To better understand candidate safety knowledge and behaviour at the point of recruitment

Situation

One of our clients is a national supplier of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to a broad range of residential, commercial, forklift, automotive and industrial customers through a network of depots, company operated branches, and commissioned agents and dealers Australia wide. The client wanted to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of LPG and LNG in accordance to the company and regulatory policies. Not only do their Bulk Gas Delivery Drivers need to follow all schedules in an efficient and safe manner, but they must do so in compliance with the Dangerous Goods (Transport) regulations and the Fatigue Management for Commercial Vehicle Drivers Code of Practice 2004.

This client has a strong focus on safety. They ensure that all drivers understand that they have a level of decision making responsibility (included in the job description) which clearly states: ‘The right to refuse to deliver to a customer or operate equipment on the grounds of OHS&E’.

Challenge

While no major incidents were occurring with Bulk Gas Delivery Drivers, it was recognised that many smaller incidents were indicative of both an underlying problem, and a potential indicator of a bigger incident waiting to happen.

As part of an overall review of the safety procedures and protocols, the client recognised that the selection of drivers was a key area that required greater diligence. The organisation wanted to ensure that not only were the ‘technical skills’ present in respect to driver capability and decision making, but also that the right behavioural traits existed within current and prospective drivers.

At this point in time, the organisation hadn’t used any assessments to measure behaviours and there was some hesitation in using this within the business. However, they anticipated that managers would be convinced of its use through 1) defining the behavioural/personality aspects of the selection criteria, 2) clarifying how any behavioural-based assessment could identify capability/fit against these areas.

Solution

Once the above criteria was established, a review of existing and available psychometric and safety assessment tools, in the marketplace, was undertaken by the organisation. The Individual Safety Attributes Test (ISAT) was identified as the most suitable for both selection and development purposes. A key ‘pillar’ in choosing the ISAT was its proven ability to provide reliable and valid data on potential driver knowledge of what the ‘most effective’ and ‘least effective’ behaviours are in respect to safety. The client needed to feel confident that drivers would go beyond simply looking for rules and regulations on compliance.

When candidates completed the ISAT for recruitment purposes, they also completed a personality test and two ability tests. This provided the organisation with a well-rounded understanding of the candidates behavioural fit.

Before the ISAT (and other assessments) were introduced formally, the organisation asked a group of internal employees to complete the assessment first as a pilot. This was to ensure managers understood the type of information they would be getting from the assessment, and how they could maximise the use of information during the recruitment and on-boarding process.

Result

This organisation applied the above assessment to the selection of drivers over a 4-year period, during a time when they were recruiting significant numbers. These tools became a critical component of the recruitment process. Potential drivers completed the assessments in our office to ensure they didn’t have any technical problems. People Solutions then provided one report on each candidate which integrated all the different assessments to provide a clear overview of the driver’s behavioural fit to the criteria. The reports were being used for both interviewing and reference checking purposes by the Managers and recruitment team. Managers saw the value in the use of the ISAT and other assessments, and after some time were proactively asking to see candidate’s results on these assessments.

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