1st Franklin Financial Assessment Center

Introduction

The people at 1st Franklin are and have always been our key to success. Providing an avenue to develop talent over time through our recruiting , transfers, development, and promotions is critical to our long term goals , corporate vision and mission, and our unique business model and strategy.

The assessment process is a integral part of 1st Franklin Financial’s career development initiatives. Beginning with new hire, it is important that there is a “fit” between the company culture and the new hire. That fit is also important with co-workers and their manager, as well as the customers that they serve.

Assessments also provide valuable feedback in identifying managerial talent and help with pinpointing areas of strengths and development for individuals. Areas that these battery of instruments measure include assessment of leadership skills, personality type, problem solving and decision making skills, mental alertness, certain personality traits, and management competencies.

The Assessment Center at 1st Franklin is consistently being evaluated and refined. As assessments are validated and reviewed over time and benchmarked with the training and Human Resources industry , some are discontinued, while others are added. Training programs and activities are designed and implemented to be used in conjunction with the instruments as a form of best practice.

Certain assessments are part of the recruiting and hiring process, Talent Lens, for example, is used for all entry level new hires in Branch Operations. Home office positions may require other assessments as part of new

hire procedures. Positions of Regional Director also may require additional assessments before hiring.

Abilities-Timed Responses

Work Styles

Verbal Ability-Vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization skills

Numerical Ability-Items that require the candidate to solve numerical problems in a multiple choice format and to estimate correct answers in order to check calculations.

Speed and Accuracy-Items require the candidate to locate a name in an alphabetical list and read and code a dollar figure associated with that name

Talent Lens Occupational SolutionCustomer Service

Based on a comprehensive taxonomy of important personality based work behaviors that include :

•Initiative•Persistence•Adaptability•Self-Control•Stress Tolerance•Attention to Detail•Dependability•Integrity/Rule Following•Independence•Cooperation•Concern for Others

Harcourt Pearson engaged 1st Franklin employees, CSR’s and Managers in validating this assessment before implementation. Evaluations were compared to tests for current employees with varying skill levels and compared to others in similar industries.

Myers Briggs

The Myers- Briggs Type Indicator is an assessment designed to identify psychological types and make them understandable and useful in everyday life. Based on the work of Carl Jung , psychological types are described as inborn or innate tendencies in which people use their minds in different ways. Taking this assessment helps individuals identify their unique gifts, enhance their understandings of themselves and their motivations, as well as develop individual strengths and potential areas for growth. The assessment findings are also used in group workshops, teambuilding exercises, and leadership development, as the understanding of all of the basic types help us understand and appreciate those that are different from ourselves and encourages cooperation with others.

The Myers- Briggs Assessment is used by many fortune 500 companies. More than two million MBTI assessments are administered annually in the United States. After more than 60 years of research and development, it is the more widely used instrument for understanding normal personality differences.

The preferences are reported on four distinct dichotomies; at two opposite poles that indicates differences in people in the four following areas:

Where they prefer to focus their attention and get their energy- (Extroversion or Introversion) The way they prefer to take in information( Sensing or Introversion) The way they prefer to make decisions( Thinking or Feeling) How they orient themselves to the outside world- with a judging or perceiving process( Judging or

Perceiving)

CPI 260®

The California Psychological Inventory 260®

The California Psychological Inventory consists of two hundred (260) true/false statements which measure important personality traits found in normal people. The purpose of the CPI 260 is to provide a description of the person being assessed as if he or she were being described by “objective and knowledgeable others.”These descriptions relate to topics such as interpersonal style, approach to leadership, values, and motivation. The interpretation has three major areas: orientation toward other people and interpersonal experience, toward conventional rules and values, and toward one’s inner feelings.

There are two basic reports that are based on the answers to the assessment as compared to groups. The Client Feedback report is compared to a general population, and the Coaching Report for Leaders is compared to the general population and “on track managers and executives.”

Client Feedback Report•Lifestyle•Level of Satisfaction•Detailed Results

• Dealing with Others• Self Management• Motivations and Thinking Style• Personal Characteristics• Work Related Measures

Coaching Report for Leaders•Self Management•Organizational Capabilities•Team Building and Teamwork•Problem Solving•Sustaining the Vision

Coaching with ProScan Administered by:Dr. Randy Gregg

Understanding what makes people tick

ProScan is a non-threatening, quick, easy and reliable survey tool that is one of the most advanced instruments available.

Statistical research of working adults enables the powerful ProScan Survey to produce reliable results to accurately

assess a person's basic and preferred work styles. The survey examines combinations of specific traits that affect how

the person works most effectively and reacts under stress. ProScan focuses on strengths and motivators to help

employers create an environment that reduces employee stress while improving energy and morale.

ProScan reports measure:

How a person functions most naturally

The role a person feels they need to play

How a person predictably comes across to others

Energy resources

Satisfaction index

Stress levels

Energy drain

Decision-making styleThe ProScan assessment is a dynametric system that provides a concise , direct procedure for measuring the major aspects of self

perception. It reveals an individuals basic behavior, reaction to the environment, and predictable behavioral patterns. There are 60

self descriptive adjectives and four primary clearly identified behavioral traits and one secondary trait in the factor analysis.

Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)

Relationships with People Influence Persuasive, Controlling,

Outspoken, Independent Minded

Sociability Outgoing, Team Building, Socially Confident

Empathy Modest, Democratic, Caring

Thinking Style

Analysis Data Rational, Evaluative, Behavioral

Creativity and Change Conventional, Conceptual, Innovative, Variety Seeking, Adaptable

Structure Forward Thinking, Detail Conscious, Conscientious, Rule Following

Feelings and Emotions

Emotions Relaxed, Worrying, Tough-minded, Optimistic, Trusting, Emotionally Controlled

Dynamism Vigorous, Competitive, Achieving, Decisive

Unlike other personality questionnaires, the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) is an occupational model of personality, designed solely for use in a business environment. The OPQ model provides a clear, simple framework for understanding the role of personality in the workplace and the impact it has on job performance. It is used by 1st Franklin for Selection, Individual Development Plans , Career Guidance and Team Building . There are three major areas where traits are determined by choosing the best answer.

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

Watson-Glaser is the premier tool for evaluating the cognitive ability of professionals. Watson-Glaser is the gold standard because it precisely measures critical thinking ability—one of the strongest predictors of job success. Nothing is more important than how employees question, analyze and make decisions under pressure.

•Assesses critical thinking ability and decision

making

•Predicts judgment, problem solving, creativity,

openness to experience & more

•Long history of use in business, government, and

education

•Correlates with other leading ability and

personality tests

Test DescriptionThe Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal consists of a series of test exercises which require the application of some of the important abilities involved in critical thinking. The exercises include problems, statements, arguments, and interpretations of data similar to those which a citizen might encounter in his/her daily life as he/she works, reads newspapers or magazine articles, hears speeches, and participates in discussions on various issues.

It is a useful tool for the selection of applicants for positions where careful, analytical reasoning is an important part of the job. It is less dependent on formal education than traditional intelligence tests and reflects the more basic mental processes of reasoning, judgment, analysis, and common sense. 1st Franklin offers development activities to strengthen critical thinking ability.

Thurstone Mental Alertness

Test Description:The Turnstone Test of Mental Alertness is a test of general mental ability. It contains both verbal and numerical problems and takes into account the speed of response.

  – Quantitative: measured by Arithmetic and Number Series problems – Linguistic: measured by Same-Opposite word meanings and Definitions items

Number of Items: 126 Duration: 20 Minutes (Timed)

It is designed to measure the capacity of an individual to acquire new knowledge and skills, and to use these in problem solving. Since the verbal and numerical items are alternated systematically throughout the test, the test also reflects how rapidly a person is able to adapt to different situations. Depending on the type of position for which the applicant is being tested, his/her performance may be compared to college-graduates or diverse groups of clerical, managerial, sales, and industrial personnel.

Day 1 Day after all assessments are completed

Hiring Executive Requests Candidate to

be tested and completes Referral and

Background forms

Preliminary Discussion given to Hiring Executive by

EVP or Executive assistant

Preliminary Discussion of Analysis - EVP

with Candidate

When referral and background

information received- Battery of Assessments

sent to Candidate via Email links

Development goal setting session- with direct

manager with guidance from developmental manager if requested

Internal Candidate

Assessment Process

Day 1 Day 2 Day after all assessments are

completed

At 3 Days After Hire DateMinimum of 1

Week later

Hiring Executive Requests Candidate to be tested and

completes Referral and Background forms

Preliminary Discussion given to Hiring Executive by EVP or

Executive assistant

Preliminary Discussion of

Analysis - EVP with Candidate

Development goal setting session- with direct manager with guidance

from developmental manager if requested

When referral and background information received- Battery

of Assessments sent to Candidate via Email links

External Candidate

Assessment Process