Candidate’s Guide to Assessment

This guide will help you to understand and prepare for an assessment process at E.ON.

Contents

1 What is Assessment?

2 E.ON Competency models

3 Assessment methods

• Interviews

• Presentations

• Analysis exercises/Case studies

• Role-plays/simulations

• Group exercises

• Personality questionnaires

• Ability tests

4 Hint & Tips

5 Ratings guidelines

6 Outcomes

7 Further support

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1. WhatisAssessment?

Personnel assessment is used to select the best person for a role or to identify the development needs of a current population of employees.

A variety of assessment methods are available and can be classified as either self-reported

measures or observed measures. At E.ON we follow best practice guidelines to advise managers

on using the most effective assessment methods. These methods support a fair and consistent

approach and provide you as the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate your relevant skills

and competencies.

The table below shows the methods that might be used as part of an assessment process at

E.ON. Please see section 3 for further information on each of these exercises.

Our assessments typically involve a competency based interview plus one or more additional

exercise(s) (depending on the role type/level). Performance is measured against our

competencies for employees and managers. For development centres and for some talent

positions you may also be measured against our potential indicators. These models and indicators

are detailed on the next page. You may also be assessed against the technical competencies that

are specific to the business area. If you are unsure which you will be assessed against then please

ask the manager or contact the Resourcing team.

Assessments are typically carried out by a senior manager and a second assessor should also be

present to support the assessment. This person will either be a member of a team for that area of

the business or a member of HR. The assessors will use rating scales to score your performance.

Please see page 10 for more information about these rating scales.

SelfReportedExercises ObservedExercises

Interview Analysis Exercises/Case

Personality Questionnaires Presentations

Group Exercises

Role-Plays

Ability Tests

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2. E.ON’scompetencymodels

Employeecompetencymodel

Understandingthebusiness

E.ON employees create value through

aligned performance and take

responsibility

Demonstrate market and

customer orientation

Improve own business area

Actively collaborate across boundaries

Embracechange

E.ON employees embrace and

support change

Support change within the organisation

Open for change

EnhanceTeamwork

E.ON employees engage others and

value people

Build effective relationships

Demonstrate empathy and support

Personalimpact

E.ON employees reflect their behaviour

and walk the talk

Support diversity

Act reliable

Develop own skills and competencies

Leadershipcompetencymodel

Leadingthebusiness

E.ON Leaders create value through

aligned performance and

entrepreneurship

Demonstrate market and

customer orientation

Think and act as an entrepreneur

Actively collaborate across boundaries

Leadingchange

E.ON leaders embrace and

shape change

Drive change within organisations

Individually initiate change

Leadingpeople

E.ON leaders inspire, engage and

value people

Enhance people’s performance

Develop people

Personalimpact

E.ON leaders reflect their leadership

and walk the talk

Foster diversity

Build trust

Develop own skills and competencies

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2. E.ON’scompetencymodels

Potentialindicators

Commercialanalyticalcapability

Analyses complex problems down to a full

grasp of their details.

Abstracts from detailed issues to a higher,

entrepreneurial level.

Sees interconnections between different

pieces of information, structures, or

processes, even if they are seemingly

unrelated.

Finds the hidden correlations even

between seemingly unrelated pieces

of information.

Emotionalstability

Will not be discouraged even by setbacks;

remains resilient and capable and displays

an appropriate and confident attitude.

Supports employees by showing a positive

attitude.

Remains confident and will not be

discouraged even by difficult problems

or interpersonal conflicts.

Copes with ambiguity in complex

structures.

Focusonvalues

Concentrates on credibility and accepts

responsibility.

Conveys a strong feeling of integrity;

seems positively predictable in their

behaviour.

Conveys trust and respect for others and

seems trustworthy in their attitude

towards them.

Presents himself as a role model for the

other participants in terms of values and

behaviour.

Selfawareness/reflectionskills Reflects on actions, personal strengths and

development needs.

Is aware of their behaviour, personal

impact, strengths and development needs;

has ideas for improvement.

Seems interested in feedback and is open

to criticism or recommendations from

others.

Aptitudeforlearningandchange Translates past experiences or lessons

learnt into new behaviours and styles

of working.

Actively invests energy in developing skills,

expanding their expertise, know-how or

skills and optimizing personal impact.

Performancemotivation Shows a lot of personal involvement and

commitment.

Sets demanding goals and likes to face

new tasks or challenges.

Enjoys tackling new problems and

challenges; is constantly in the pursuit of

improved performance.

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3. AssessmentMethods

Competency-basedinterviews

Competency interviews consist of questions that are designed to target a specific skill or

competency. You will need to give examples of situations where you have demonstrated the

required skills and behaviours to meet the competency being assessed. Assessors will probe

your answers in order to build a picture of your strengths and development areas against the

relevant competency framework.

Competency interviews are based on the idea that past behaviour is the best predictor of

future behaviour. Accordingly the interviewers’ are looking for specific examples of when and

how you have shown particular behaviours.

Questions will typically begin with:

‘Tell me about a time…...….’ / ‘Describe a time…...….’ / ‘Give me an example of…...….’

E.g. If you were applying for a job which involves customer service, an interview question

might be:

‘Tell me about a time when you dealt with a difficult customer’

TechnicalQuestions

The interview may include some technical questions. These are designed to assess the specific

skills and knowledge that are relevant to the role. These questions will be specified by the

hiring manager and will be linked to the role profile.

Presentations

Presentations look at your ability to organise, structure and present information in a clear and

concise way. A presentation topic may be given to you on the day of assessment with time to

prepare or may be given out before the day of assessment. The topic will be relevant to the

business area or requirements of the role

Whilst the content and the quality of the presentation is important, the assessors will also be

looking to see how well you can deliver a well-structured, clear presentation and how you

respond to follow up questions. You may be allowed to use a powerpoint, or flip chart during

your presentation and this will be made clear in the invite to assessment.

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Analysisexercises/Casestudies

An analysis exercise might be used to look at how you analyse a range of information and how

you make decisions about future actions and priorities. This information will usually be based on a

fictional company and scenario and may include graphs, charts and numerical data as well as

written information. The amount and type of detail will depend on the role. This approach allows

individuals to demonstrate key competencies and to gain an insight into the types of tasks they

may be involved in if they receive a job offer.

The specific details about what is being looked for will vary from role to role, but your ability to

identify key themes and trends, to link data and to make rational decisions and recommendations

are often important.

Roleplays/simulations

A role-play looks at how you behave and perform in a job- related situation. As the candidate you

assume a defined role and typically deals with another person in a one-to-one meeting. A role

player responds “in character” to your actions, comments and behaviours. Example role-plays

might include:

• Handling a difficult customer or complaint.

• Disciplining or appraising a member of staff.

• Negotiating a contract or project delivery.

• Meeting to discuss your company’s ‘equality’ record.

Groupexercises

A group-exercise requires you to work with other candidates as part of a team to resolve a

presented issue. These exercises are designed to measure interpersonal skills such as group

leadership, teamwork, negotiation, and group problem solving skills.

Personalityquestionnaires

Personality questionnaires look at personality preferences and are used to look at how you are

likely to behave under various conditions. They are often used to further inform the interview

process and as a tool for identifying future potential.

Abilitytests

Ability tests look at aspects of general mental ability. They ask multiple choice questions and are

timed, usually allowing 30 minutes for 30 or so questions. Common ability tests include verbal

(using words), numerical (using numbers), abstract reasoning (using logic). We will only use ability

tests that are supported by the regulatory body for Occupational Testing – The British

Psychological Society (BPS).

Qualified practitioners are available for colleagues and Manager to seek information, advice and

guidance on the use of ability tests. Please contact the Resourcing team if you require further

information.

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4. Hintsandtips

Interviewhintsandtips

• Try to take every opportunity to demonstrate your skills throughout the interview. If you

don’t share information about your suitability then the assessors will not be able to include

it in their assessment.

• Take time to think before you answer.

• Try to turn any negative points raised into positive attributes.

• Use specific examples where you have played an important role, in order to demonstrate

your experience of the competencies and use ‘I’ inside of ‘we’

• Use a framework to help you to respond to questions in a well structured manner: STARR

(Situation, Target, Action, Result, Review/Reflection)

• Try to provide examples from a range of situations to offer breadth and depth

• Bring in evidence of how you keep up to date professionally, through reading, networking,

professional bodies, etc.

• There will be the opportunity for you to ask questions at the end of the interview. You should

stick to questions about the role, the team, the future strategy or direction of the team

rather than asking for initial feedback about your performance in the interview. It is good

practice to prepare some questions in advance.

Casestudyhintsandtips

This is an opportunity to demonstrate your planning, decision making and communication skills.

• Don’t panic if there is a large amount of paper involved

• Try to look through and identify priorities

• Ensure you understand the purpose of the exercise as this will help you focus on the right

elements of the task

• Ensure you plan your time well - you must leave time to achieve the objective

• Make use of frameworks, e.g. SWOT, Consultancy cycle to help digest, prioritise information

and gather evidence of reasoning in your decision making

• Think about pros, cons, risks associated with your decisions

• Look for opportunities to work in partnership with others externally and internally

• You may need to make some assumptions. You should make this clear and explain what you

would do in order to clarify your assumptions

• Demonstrate a plan of action including how you would proceed and take your

recommendations forward through implementation and evaluation

• Think about metrics and performance measures via key themes: people; customer;

financial, etc.

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Roleplaystudyhintsandtips

• Build rapport in the role play with the other person

• Always listen to what is being said

• Use open rather than closed questions when you want to draw out more information – you

can always ask if there is anything else the role player can share that they are aware of but

has not yet been discussed

• Think about your body language and tone of voice

• Make sure your role play has a beginning, middle and end and treat this like a meeting you

would run following a degree of structure

• Don’t assume you have all the information to hand, use this as an opportunity to test what

you know and consult around the topic

• Think creatively about options and potential solutions, how can you drive change?

• Ask their opinion as well as offering your own

• Consider when it might be appropriate to use different influencing styles (push versus pull)

PresentationHintsandTips

• Consider using visual aids such as flip charts or power point (if available)

• Keep to time, otherwise you may be stopped before you have completed the presentation.

• Give your presentation a structure: tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, tell

them what you’ve told them

• There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ as such but if you don’t have structure the point you are trying

to make may be lost.

• Speak clearly to person/s you are presenting to – not to the flipchart or your notes.

• Make brief notes or write down cue words to help keep you on track but make sure that you

do not read talk your notes word for word

• It is likely that you will be questioned at the end of the presentation so keep this in mind if

you make any assertions

• Be conscious of tone of voice and body language, words themselves only make up a very

small percentage of communication.

• Make eye contact and try to engage the audience

• If you’re asked to present options and a recommendation, think about taking it a step

further to implementation plan and evaluation: how will you measure success, ROI and the

commercial impact/benefits?

GroupDiscussionHintsandTips

• Read any information as quickly as you can and try to absorb the essential points.

• Don’t feel pressured to lead or chair the meeting, or take a role such as scribe, think instead

about making a valuable and valid contribution balanced throughout the meeting

• Ensure that the brief is followed by paying careful attention to the purpose and outcome of

the exercise.

• Make your contributions relevant, positive and well thought out.

• Be assertive but don’t dominate the group.

• Speak confidently and loudly enough for all to hear.

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• Show regard for other group members - encourage others to contribute and listen to the

points being made.

• Ask others in the group for their points of view and feedback.

• Be aware of any time limits.

• Be ready to compromise if necessary – this is not a sign of weakness!

• Do not argue dogmatically; be polite and tactful when presenting an opposite view.

• If you find it difficult to get an opportunity to interject into the discussion, make some brief

notes of the key points you want to cover and use body language to make it clear you have

something to say – lean forward, raise your hand, etc., and be assertive, be confident and say

your peace

• Be yourself!

PersonalityQuestionnaireHintsandTips

• Read the instructions carefully

• Give yourself sufficient, uninterrupted time to complete the questionnaire

• Answer the questions honestly to best represent you, don’t try to second guess what the

questionnaire is looking for – there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to

personality!

• Be mindful of your mood, or anything that might have happened prior to you completing

the questionnaire, that might impact how you respond to the questions, e.g. a disagreement,

a stressful meeting or travel experience, etc.

• Give yourself sufficient time for receiving your feedback, and also to read your feedback

report and reflect on the additional insight this gives in respect of your ongoing

development beyond the immediate selection process

AbilityTestsHintsandTips

• Read the instructions carefully

• You may wish to complete a practice tests and you can do so via the link

http://www.shldirect.com/practice_tests.html

• Please note that we use SHL and Saville as our main test providers. Therefore, there will be

some differences in the layout and format of the tests depending on the provider and the

type of test being used.

• Familiarise yourself with the type of questions and timing of the tests

• Some tests recommend that you use additional materials/tools e.g. a calculator for

numerical tests. Therefore make sure that you have these to hand.

• Complete the practice questions and only proceed when you are ready

• Give yourself sufficient, uninterrupted time to complete the test

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5. Ratingguidelines

For interviews and observed exercises (excluding personality questionnaires and ability

tests), assessors will score your performance using standardised indicators that align with the

below 5 point rating scale A rating of ‘3’ represents the benchmark for adequate performance

in the role.

1 2 3 4 5Significantly

below

expectations

Below

expectations

Meets

expectations

Above

expectations

Significantly

above

expectations

The indicator is

either:

a) represented

by the

negative

statement

b) there is no

evidence of

the positive

indicator

c) or reveals

considerable

need for

development

The positive

indicator has

been partially

met

The positive

indicator

fulfils the

requirements

of the position

assessed for

The positive

indicator is

strongly

developed in

relation to the

requirements

The positive

indicator is

exceptionally

well developed

in relation

to the

requirements

This rating scale is broken down into a range of indicators for each competency.

These indicators support a standardised and consistent scoring approach

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6. Outcomes

Outcomesforselection

If you are being assessed for a role then you will be informed whether or not you were successful

by the manager or by a member of our Resourcing team. Sometimes you might be asked to come

back in for a second stage assessment before a final decision is made. If this is the case then you

be contacted and a convenient time will be agreed.

If you are successful and offered a position we will talk you through the conditions of any offer

and agree a suitable start date. If you verbally accept the offer you will be sent a written contract

for you read, sign and return. If you have questions then please feel free to contact a member of

our Resourcing team or the hiring manager at any stage.

If you are not successful you will be given feedback on your performance about key strengths and

key development areas that were displayed during the assessment. This is typically provided over

by an assessor who observed your performance on the day. Please use this feedback with your

line manager to help inform your personal development plan.

OutcomesforDevelopment

If you are assessed as part of a development centre, you will be contacted by an assessor or by a

member of the Talent Team who will let you know the outcome and arrange a date for you to

receive thorough feedback.

Most development centres specify an outcome in terms of how much time and development you

need in order to be ready to move to the target position or grade. Some development centres will

determine whether or not you should move into a ‘talent pool’. Those in the pool will be expected

to continue to develop and progress towards a relevant role at the assessed levelIf you are not

immediately placed into a talent pool, you will be given feedback on areas for development and

suggested ways to address these areas. This may include a side-ways move before being assessed

again. Most development centres will specify a minimal time that you can go back through the

process and you will be informed of this at the time.

The main aim of a development centre is to provide you with meaningful feedback and to give

you an understanding of your potential to progress within the business. You should make the

most of this opportunity to gain thorough feedback and to reflect on your own strengths and

development areas. Please use the L & D portal site to help guide your learning interventions.

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7. Furthersupport

Going through an assessment process can be a nerve racking experience, but it is important that

you take it as an opportunity to showcase your relevant skills and competencies. The assessors

will not be there to catch you out but to guide you in giving full, detailed answers.

If you have any questions on assessment and selection at E.ON then please use HR Online or

check out our talent pages on portal.

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Notes

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Notes

E.ON Energy Solutions Limited. Registered office: Westwood Way, Westwood Business Park, Coventry, CV4 8LG. Registered in England and Wales No. 3407430. H

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