PUBLIC SAFETY AND MUNICIPAL CLIENTS
For our municipal and public safety clients we offer a wide variety of products and services. The services for public safety candidates are separated into two tiers (1) for entry level applicants and (2) for promotions and advancement of command personnel.
Entry-Level Public Safety Assessments
We offer the following services for jobs involving a high degree of risk such as police, fire, and emergency dispatch candidates in the public safety sector.
Promotional Public Safety Assessments
For the promotion and advancement of public safety command personnel, we offer the following services.
Municipal Assessments
We offer the following service for municipal candidates including, but not limited to: Village Manager, Chief Financial Officer, Public Works Director, Recreation Park Director, Building and Planning Directors, Civil Engineer, Public Works Laborer, Records Clerk, Administrator, Planner, and Right of Way Inspector. An increasing number of municipalities are utilizing a psychological individual assessment for all employees who will interact with the general public or a large number of coworkers as part of their duties . These assessments are discussed in detail with key municipal decision makers with respect to specific skill sets and particular qualities.
Individual Assessments are conducted at our office and include an in-depth oral interview and a tailored test battery. The tests we use assess a wide range of attributes, including mental ability, communication and interpersonal skills, responsiveness to authority, judgment and decision making, and relevant personality traits. We use valid, well-researched assessment instruments, which minimize adverse impact to comply with federal regulations. Results are reported via e-mail, fax, regular mail, or a combination of the above. Our reports are written in everyday language without technical jargon, or complex graphs and charts. Human Resource professionals, public safety supervisors, and fire/police commissioners are the targeted audience for the report, and they are written to be easily understood by our user group.
We provide the client with same day feedback on the applicant’s qualifications, within a few hours after the candidate leaves our office. A detailed written report is mailed to the client within 3 business days.
Key Features of an Individual Assessment
Examines essential personality and cognitive skills associated with effective job performance.
Employs an in-depth interview to assess employment history and career goals along with a person’s approach to handling work assignments and interacting with people.
Provides same day verbal feedback to organizations regarding suitability for employment; a detailed written report delivered by e-mail, fax or standard mail.
Request a sample of an individual assessment report on our Contact Us Page.
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LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER (LEO) EXAM
The LASER LEO is an exam intended for entry-level police candidates. It goes beyond mere intelligence tests to be predictive of a wider range of job relevant behaviors, while simultaneously working to reduce risk of adverse impact. The test can be proctored on-site within the client's office by client staff or our own staff. The test consists of three sections.
Memory – This section measures the candidate's general intelligence.
Situational Analysis – A section which measures a candidate's reasoning, judgment, and “common sense” abilities.
Personal Experience – A measure of the candidate's previous public safety experience and personality attributes that are predictive of teamwork, commitment and public safety orientation.
Key Features of the Laser LEO Exam
View a sample of a LEO Exam report by selecting REPORT.
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The LASER FSO Exam is intended for entry-level firefighters and medics. It goes beyond the basic intelligence and memory tests to include assessments of the following six competencies:
For departments emphasizing basic written competencies, an additional test is also available. The LASER Test-Written Competencies Exam will assess individuals’ punctuation, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills.
Key Features of the Laser FSO Exam
Validated onsite at fire departments
View a sample of a FSO Exam report by selecting REPORT.
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EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST ASSESSMENTS
The training time needed for an individual to become an effective dispatcher is lengthy. Increase retention and save your agency money by selecting and training the most qualified and capable people to serve the community. The Emergency Telecommunications Specialist Assessment is a comprehensive tool that combines the psychological individual assessment with innovative job simulations in order to measure the potential of candidates to succeed in the dimensions required to be an effective telecommunicator (TC). These dimensions include the following.
We provide the client with same day feedback on the applicant’s qualifications, within a few hours after the candidate leaves our office. A detailed written report is mailed to the client within 3 business days.
Key Features of an Emergency Telecommunications Specialist Assessment
Request a sample of an individual assessment report on our Contact Us Page.
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PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING PROGRAM
The Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) is a method for identifying the best qualified public safety job applicants by screening out marginal candidates early in the selection process. This program is conducted at your location and uses job relevant simulations to permit our staff of professionals the ability to observe and assess critical qualifications for fire service and law enforcement positions. Additional assessment information is gathered by way of an in-depth personal history and a writing sample. Using this intensive, daylong process our staff will identify each candidate's respective strengths and developmental needs. A detailed and comprehensive report will summarize the events of the PSP and include a ranking of the candidates who participated along with their respective scores. This narrative is written in everyday language without technical jargon, or complex graphs and charts. Fire/police commissioners are the targeted audience for the report, and they are written to be easily understood by our user group.
The job relevant simulation assesses the following public safety qualifications:
The personal history covers other job relevant dimensions, with special emphasis on:
Work Attitude
Career Interests
Educational Training
The writing sample provides an additional opportunity to assess the candidates’:
Clarity
Accuracy
Judgment
Common Sense
Communities that are confronted with hundreds of job applicants, may need to reduce the number of candidates through oral interviews, written exams, and agility tests. After doing so, a PSP is a useful tool to zero in on the most qualified candidates before utilizing the more expensive processes (i.e. medical exams, polygraph, and psychological evaluations). A PSP will yield a rank ordering of all of the PSP participants.
Key Features of a Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP)
Screens out marginal candidates before an offer is made.
Uses simulated exercises to evaluate key dimensions.
Evaluates a large number of participants simultaneously.
Is completely staffed by our trained professionals.
Assesses critical public safety qualifications.
Confronts the motivation, maturity, and mastery issues within the guidelines of the ADA.
A detailed and comprehensive report including a ranking of the candidates along with scores.
Accommodations for a Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP)
Each PSP session can accommodate between 6 - 48 candidates and additional sessions can be conducted if necessary.
Each PSP session will run one-half day.
PSP sessions are run at your location.
Multiple rooms (3-5) are needed for a PSP and it is dependent upon the number of candidates.
If you would like additional information regarding our Pre-employment Screening Programs, please use our Contact Us Page.
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The assessment center is a means of identifying critical supervisory and managerial skills necessary for effective leadership within your police or fire department.
Candidates seeking promotion to command positions are permitted an opportunity to demonstrate their skills for that position through a series of exercises designed to simulate the job's tasks and responsibilities. Given this opportunity, the participants perceive the process as fair and realistic. Additionally, when objective, unbiased professionals (public safety psychologists) are rating their supervisory qualifications, this further reduces potential challenges to the selection process.
Moreover, the assessment center becomes not just a means of selection, but also one for development. This causes participants to feel valued by the department and increases the overall positive impact of the promotional process. In this way, we strive to avoid the demoralization and potential litigation that can occur in the wake of promotionals.
Key Dimensions Observed During an Assessment Center
Communication - clear and concise expression of ideas in writing and speaking; ability to field questions and challenges.
Decisiveness - ability to exercise authority and hold subordinates accountable; ability to act in a timely, proactive manner
Judgment - ability to identify a problem and take appropriate action; ability to analyze short-term and long-term implications of not acting
Thoroughness - ability to check, ask questions, investigate; accurate and thorough documentation
Commitment - demonstrates the integrity to support departmental policy even against resistance; considers the department's needs first
Interpersonal Skills - ability to foster teamwork to compromise, and to be assertive; demonstrates sensitivity, flexibility, and leadership
How an Assessment Center Operates
The Assessment Center consists of four parts:
Preparation Phase: tailoring of the assessment center to your department
Administration Phase: each assessment center is a single day process for 4 - 12 participants
Scoring and Reporting Phase: our staff tallies the results and compiles a written report for the Commission to use in decision making
Feedback Phase: our staff conducts individual feedback sessions with participants geared toward professional development
The customization, administration, and feedback phases are all conducted at your department's facilities. Aside from providing the facilities, there is little needed from the department except for some collaboration with us in tailoring the process to meet your specific needs. Commissioners are also welcome to sit in and observe the process.
Throughout the Assessment Center, the assessors will be evaluating each candidate's skills. The assessors will achieve consensus in rating each candidate, and those results will be submitted to the designated party in the form of a detailed written report. That report will include a rank ordering of the candidates on a scale of 1 to 100. A pre-determined "cut-off" score will be set and used to delineate acceptable from unacceptable candidates for promotion. One of four final recommendations will be made: Highly Recommended, Recommended, Marginally Recommended and Not Recommended.
In addition to the aforementioned ratings, a detailed written synopsis summarizing each candidate's strengths and developmental needs in the form of a narrative report will be provided. These summaries are invaluable in providing pertinent "feedback" to those candidates interested in their future career development. In our experience, the Assessment Center process is not only a valuable promotional tool, but it is also an excellent opportunity to develop a department's staff by better preparing them for future leadership roles.
Feedback sessions, if they are desired, are conducted after the above mentioned reports are delivered and promotional decisions have been made. In this way, the feedback sessions are more focused on the intended purpose of development instead of a participant's attempts to argue points or ranking with the assessors.
If you would like additional information regarding our Assessment Centers, please use our Contact Us Page.
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PROMOTIONAL INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENTS
All of the characteristics and benefits of an entry-level Individual Assessments are included in promotional Individual Assessments. Leadership, supervisory and managerial dimensions are evaluated and emphasized.
Key Features of an Individual Assessment
Examines essential personality and cognitive skills associated with effective job performance.
Leadership evaluation for first and second line supervisors, as well as command staff personnel.
Provides detailed evaluation of key supervisory and managerial dimensions which are tailored to the department or agency's specific organizational culture and demands of the position.
Employs an in-depth interview to assess employment history and career goals along with a person’s approach to handling work assignments and interacting with people.
Provides same day verbal feedback to organizations regarding suitability for employment; a detailed written report delivered by e-mail, fax or standard mail.
Request a sample of an individual assessment report on our Contact Us Page.
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