Supervisory In-Basket exercise (C-101)

Candidate Handbook

August 2011

Table of contents

Description
Format and scoring
Time limit
Retest Period
Validity Period
Preparing for the test

1. Description

The Supervisory In-Basket Exercise (SIBE) is a work sample exercise that simulates some important aspects of a first-line supervisory job. It is based on a typical supervisor's in-basket where one finds letters, memoranda and reports differing in importance, complexity and priority. You will be asked to respond to the items in the in-basket as if you were on the job, such as writing memoranda and letters, planning meetings and preparing agendas, writing notes or reminders to yourself or to your staff, and taking whatever actions you consider appropriate.

The SIBE evaluates the ability to supervise" which is broken down into six specific supervisory abilities:

1. Ability to identify and resolve problems and conflict (for example, misunderstandings between team members and clients, between team members and between different teams).
   
2. Ability to consult and involve staff in decisions (for example, reorganization of a work team, handling of special projects, setting up goals and objectives and cooperation between team members).
   
3. Ability to understand and communicate in writing (for example, explaining a new procedure to employees or changes to clients or improving cooperation between different teams). This includes both horizontal and vertical communication.
   
4. Ability to monitor and assess staff performance (for example, performs test checks, work reviews, and provides constructive feedback).
   
5. Ability to develop staff (for example, willing to share both group accomplishments and disappointments with the work team; to provide guidance and coaching rather than control; determined to develop full potential of staff; to look amongst team members for individuals to assume leadership roles; and to demonstrate cooperation by being a team player).
   
6. Ability to schedule and set priorities for employees (for example, reallocation of work based on increased volume or staff shortages to achieve the overall objectives of the unit through the use of natural work teams).

2. Format and scoring

The SIBE contains two envelopes. Envelope A contains all the instructions and background material needed to respond to the items contained in Envelope B. Envelope B contains 25 in-basket items to which you must provide some type of response.

The instructions are invaluable and should be read carefully. The organizational chart is important to determine who is part of your team, who is the manager, what people are resources outside your team, etc. You should use your calendar to help you plan and organize your work.

You can write your answers on the item themselves or use a separate sheet of paper or note-pad that will be supplied to you. The format of your answer (for example, memos, notes to self or straight answers) and where you write your answer do not affect the marking of your test.

Agendas and to-do lists will be scored, but they will not get you extra points. You would get the same points for doing an agenda or simply writing on the item "Add to team meeting agenda". If you do decide to do an agenda or a list of things to do, clearly indicate what item you are referring to so that it is clear for the scorer. Make sure that you include all the details such as to whom you are responding, who you are meeting with (a particular individual, whole team, team leaders), and what all the steps are. You should also be aware of your choice of vocabulary. For example "discuss" and "inform" do not mean the same thing and will be scored differently. Using "if" in your answer can lead to confusion as to what your actual course of action will be.

When writing a memo, it is not necessary to indicate the date, subject header, printed and signed name. The scorer is not looking at the format of your answer, only the content.

When the scorer receives your test, he or she will open Envelope B and will also verify Envelope A to make sure you didn't leave any items in it that should be scored. You get no credit however for responding to any of the items from Envelope A.

The scorer uses a scoring manual, which has a list of all acceptable responses. Because this is a standardized test, the scorer cannot assign points because he or she feels you have a right answer that is not in the scoring manual. Each answer in the scoring manual has been given a fixed weight. A score of N/A or 0 is given for a neutral or ineffective response, 1 is given for a somewhat effective response, and 2 is given for a greatly effective response. The standard by which answers are evaluated is from an experienced group of middle level managers.

Some items allow more points to be accumulated than others. Some items can have several appropriate actions to take. For example:

You might answer: "Get it fixed". Although this answer will probably get you some points, it is lacking in detail. A better response would be to list all steps involved in getting it fixed:

This response potentially has four distinct but complementary answers or steps and you could be assigned points for each answers. The more details you provide in your responses, the greater the potential for points. You would not get points for giving a list of possible choices or actions.

If you write an answer that is not in the scoring manual, you are not assigned any points. Unusual responses can be as a result of not taking an appropriate action or you have confused names or dates (for example, scheduling a meeting when you are not in the office, responding to the wrong person, or writing a memo to someone who is no longer with the organization).

For all abilities except the ability to understand and communicate in writing, all the points are added up to determine your raw score. This is then converted into a scaled score out of 10. The raw score varies from one ability to the next because not all abilities are found on all items.

Ability 1, identify and resolve problems and conflicts, allows you to obtain up to 200 raw points. This means that there's a greater likelihood that this ability is found on most of the 25 items. It also means that you need to provide quite a bit of detail in order to accumulate these points. Note that the raw score and the scaled score are not proportionate. You only need 65 raw points to get a perfect score of 10/10 on this ability.

Ability 2, consult and involve staff in decisions, only allows you to obtain up to 20 points. You will find this ability on most of the items.

Ability 3, understand and communicate in writing, is scored differently from the other five abilities. Points are deducted for mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, poor sentence structure, and lack of clarity of answers on all 25 items. Points are also deducted for answers written in point form. All answers must be in paragraph format, in complete sentences. If more than half your answers are in point form or incomplete sentences, the highest score you can receive is 5/10 on this ability and any other writing mistakes will be deducted from this total. Legibility is also important because if the scorer cannot read your answers, he or she will be unable to score them.

Ability 4, monitor and assess staff performance, only allows you to obtain up to 12 points. This means that very few items pertain to this ability.

Ability 5, develop staff, only allows you to obtain up to 12 points. This means that very few items pertain to this ability.

Ability 6, schedule and set priorities for employees, allows you to obtain up to 30 points. You will find this ability on most items.

You will receive a sub-score out of 10 on each ability. The sum of the scores on the six abilities will give you a score on the overall ability to supervise, which can vary from 0 to 60. The individual sub-scores on the specific abilities are not intended to be used on their own.

The SIBE has a quantitative as well as a qualitative aspect. You need to respond to as many of the 25 items as possible with sufficient detail. You can do very well on this test even if you do not have time to complete it, as long as you provided sufficient details in the items you did respond to. You can also do poorly even if you did answer all 25 items if your answers were very short and vague.

Several items are interrelated (for example, they pertain to the same topic, they happen at the same time) and you will get points for responding to them as interrelated items. Make sure that the scorer can clearly see that you have made the connection either by paper clipping the items together or by indicating on one of the items that this refers to the other item.

You should take note that not all in-basket tests are the same. The information provided in this document pertains to the CRA Supervisory In-Basket Exercise only.

3. Time limit

The SIBE lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes. The first 15 minutes of the exercise is used to review the background information in Envelope A and 2 hours are provided for responding to the in-basket items in Envelope B. You should carefully monitor your time to allow you to read and take whatever action you feel is necessary for the 25 items in the in-basket. All actions or planned actions must be put in writing.

4. Retest Period

You must wait until after the retest period of 180 days has elapsed before you can take the test again. Should you rewrite the test before the retest period has elapsed, your result will not be valid and a new retest period will be imposed from the new test date.

5. Validity Period

Your test result will remain valid indefinitely provided that the test standards do not change or you do not rewrite the test. If you choose to rewrite the test, the score you obtain will then become your most recent and valid score.

6. Preparing for the test

Because performance on the SIBE does not depend upon knowledge of a specific content area, you cannot study directly for this test, except for grammar, spelling and punctuation. You should try to forget that you are in an assessment situation and perform as if you were on the job, giving the in-basket items due consideration and attention.

Revised: August 8, 2011

Date modified:

2011-08-16