People generally work in three ways:

Alone	With one other	In a group

You need to determine the balance of the working situations within your target role. For example, if a person in your target role spends 50% of their time working alone, then half of your selected Exercises should replicate this working situation. Understanding this, will indicate which Exercise ‘types’ you will need to select.

Working Alone

In-Basket/Inbox Exercises

These are popular Exercises and involve working through the contents of an in-tray containing emails, letters and other items. Participants are asked to respond to the items and make decisions against a defined time deadline, requiring the Participant to prioritise items.

Analysis Exercises

This type of written Exercise requires the Participant to analyse, interpret and compile a report based on a set of information provided for them. There is also the additional option of asking the Participant to present their recommendations in the form of an Oral Presentation.

Scheduling Exercises

This Exercise is a less complex form of Analysis Exercise incorporating a requirement for operational planning, reflecting the tasks of staff at lower levels within the organisation. The Participant is presented with a certain amount of information for which they must work out a schedule in order to complete the task.

Working One to One

Interview Simulations

These Exercises provide an opportunity to observe the Participant’s ability to interact with another person. The simulations are set in either an internal or external environment, and you should select an Exercise that reflects the one-to-one meetings typically held by people in your target role

• Internal Interview Simulations
  These meetings with another member of staff can be, for example, to counsel an employee, conduct a performance review or disciplinary interview.
• External Interview Simulations
  Designed for meetings with a person external to the organisation, for example, negotiating a deal or meeting with a customer or supplier.

Fact Find Exercises

These enable you to observe a Participant’s ability to elicit information regarding a particular issue when they have only a very limited brief to start from. The main objective for the Participant is to find out as much information as possible in order to be confident of making the best decision.

You can also opt for the Participant to present their conclusions at the end of the Exercise.

Oral Presentations

These allow you to assess the Participant when they present information relating to a situation they have had to analyse. This can take a formal structure in a stand-up presentation or can be a more relaxed briefing.

Working in a Group

Non-Assigned Role Group Discussions

The Participants are given the same information for review and discussion and work together to arrive at recommendations. For this reason Non-Assigned Role Group Discussions tend to be less competitive than Assigned Role Group Discussions and require the group to work effectively together.

Assigned Role Group Discussions

The Participants each have different roles and are all given slightly different information to represent different views at the meeting. As such, the Participants often have competing interests and there is a greater need to display influencing skills.