CDO Selection Testing Briefing

Custody Detention Officer Selection Testing Briefing

For the role of Custody Detention Officer, several 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 and client service in challenging and pressurised situations Test
  • Checking 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. For Police Staff roles, you must input your OWN personal email when signing in to complete testing with SHL. 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 Staff-related testing, or indeed related to other separate organisations). If you already have existing login credentials with SHL attributed to your own personal email, 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.

Candidates are asked to note that it is possible for both Police Staff recruitment and Student Officer recruitment processes to be at IST stage simultaneously. If you have applied to both a Police Staff role (e.g. CDO) and a Student Officer role, these will be separate recruitment processes with separate ISTs. If you have applied to several separate roles, you must follow all separate instructions issued and be sure to complete the separate ISTs in order to be considered for each recruitment process you may be involved in. 

It is important not to confuse separate ISTs. Be careful when logging in to complete testing. For Police Staff roles you will register on the SHL site using your OWN email address. For Police Officer roles, a 'no-reply' proxy email will be in use on the SHL site. If you are completing ISTs for both a Police Staff and a Police Officer role around the same time, take extra care when registering/logging in, or your submission may not be properly attributed to you.

Please note, this Custody Detention Officer 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 Custody Detention Officer 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 and client service in challenging and pressurised situations 

(Listed as "Assessment" on the SHL TalentCentral Assessment Hub)

In this assessment you will be required to complete a number of tests. Simulations will help us understand how you cope under pressure in a customer service environment. You will be asked to provide responses in respect of a range of scenarios that you may encounter at work. You will be asked to draw from your own previous experiences and use your best judgement to respond. Sample tasks include but are not limited to taking orders, problem solving, responding positively to difficult customers, escalating and referral of unresolved issues to appropriate individuals and providing details in respect of products/services. 

In terms of the CVF for Policing Professionals, the customer and client service in challenging and pressurised situations test aims to assess applicants in the values (Public Service and Respect and Empathy) and behaviours (We support and inspire, We collaborate, We are innovative and open minded, We analyse critically, and We take ownership). 

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

  • Conscientiousness by displaying personal responsibility, following rules and guidance and by completing work thoroughly 
  • Composure by demonstrating ability to think clearly and objectively when faced with pressure in stressful situations 
  • Drive for success - the ability to set and accomplish challenging goals. To get the job done, work hard, demonstrate optimism, assert one's influence in the face of adversity and negotiate effectively when necessary 
  • Service professionalism - having high standards and maintaining professional legitimacy across a range of functional areas 
  • Following instructions and select the appropriate course of action against rules set 
  • Customer focus - ability to show enthusiasm when interacting with customers and show tolerance 
  • Navigating within multiple information menus to view details and process information or response to questions and scenarios 

Test elements will offer multiple choice response format and candidates should complete the test in one sitting. (N.B., if, while completing the test, you are presented with a pop-up option offering to translate the text, please dismiss/close the translation pop-up and continue completing the test). 

The test is made up of a number of separate segments which you must continue to work through until complete. A key focus of this is to test your resilience and ability to cope under pressure. Candidates will be presented with up to 235 short, sharp test items that will require a response. Each separate test segment will have its own specific instructions. As you progress you are expected to follow each set of instructions carefully. 

This portion of the online testing is estimated to take an average of 45 minutes to complete. 

Our key tip for you in advance of this test is to follow all of the prompts provided on screen carefully and continue to progress through the test segments at a reasonable pace - overall persevere with it until the end. 

In developing this assessment, SHL has piloted the test and standards have been benchmarked to establish a minimum threshold that participants are expected to achieve. The output of the various test segments will be a single overall aggregate score. 

Preparation 

There is no mandatory pre-test practice or preparation required, however where relevant, within the course of the test, participants will be able to conduct familiarisation steps. 

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 via www.shl.com/shldirect/en/practice-tests/ 

Equipment suggested by SHL to facilitate participation: 

  • Keyboard 
  • Mouse 

2. Working with information – Checking

(Listed as “Checking” on the SHL TalentCentral Assessment Hub)

The role of a Custody Detention Officer, while varied, has core job duties that broadly fall under the heading of administration activity. A key element will be the requirement for strong checking and information verification skills. 

The test requires a candidate a complete up to a maximum of 50 questions of multiple choice format. The standard testing time limit is 5 minutes. (N.B., if, while completing the test, you are presented with a pop-up option offering to translate the text, please dismiss/close the pop-up and continue completing the test). 

The speed of your internet connection will not affect the Checking assessment. (If your internet connection is slow and it takes a short while to "transition" between questions, the test clock will pause until the next question is visible). Your responses will be assessed for accuracy and speed. Candidates will verify data accuracy and locate data entry errors within a series of records. 

Preparation 

There is no mandatory pre-test practice or preparation required for the Checking 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 visiting the SHL website and launch the example questions. 

Before conducting the test itself you may find it helpful to "warm-up" offline so you are comfortable with your set-up. To reiterate, pre-test practice is not mandatory and is completed at your discretion. 

Equipment suggested by SHL to facilitate participation: 

  • 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 and client service in challenging and pressurised situations test and Checking Test will have their interview assessed.

Interviews will be assessed by trained Deloitte and PSNI 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-and-Values-Framework for Policing Professionals. 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 Custody Detention Officer 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 Custody Detention Officer 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 Custody Detention Officer. 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 - Forward facing (i.e. What might be expected of someone in the role) - CVF Element: Value "Courage and Integrity" - See ‘Courage and Integrity’ section of the CVF page.
  • Question 2 – Forward facing (i.e. What might be expected of someone in the role) - CVF Element: Competency "We are emotionally aware" - See ‘We are emotionally aware’ 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: Value "Respect and Empathy" - See 'Respect and Empathy' 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 analyse critically” - See 'We analyse critically' 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).