The goal of the Personnel Selection Inventory is to offer businesses and industries a psychologically sound, research-based pre-employment screening instrument that would go beyond routine methods of interviews and background checks. The Sales Personnel Selection Inventory was designed to assess retail sales personnel based on their sales aptitude, customer service orientation, job commitment and integrity.

The following descriptions represent the scales that the Sales Personnel Selection Inventory uses to achieve this goal:

Sales Aptitude (SA)

The Sales Aptitude Scale measures an applicant’s sales skills, sales interest and sales responsibility. A high score on this scale represents the greater probability that the applicant will possess the skills, interest and motivation required to be successful in a sales position.

Honesty (HO)

A high score on this scale represents the greater probability that the applicant will NOT engage in workplace theft.

Customer Service (AT)

A high score on this scale represents the greater probability that the applicant will be consistently helpful and courteous to customers and will avoid behaviour that will adversely affect customer buying decisions.

Job Commitment or Tenure (TE)

A high score here reflects the greater probability that the applicant has no past history of job instability and will not quit the job prematurely.

Validity/ Candidness (VA)

The Validity/Candidness Scale identifies applicants who completed the inventory in a socially desirable manner. Low scores indicate a tendency to exaggerate positive qualities and minimize negative traits, whereas high scores represent the greater probability that the applicant’s responses are indicative of his or her actual attitudes and opinions.

Validity/Accuracy (AC)

The Validity/Accuracy Scale determines if the applicant both understood the inventory and completed it carefully. A high score on this scale represents the greater probability that the applicant both understood and carefully completed the inventory.

Scores

Percentile scores on these scales give the ranking of the applicant relative to other persons in the previously assessed population. For instance, an applicant who scores at the 64^th percentile has obtained a score that is better than the scores obtained by 64 percent of the applicants who have completed the instrument.

Standard scores indicate an applicant’s absolute score on each of these scales ranging from zero to 100. This score indicates how qualified the applicant is without comparing his or her score to other applicants. Higher scores indicate that the applicant is more qualified.

Procedure:

• The assessment may be administered by computer or may be completed using a paper and pencil version. As such, both individual and group administration may be facilitated.
• Although not a timed assessment, the Sales PSI is usually completed within 45 minutes.
• Once scored, a computer-generated report is created that reflects each individual’s scores.

If required, a spreadsheet comparing the scores of all those assessed may also be provided. An additional fee may be charged for this service. This is based on the number of persons tested.