A new instant messaging simulation game – which provides a situational judgement assessment of a candidate’s strengths, personality and abilities, in the style of WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger – has been launched by cut-e, the international talent and assessment specialist.
Called chatAssess, the new, customisable 6-15 minute assessment is primarily designed to support early screening and attraction in graduate and apprentice recruitment. However the content can be tailored to suit any role, at any level. chatAssess is optimised for smartphones, although it can also be used on tablets, laptops or desktops.
Candidates receive incoming instant messages from different ‘colleagues’, with specific questions or requests for advice. In real time, they select a text message response, from predefined replies. chatAssess reacts to this and sends back another message from that colleague. The different colleagues will usually be facing different issues or challenges and the candidate has to prioritise the tasks and manage their commitments.
Dr Achim Preuss, Chief Technology Officer of the cut-e Group said:
“We wanted to create a brand new, valid and immersive situational judgement assessment that would be realistic and engaging for candidates. chatAssess is the world’s first psychometric communication game. Unlike a standard situational judgement questionnaire, it can be customised to assess the strengths, personality and cognitive abilities required in any role, as well as a candidate’s social skills, their conscientiousness and their ability to organise themselves and manage pressure. We all use instant messaging to communicate in everyday life so the format of this assessment will appeal to candidates and they’ll feel comfortable using it.”
cut-e has comprehensively tested chatAssess in a number of client organisations, including a global engineering and power systems provider which uses the assessment to select graduates for its engineering and management roles.
Details of the context and the ‘colleagues’ involved in chatAssess – their challenges, the content of their messages, the answer options and when messages are triggered – can all be customised to suit a specific role. Visual material, such as graphs or charts, can be incorporated.
“chatAssess results in a natural communication flow of instant messages and this helps to make the assessment familiar and engaging for candidates,” said Dr Preuss. “It is an effective situational judgement test, which has the added appeal of game-style elements, and we’re proud and excited to launch it today.”
chatAssess can be developed in any of 40 languages. A range of reporting options can be configured and the assessment results can be integrated into an Applicant Tracking System.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.