job.
• The assessment responses were collated and analyzed, to generate the requisite individual and group reports and the ranking list.
• The reports were presented to the client in CD format, with an interview schedule attached to enable the interviewers to structure the interview process and probe for more details in the gray areas of particular candidates.
• The client agreed that the assessment greatly helped them identify the right personnel for the vacancies. They used the assessment reports to good effect during the interviews too.