Call Handler Selection Testing Briefing

For the role of Call Handler a number of relevant tests have been chosen to identify applicants most suited to the role. You will be asked to complete the following via an online testing platform (hosted by SHL), to which access will be provided.

Customer Service Phone Simulation
Typing Test
Personally Recorded Video Interview

You will be given a link to the SHL TalentCentral portal. There will be options on that portal to 'Sign Up' or 'Sign In'. Please use the relevant option to gain access. It is worth noting that some applicants may already have SHL TalentCentral login credentials, depending on whether or not you have used SHL tests before (either for PSNI-related testing, or indeed related to other separate organisations). If you already have existing login credentials with SHL, from having previously accessed their services, you are welcome to use those. If you have lost your previous password, please use the 'Forgot Password?' option to retrieve your previous access. If you have never accessed SHL before, you will need to sign up to gain access.

(Please note, this Call Handler recruitment process is standalone. All applicants will be expected to complete all elements of testing specific to this standalone campaign. There will be no stage-exemptions possible and it will not be possible for Deloitte to refer to the records of any previous Call Handler recruitment process with regard to selection testing performance outcomes).

Once you gain access to the SHL TalentCentral portal you are encouraged to follow all guidance and instructions provided by SHL. By carefully following the information provided by SHL within their system you should find the testing process straightforward and user-friendly.

Please consider the information below to help you understand how you will be tested and to help you prepare.

1. Customer Service Phone Simulation

In this assessment you will be required to take on the role of Call Handler in a simulation. The simulation includes a number of scenarios you would expect to encounter when doing the role of Call Handler in a customer service environment. You will be expected to provide assistance to callers. Examples of the types of calls you may encounter are: supporting a customer with their online account and managing a customer wishing to cancel a service.

In terms of the CVF for Policing Professionals, the Customer Service Phone Simulation aims to assess applicants in the following behaviours:

We Take Ownership
We Deliver, Support and Inspire

A number of skills and techniques will be tested during the simulation, including:

Verifying the customer or account
Taking ownership of customer issues
Interacting with customers to provide information
Responding positively to difficult, irate or confused customers
Listening attentively to callers
Resolving calls in a timely manner
Navigating within multiple information menus to view customer account details and process information
Typing quickly and accurately

The simulation is estimated to take 20 minutes to complete.

In developing its Customer Service Phone Simulation, SHL has piloted the test and standards have been benchmarked to establish a minimum threshold score that participants are expected to achieve.

Preparation

There is no mandatory pre-test practice or preparation required, however participants will be able to conduct familiarisation steps once they have accessed the test itself.

While not specifically related to the test you will participate in, SHL do provide some general practice testing resources to allow people to become familiar with their system. You may wish to make use of this resource, including the practice "Contact Centre Simulation" via www.shl.com/shldirect/en/practice-tests/.

Equipment suggested by SHL to facilitate participation:

Keyboard
Mouse
Audio speaker (can be integrated)

2. Standalone Typing Test

Typing speed and typing accuracy are important aspects of the role of Call Handler. You will be expected to capture details from callers accurately and efficiently and communicate with colleagues so that an effective response to the caller's issue is organised. PSNI has set a minimum requirement which applicants to the role must fulfil. To progress in the recruitment process you must be able to achieve a typing test score of at least 26 words per minute.

To assess this, you will be asked to transcribe a passage or passages against the clock. Typing speed and accuracy will be assessed during the test.

During the test it is recommended that you use all of the time available and continue to transcribe the text provided until time elapses. Type as quickly as you can, but bear in mind that errors (e.g. spelling mistakes, mis-typed punctuation etc. can count against you).

Preparation

There is no mandatory pre-test practice or preparation required for the typing test, however participants will be able to conduct a "warm-up" familiarisation step once they have accessed the test itself.

While not essential, you may wish to conduct some pre-test prep by simply practicing typing on your own computer. You may wish to copy text from an article or book. Set a countdown timer and type against the clock for several minutes. Alternatively, while not specifically related to the test you will be conducting, you may wish to complete a typing test online in preparation. SHL do not provide a specific online practice test but if you conduct a general search online for "typing speed test" you will find options worth trying. Before conducting the test itself you may find it helpful to "warm-up" offline so you are comfortable with your keyboard set-up. To reiterate, pre-test practice is not mandatory and is completed at your discretion.

Equipment suggested by SHL to facilitate preparation:

Keyboard
Mouse

3. Personally Recorded Video Interview

During the online selection testing phase all applicants must complete an asynchronous interview. In simple terms this is a personally recorded online Video Interview, where rather than an interviewer asking questions in person, you will simply record yourself giving responses to questions posed in writing within the platform. Although for some it may be an out of the ordinary experience to complete this via video recording, you are asked to approach it in the same manner that you would approach a traditional interview.

Overall, the use of the Video Interview should improve convenience for applicants in that they can complete the task at a time suitable to themselves (within the window of opportunity), rather than have to fulfil a specific appointment time in person.

When it comes time to complete the video interview, please follow the onscreen prompts to ensure your recording is captured properly. Please note, although as part of the SHL / Candidate set-up routine within the interview platform, the system may ask you to confirm that your audio speakers can be heard, you should note that this is simply a generic system-test. The interview questions you will consider will not be spoken to you and be audible. Instead, the questions will simply be written and appear on screen. It is in response to these written questions that you will be expected to speak to and provide answers to. In your answers you are encouraged to provide well developed answers, featuring personal examples and where appropriate allude to specific dates.

All applicants must complete the video interview, however only those who meet the minimum standards set within the Customer Service Phone Simulation and Typing Test will have their interview assessed.

Interviews will be assessed by trained Deloitte assessors, against clear criteria set. Two assessors will consider your recording independent of each other and allocate an initial mark per question. Subsequently the assessors will come together to check scoring and align to provide an agreed score.

Preparation

The interview stage is important to assess applicants against the Competency Values Framework for Policing Professionals (CVF)*. The values and behaviours set out in the CVF underpin everything Police Officers and Police Staff within the PSNI do. So as to score well and succeed at the interview, it is essential that you prepare by familiarising yourself with the CVF.

As well as considering the CVF, in advance of the interview, it is recommended that you think about both your own previous life / work experience and the job of a Call Handler and the expectations of the role.

For the interview you will participate in, a number of specific elements of the CVF will be under priority scrutiny. Various questions will be posed to you; a number looking forward to you in the role of Call Handler, and a number that will allow you the opportunity to look back and reflect on your prior experience. Be prepared to talk about what you can bring to the role, based on your personal experience and also based on your understanding of what is expected of a Call Handler. In giving your answers to our questions you are encouraged to go into as much detail as you feel appropriate. It will be important to provide a structured answer in which you elaborate in reasonable detail on what you are referring to. The assessors can only consider the evidence presented to them, so it is on you to put forward the information / detail you would like considered. In answering our questions, you should consider how you might "weave in" indicators of your understanding of the CVF element under particular scrutiny. Bear in mind that the CVF provides detail on the expected values and behaviours of policing professionals and offers a list of model indicators (per CVF element), that you should aspire to.

Interview Questions / CVF themes

We strongly recommend that you consider the following to help focus your preparations for interview:

Question 1 - Future facing (i.e. what might be expected of someone in the role) - CVF Element: Value "Public Service" - See 'Public Service' section of the CVF page.

Question 2 - Future facing (i.e. what might be expected of someone in the role) - CVF Element: Value "Impartiality" - See 'Impartiality' section of the CVF page.

Question 3 - Backward facing (i.e. you'll be asked to frame your answer based on your prior personal experience) - CVF Element: Competency "We analyse critically" - See 'We analyse critically' elements of the CVF page.

Question 4 - Backward facing (i.e. you'll be asked to frame your answer based on your prior personal experience) - CVF Element: Competency "We are emotionally aware" - See 'We are emotionally aware' elements of the CVF page.

For obvious reasons we cannot give you specific forewarning of the actual questions we will pose to you, however if you use the above information to prepare, we would expect you to be able to handle the interview effectively. We would anticipate that the strongest performing candidates at interview will be those who answer our questions by blending an understanding of the CVF as a whole, with strong focus on the specific elements in view per interview question.

Equipment suggested by SHL to facilitate participation:

Webcam
Audio Speaker
Microphone
(More detailed guidance from SHL on suggested equipment will be communicated on their website when you gain access)

(N.B. This webpage is intended as interim guidance. The testing planned is subject to change. Specific detail on the testing you will complete will be provided within your invitation to testing).