What is an In-Tray or an In-Basket Exercise ?

An in-basket exercise assesses a candidate's ability to perform a manager’s job from an administrative
perspective. In the exercise, the candidate is confronted with issues and problems that have
accumulated in the manager’s "in-basket" after returning to work from an extended absence. A sample
of in-basket items might include memos, correspondence, e-mails, directives, requests, reports, forms,
messages, minutes, hand-written notes, etc., from management, supervisors, staff members, inmates,
and other stakeholders. The candidate's task is to review the in-basket items and then take action on
these varied issues and problems using action forms to record notes, comments, and responses.

What does an in-basket exercise measure?

The in-basket exercise measures administrative skills that are critical for effective performance in
supervisory and managerial jobs.

What competencies are measured in the in-basket exercise?

In any given in-basket exercise, various definitions may be combined or modified. While the exact
competencies will vary, the following competencies will be tested in the in-basket exercise:

 Planning and Evaluating:

Organizes work, sets priorities, determines resource requirements; determines objectives and
strategies to achieve them; monitors and evaluates progress against goals.
 
 Problem Solving and Decision Making (judgment):
Identifies problems; gathers, interprets, and evaluates information to determine its accuracy and
relevance; generates and evaluates alternatives; makes sound and well-informed decisions; and
commits to action to accomplish organizational goals.
 
 Managing and Organizing Information:
Identifies need for information; analyzes and interprets data in complex situations involving
conflicting demands, needs, and priorities; determines its importance, accuracy, and
communicates it by a variety of methods.
 
 Self-Management (initiative):
Show initiatives; sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; monitors progress and is motivated
to achieve; manages own time and deals with stress effectively.
In-Basket Exercises
In this assessment center exercise one will be asked to assume a particular role as an employee of a
fictitious organization and to work through a pile of correspondence in your in-tray. The in-tray exercise
items will be specifically designed to measure job skills such as:

 ability to organize and prioritize work

 analytical skills
 communication with team members and customers
 written communication skills
 delegation.

You will then be presented with a list of tasks which may include a
combination of the following:

Telephone messages
Correspondence
Papers such as reports, statements, briefing documents and plans
A set of emails
Planner or Calendar

You may also be presented with a collection of supplementary

information to help you complete the exercise, which could include:

A description of the role and responsibilities of the organisation

Information about aims, objectives
The organisational structure
A list of employees
Schedule of events/projects
Details about third party organisations and relationships
You are an Operations Manager in the company and you have planned to go out of station in a
couple of days. You are requested to attend to 20 different documents/e-mails/issues prior to
your trip. You must decide which of the issues need to be attended to urgently and which are of
less importance. You have 30 minutes to complete the task.

The issues:

1. Your manager calls a meeting in 2 hours’ time regarding interview of candidates for Trainee
Engineers.
2. A sub-ordinate of yours is complaining about her salary.
3. You receive an invite to a meeting in 3 hours’ time regarding the implementation of a new
system.
4. One of your employees invites you to his son's wedding which will take place in 4 weeks.
5. Management informs you that you must submit your forms for your pension plan.
6. Management informs you of the annual managers’ workshop which takes place in Delhi in 10
days’ time.
7. A friend invites you to his birthday party next week.
8. New company health and safety regulations are introduced due to a recent accident.
9. Your team member informs you that she would like to quit her job.
10. Your PA would like to take his annual leave next week.
11. Management informs you of 50% discount for the IPL match tickets next week.
12. You have just been informed that a national TV crew is preparing to conduct an interview
with the CEO and your presence is required.
13. Your manager is expecting to receive the recent updates from you prior to the meeting in 2
hours.
14. A recent management report indicates low motivation levels in your department.
15. You are invited to the 'Employee of the Month' ceremony which will take place in 12 days.
16. Your manager informs you that your department is to be ready for the annual inspection in 3
weeks.
17. Diwali party for all company managers is scheduled for next week.
18. An employee files a complaint about inappropriate behaviour of one of your junior
managers.
19. A clerk in your department complains about sexual harassment by one of your employees.
20. Your wife requests that you come home since she is stranded with her car.