What is a situational judgment test?

Situational judgment tests gauge how candidates might react in specific workplace scenarios. Rather than evaluating job-specific skills or prior experience, these assessments look at behaviors, soft skills, social functioning and emotional intelligence. SJTs can use various formats, but they typically rate the answers based on how well they match your desired or ideal answers.

What does an SJT test evaluate?

A situational judgment test can assess a wide range of behaviors and personality traits to help you better evaluate how well a candidate might work on your team. Examples of topics the assessment could evaluate include:

• Communication

• Compassion

• Emotional intelligence

• Empathy

• Teamwork

• Conflict resolution

• Problem-solving

• Decision-making

• Ethics

• Organization

• Leadership

• Motivation

• Interpersonal skills

• Stress management

• Persuasion

• Attitude

You can tailor the questions on situational judgment tests to reflect common situations for a specific role. For instance, an SJT for a warehouse manager role might focus on managerial skills, problem-solving and teamwork. Meanwhile, the assessment for a sales position could evaluate negotiation skills and ethics. If you’re hiring a social worker, you might choose questions related to compassion, communication and emotional intelligence.

Benefits of using situational judgment tests

Evaluating prospective and current employees helps you optimize your workforce. You can find candidates who fit your needs well and help improve your current staff.. Benefits of adding SJTs to your employee evaluation process include:

• Improved hiring: New hire evaluations often focus on skills and experience, but behaviors and personality traits can impact a candidate’s success and the results they produce. For instance, a compassionate healthcare team member can improve the patient experience and outcomes.

• Anticipated responses: A candidate’s answers can indicate what to expect if they’re hired. You might anticipate that they’ll need support in certain aspects of the job based on their test. This can help you support your team members and help them succeed.

• Reduced bias: Unconscious bias can creep into the hiring process and influence your candidate selection. A situational judgment test can prevent interview bias. You decide which answers are ideal ahead of time, and the assessment evaluates the answers objectively.

• Candidate expectations: Looking at the questions related to the position can give candidates a better look at what the job involves. SJTs allow the candidate to assess whether they may be a good fit for the position based on the potential scenarios.

• Higher retention: Job seekers who understand the specifics of the job and respond favorably to scenarios might stick around longer. By looking beyond concrete qualifications to the behaviors and traits, you can make offers to candidates who are likely to stay, which improves your employee retention.

• Customizable assessment: You can customize the assessment to a specific role to make the answers more meaningful. This allows you to create multiple situational judgment tests to fit different positions within your company.

Types of situational judgment tests

This type of assessment comes in a few forms. Linear SJT tests remain the same for all test takers. All individuals receive the same questions and answer options, presented in the same order. An interactive SJT test uses a branching method of presenting questions based on each person’s responses. The scenarios and available answers might change as the person moves through the test, which means different test takers could experience different assessments.

Another variation in type is the format. Multiple-choice questions can be conducted using a traditional paper-and-pencil format or online with a computer testing program. Video SJTs, in which a candidate watches a video and chooses a subsequent response, are also an option.

How to start using SJTs in 5 steps

If you want to incorporate situational judgment tests into your organization, use these tips to help you get started.

1. Decide on uses for the assessments

Decide when and how you’ll use an SJT. You might use these evaluations for all positions or only certain roles within your company. For example, you might only use it for open roles that require a high level of soft skills or specific characteristics to perform the job well. They can also be useful in positions that typically have high turnover or when you’re doing high-volume hiring for multiple similar openings.

2. Identify the desired traits

For each position, identify the key attributes that make a candidate successful. This often varies based on the position. To determine these traits, review the job description and look at your current successful employees who perform those jobs.

3. Create related scenarios and responses

Come up with creative yet realistic workplace scenarios that evaluate the identified characteristics. These scenarios often depict challenging situations the person might encounter on the job. Make the scenarios inclusive without bias. Responses should present a full range of possible reactions to the situation, which could include negative behaviors.

4. Work with experts

If you create your assessment yourself, it’s helpful to get input from experts who can review your scenarios and responses. They can help you decide on the ideal response for each scenario. You can also look for a provider who handles the entire assessment process. Consider the variety of testing options they have and the validity of their testing.

5. Monitor the effectiveness

Whenever you implement a new technique, tracking the results helps you evaluate its effectiveness. You might check in at regular intervals after hiring a candidate to see how well they’re doing in the role. You can do this by looking at performance reviews and talking to the person’s supervisor and coworkers. It can also help to elicit feedback from the candidates who take the assessment.

Using all the data you gather, decide if you need to change the testing to make it more effective. You might also need to update the assessments periodically if the duties or expectations of the roles change. As your organization grows, you may shift your priorities, which will need to be reflected in the assessment.

Situational judgment test FAQs

When should you use situational judgment tests?

Situational judgment tests often happen before hiring a new employee to help gauge the fit. You might use it as a screening tool to narrow the candidate pool. These assessments can also help with current employees. An SJT can evaluate how well a team member might be suited for a promotion or a new learning and development opportunity.

What are the limitations of SJTs?

Creating situational judgment tests can be complicated and time-consuming. Working with an expert or a reliable provider simplifies the process. However, the investment required to have the assessment created can be a barrier for some small businesses.

Can SJTs introduce bias?

While situational judgment tests can remove some bias in evaluating answers, it’s possible to introduce bias through the questions you ask and the way you word the assessment. Some applicants might also choose answers based on what they think you want them to say rather than their true answers, which could skew the results.

How do these assessments fit into the overall hiring process?

Selecting the final candidate for a vacancy typically involves several assessment methods, which might include a situational judgment test. Companies typically conduct SJTs before the interview process, but you can also use them to help you decide between candidates after you conduct interviews. These assessments can complement what you know about the candidate from their resume and interview. Take into account all the data you have about each finalist to make your selection.