SHL Essential Business Skills Assessments

Essential skills tests for clerical or business skills are ideal for entry-level roles where education or experience may be poor predictors of job performance. These online tools provide a quick and cost effective way of determining whether your candidates will have the basic skills required to do the job.

Overview

Duration

Varies per assessment

Suitability

Entry level roles

Accreditation Requirement

No formal training is required however a knowledge of assessments is beneficial.

Product Detail

The Essential Business Skills portfolio have a broad range of assessments available and allow you measure a range of skills that are essential in the business environment but cannot be easily predicted by education history or through interview. These tests allow you to measure a candidates understanding of English and business vocabulary and their ability to communicate effectively via business letters and presentations.

Basic clerical skills such as checking, filing and data entry can also be assessed to ensure candidates have the required level of ability and attention to detail to be able to perform these tasks quickly and accurately.

A number of assessments are also available to assess whether candidates have the fundamental skills required to use a computer, including tests to determine a candidates ability with Microsoft office and project programs.

Assessments include:

Basic Arithmetic - UK

The Basic Arithmetic - UK assessment measures the candidate's ability to quickly perform basic mathematical computations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Candidates must answer each question by performing the appropriate computation and selecting the correct answer. Candidates may use paper and pencil to solve problems, but calculators are not allowed.

Business Communication (adaptive)

The Business Communication assessment is adaptive and measures the candidate's knowledge of communicating in the workplace. It measures the skills necessary to communicate effectively with co-workers at all levels and with external business contacts. Designed for the average business worker, this test includes the following topics: Electronic Communication, Employment Communication, Listening, Meetings, Nonverbal Communication, Verbal Communication, and Written Communication.

Business Letter Compose - UK

The Business Letter Compose - UK assessment measures typing ability, including spacing and formatting. Additionally, this test measures text errors, including spelling mistakes. This is a timed test and it begins when the candidate selects OK on the computer screen. Candidates are provided a printed text original that contains the unformatted text they will need to complete the test: address information, greeting, body text, and closing information. Candidates are asked to type the correctly formatted version of the text into a word processing program. Note that the same text is used in both the Business Letter Compose and Business Letter Edit tests. Therefore, we advise clients not to use both tests in a given test session, as experience with one of the tests may influence scores on the other.

Business Letter Edit - UK

The Business Letter Edit - UK assessment measures a candidate's ability to accurately make corrections from a business letter containing punctuation, spelling, and formatting errors. In this assessment, the text of the letter appears in the word processing program. Candidates are instructed to correctly format and edit the letter provided in the program, rather than having to type in the letter from a text original. Note that the same text is used in both the Business Letter Compose and Business Letter Edit tests. Therefore, we advise clients not to use both tests in a given test session as experience with one of the tests may influence scores on the other.

Business Math

The Business Math assessment measures the candidate's knowledge of mathematics commonly used in business. Designed for all professionals, this test includes the following topics: Calculating Mark-up and Markdown Percentage; Interest, Invoicing, and Net/Gross; Markdown Price; Mark-up Price; Original Price Before Markdown or Mark-up; Price from Total without and with Tax; and Total from Algorithm, Chart, or Formula.

Business Vocabulary - UK

The Business Vocabulary - UK assessment measures the candidate's ability to correctly identify words common in business communications. In this test, the candidate reads a sentence containing a highlighted word. The candidate is required to select the synonym of the highlighted word from a list of four choices.

Contact Center Virtual Scenario - UK

The Contact Center Virtual Scenario - UK assessment is a simulation and is designed mainly for entry-level positions in a contact centre environment. Sample tasks for these jobs include: Interact with customers on the phone to provide information, take orders, and solve product or service issues; respond positively to difficult or irate customers; navigate within multiple open applications to find and view customer account details; and type information quickly and accurately. Potential job titles that use this solution are: Call Centre Representative, Contact Centre Representative, Customer Service Agent, and Customer Service Representative.

Data Entry Alphanumeric Form 2 - UK

The Data Entry Alphanumeric - UK assessment measures a candidate's ability to enter alphabetical and numerical information into fields within a simulated screen on the computer. Candidates are provided a printed text original that contains tables of information that they must enter exactly into a similar table in a word processing document using a keyboard. The information includes business-related text and numbers such as office number, company name, address, mail code, and billing code. The test assesses for speed and accuracy.

Data Entry Numeric Form 2 - UK

The Data Entry Numeric Form 2 - UK assessment measures the speed and accuracy at typing numbers into forms. Candidates are provided a printed text original that contains tables of information that they must enter exactly into a similar table in a word processing document using a keyboard. The information candidates must enter includes business-related records including numeric fields such as item number, model number, and quantity. Candidates may use either the keyboards numeric keypad or the number keys at the top of the keyboard. The test has a total of 26 records, and it is designed such that most candidates will not complete the test.

Data Entry Ten Key Split Screen

The Data Entry Ten Key Split Screen assessment measures the candidate's ability to enter numbers using the numeric keypad on the keyboard (the number keys art the top of the keyboard are disabled). The text original information is displayed to the left of the area in which the candidate responds. The information includes positive and negative numbers. Candidates will be scored on speed and accuracy.

English Vocabulary

The English Vocabulary assessment measures the candidate's knowledge of English vocabulary. Designed for all English speakers, this test covers the following topics: Analogies, Challenging words, Foreign words used in the English language, and Professional terms.

Following Instructions - UK

The Following Instructions - UK assessment measures a candidate's ability to follow detailed instructions and then select the correct course of action. Candidates are presented with a set of rules and need to choose the appropriate response for various situations based on the rules given.

Math Fundamentals

The Math Fundamentals assessment is adaptive and measures the candidate's knowledge of the core areas of mathematics that are important in everyday life. Designed for everyone who is familiar with the Imperial Measurement System, this test covers the following topics: Arithmetic Computations, Basic Geometry, Decimals, Fractions, Percentages, Problem Solving with Arithmetic, Ratio and Proportion, and Statistics and Graphs.

Math Fundamentals (Metric)

The Math Fundamentals (Metric) assessment is adaptive and measures the candidate's knowledge of the core areas of mathematics that are important in everyday life. This test is based on the Math Fundamentals - U.S. test, but where applicable, items have been converted to the Metric Measurement System. This test covers the following topics: Arithmetic Computations, Basic Geometry, Decimals, Fractions, Percentages, Ratio and Proportion, and Statistics and Graphs.

Mathematical Problem Solving - UK

The Mathematical Problem Solving - UK assessment measures the candidate's ability to use basic mathematic computations to solve real-world problems. Calculators are not allowed, but candidates can use paper and pencil to answer questions.

Proofreading - UK

The Proofreading - UK assessment measures the candidate's ability to read for errors involving spelling, punctuation, grammar and word choice. It also measures the candidate's ability to correct those errors.

Reviewing Forms - UK

The Reviewing Forms - UK assessment measures a candidate's ability to detect errors in forms by comparing text in a form to text in a paragraph format. Based on information in the paragraph, the candidate must select the answer that indicates the incorrect information.

Split Screen Typing Test UK

The Split Screen Typing Test UK assessment measures a candidate's speed and accuracy in typing text presented on the computer screen. In this assessment, the text original is displayed directly above the area in which the candidate must enter the response. The candidate will not need a printed original for the evaluation. This test calculates a score based on the total number of keystrokes, time taken, and number of errors made when typing six passages.

Visual Comparison - UK

The Visual Comparison - UK assessment measures the candidate's ability to efficiently compare information and detect errors. The candidate is required to examine four pairs of numbers and select the set of numbers that are not identical.

Written English (U.K.)

The Written English (U.K.) assessment is adaptive and measures the candidate's knowledge of English grammar and English reading comprehension. Designed for experienced users, this test covers the following topics: Articles, Comparisons, Conjunctions, General Questions, Misused Words, Nouns, Parallel Structure, Prepositions, Pronouns, Specific Questions, and Verbs.

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