Recruitment and selection toolkit

Additional selection methods - group exercises

The following pages provide some general examples for group exercises.
Specific and relevant exercises should be selected / developed for each role being recruited to in order to support the
selection process.
As well as assessing team working skills, these exercises can be used to assess a number of different skills such as
communication, diplomacy, influencing, persuasion, initiative, the ability to work under pressure etc.

For each of these examples it is important to develop marking criteria relevant to the role, for example, a
competency based scoring system. For example, for a role which requires the successful candidate to have
excellent communication skills, the ability to work under pressure and an ability to work as part of a team, a
scoring system may look like this:
Score (0-6)
Competency / Skill / Person spec criteria

0 Doesnt display competency

1 Poor
2 Marginal
3 Acceptable
4 - Good
5 Very good
6 - Outstanding

Comments

Excellent communication skills

Chooses appropriate forms and methods of

communication
Uses terminology appropriately
Clear and concise in approach

Ability to work under pressure

Positive approach
Awareness of the deadlines

Ability to work effectively as part of a team

Demonstrates personal responsibility

Supports / encourages other members of the
group

More information on developing competency scoring systems is available in the assessment centre guidance
or from Human Resources.

Recruitment and selection toolkit

Additional selection methods - group exercises

Example 1
This is a very generic group exercise which could be a useful selection test for a number of roles to test
team working, communication skills, as well as skills in persuasion, diplomacy and tact.
Information for candidates:
You have 30 minutes from now to complete this task.

You and the rest of the group have found yourselves in a perilous situation as described below.
There is a long list of items that can be used to aid your survival, but you can only take a small
number of these items with you (the number will be specified).
Your task is to decide, as a group, which items you will take.
One member of the group should write the list of chosen items on the flip chart provided by the end
of the allocated time.

NB. There will be a number of people in the room who will assess your performance. Please ignore
these people as they will not be involved in the exercise in any way.
GROUP TASK: SURVIVAL
On your way back from a holiday in South America, your shuttle flight to the airport is forced to make
an emergency landing in a small clearing in the Brazilian rainforest. You and your fellow passengers
have only sustained minor injuries but the plane has broken into pieces and the communication
equipment has been destroyed in the impact.
Before the plane crashed the pilot had reported a problem with one of the engines, so there is a good
chance that the authorities will start looking for you when you fail to arrive at your destination.
However, the rainforest is very dense and it will take days to reach the edge of it on foot.
You cannot remain where you are as there is a danger that the aeroplane fuel will catch fire. On
searching through the wreckage and the remains of your suitcases you find the following items:

A guide to South American plant species

3 elastic luggage straps
6 frozen airline meals
4 blankets from the plane
A pack of 24 anti-malaria tablets
A 3 metre square piece of opaque plastic sheeting
Tourist map of Brazil
2 large bottles of factor 12 sunscreen
Mobile phone with GPS, fully charged
1 litre bottle of the local alcoholic spirit
3 boxes of chocolate chip cookies
4 current paperback novels
First aid box
Compass
Flare gun with one fire
A Swiss Army knife
A book of matches from the hotel

You are unable to carry more than 7 items from this list (items containing more than one object still
count as one item).

Recruitment and selection toolkit

Additional selection methods - group exercises

Example 2
This is a very generic group exercise which could be a useful selection test for a number of roles to test
team working, communication skills, as well as skills in persuasion, diplomacy and tact.
Lost!
You are all the crew of a sinking ship. A fire on board has destroyed the radio and from the rate the water is
rising inside the ship you estimate that it will sink in between two hours and two and a half hours. You did
not tell the authorities of your destination.
It will take about 45 minutes to launch the only boat and it will take 15 minutes for each person to be
lowered into the boat and they can only go one at a time. They can't jump as the water is shark infested.
The nearest land is an uninhabited tropical island 30 km distant.
Your task is to decide as a group which passengers will enter the boat. Everyone onboard has agreed to
abide by your decision. Items held by individuals must stay with the owner; they cannot be transferred to
other people.
PASSENGER/CREW LIST

Captain: age 57. Married three times; five children aged between 5 and 27. His youngest child has
Down's syndrome. Drinks and smokes heavily. Plays the accordion. Carries a bottle of rum.
Ship's engineer: married; accompanied by his pregnant wife. His heroism in fighting the fire has given
his fellow-passengers time to launch the lifeboat but he has sustained severe burns. Carries a shaving
mirror.
Radio operator: ex-Israeli Navy. A fitness fanatic and champion kick boxer. He escaped the fire which
destroyed his radio as he was on deck trying to impress the food scientist with a display of his
kickboxing skills at the time. Carries a length of rope.
Cook: a former Special Forces officer reduced to working as a cook after being court-martialled
following an unfortunate incident involving a torpedo and a presidential yacht. Carries a knife.
Anglican priest: a Philosophy graduate who taught English as a foreign language in South America for
several years before returning to her home town to look after her disabled mother (now aged 85) with
whom she still lives. Trained as a counsellor and was ordained in 1990. Carries a first aid kit.
Diving instructor: After 20 years as a stockbroker in London, he has just moved to Tahiti to set up his
own diving school. Divorced, with a son at boarding school in Wales. Goes grouse-shooting in
Yorkshire every August. Carries a signed copy of the final Harry Potter novel.
Indian ship's carpenter: Married with four children aged between six months and seven years old.
Was convicted of violent affray following a demonstration in Mumbai ten years ago. Writes poetry and
has had two poems published in Indian literary magazines. Has a magnifying glass.
French Botany student: Lived in the Brazilian rainforest for eighteen months while carrying out Ph.D.
research into plants that can be used in anti-cancer drugs: these are now undergoing testing by a major
multinational pharmaceutical company. Voted for Le Pen in the last election. Has a rifle.
Retired soldier. Recently registered a civil partnership with his long-term partner, a 45-year old political
journalist. Together, they have campaigned for improved healthcare for soldiers wounded in Iraq.
Carries a compass.
Food scientist. A vegetarian whose research centres on developing plant-based, low-cholesterol
alternatives to meat. She has been involved in a number of demonstrations against the use of animals
in medical research. Carries a box of Mars bars.
Nurse. Came to Scotland eight years ago as a teenage refugee from Sudan who spoke no English on
arrival. Gained 6 GCSEs and has recently qualified as a nurse. Carries a box of matches.
Ship's engineer's wife: Aged 35 and about to begin maternity leave from her work as a medical sales
representative. Due to give birth to their first child in 4 months time. For some reason known only to
herself she happens to be carrying a fishing line and hook.
Bank manager: Lives in a village in Sussex : Guide leader, parish councillor and president of the local
allotment society in spare time. Has 50,000 in used 10 notes carried in a small suitcase.

Recruitment and selection toolkit

Additional selection methods - group exercises

Example 3
This example is designed to test the ability to work together to achieve an outcome, as well as skills
in influencing / persuasion and diplomacy.

<Context / background should be provided to candidates as appropriate.

For this example, it may also be appropriate to provide each candidate with differing scenarios / priorities
for their own area of work>.

You are due to go to a management meeting which will consist of XXX. The main purpose of this meeting
is to establish a way forward for implementing a new initiative which has recently been announced.
The intended outcome of this meeting is to decide as a group:
1. An agreed list of deliverables and priorities for implementation of the initiative OR an agreed list of
options and / or recommendations
2. The next steps for moving the initiative forward.

Details of the initiative:

<Develop an initiative appropriate to the role>

Consistency of process is key, however it is recognised that there will be differing priorities and objectives
which will need to be considered for successful implementation and roll-out of the initiative.
You are not required to ensure that the areas you have considered is a priority. Instead, your role is to
ensure that everyone has sufficient understanding of the areas, that consideration is given to key issues
within the area and that the group reaches consensus on its prioritisation decision. You will need to ensure
you agree criteria for the prioritisation required as part of this exercise.

Please make any assumptions necessary if further information is required but has not been provided to the
group.
You have X minutes to prepare individually and X minutes as a group to reach the intended outcomes. The
outcomes as required in the brief should be recorded on the flip chart provided.

Recruitment and selection toolkit

Additional selection methods - group exercises

Example 4
This example is designed to test the ability to work together to achieve an outcome and strategic thinking /
planning.

<Job title>
<Context / background should be provided to candidates as appropriate. In addition, you may consider
providing each candidate with differing information/scenarios, for example to test influencing/persuasive
skills if appropriate>

Using the information provided along with your own skills and experience work together as a group to agree
a strategy for XXX to help ensure the effective management of XXX across the University.
The group should:

Agree the approach to developing the strategy

Agree a priority list of deliverables
Consider how the strategy would be implemented and how it would add value to the way the
University operates

Each member of the group has been provided some additional information.
You have 1 hour in total to complete this exercise.
It is suggested that you should allow approximately ten minutes for individual reading and preparation, forty
minutes for group discussion and ten minutes to write up a summary on the flipchart paper provided.