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In-Tray Exercise for employers Three in tray exercises for use at interviews, selection boards and management courses. "Imperial" is a conventional in-tray exercise where candidates have to analyze data and make decisions. "iTray" includes two business simulations where candidates have to deal with a series of incidents in real time. "Mictel" is a complex brief at candidates for senior positions who have to manage a complex in tray and make some some strategic decisions. Practice "in tray exercises" for candidates can be found here

In tray exercises are designed to help in the process of recruitment and assessment. The idea is to create a "real world" situation where the candidate is able to show how they would deal with a situation based on the information they have available and their own skill and experience. They are thus invaluable in the recruitment and selection process to give an insight into the way a candidate is likely to perform after they are hired.

The table below will help you to decide which of the in tray exercises is best for you.

Imperial in tray exercise - individual in tray exercise - moderate difficulty

In this conventional in tray exercise the candidate is provided with a file of documents. They are told that this is the only information available and are asked to read through the file and then make a series of decisions based on the information with which they have been provided. This type of in tray exercise is ideal for testing managerial skill and ability. This in tray exercise is undertaken by the individual working alone, although post exercise discussion will highlight attitudinal differences and variations in style and approach to problems. In the "Imperial" in tray exercise, candidates are presented with a briefing and 23 items of information which have to be analyzed, prioritized and 16 questions which have absolute right / wrong answers. Imperial has been successfully used at all managerial levels from personal assitant through to Chief Executive. Imperial is supplied as a "Word" file and can be edited.

  Imperial in tray exercise - £150

Click here to see a taster of the Imperial In Tray Test:

iTray in tray exercise - group or individual in tray exercise - harder

The iTray is a 97 page business simulation "in tray exercise" containing two scenarios, one relatively simple (Tropria zoo) and one more complex (Medanair). The iTray can be used either individually or as part of an assessment centre. Working as a team or individually, the candidates are given some base information about the scenario. They are then faced with a series of incidents. After each one they have to decide how to react and what, if anything, they have to do in order to meet their objective. The iTray has no absolute answers but assessors are provided with comprehensive competencies against which to judge performance. The iTray is suitable for all levels and is particularly useful to gauge team orentation and ability to lead and influence others in decision making.

  iTray business simulation in tray exercise - £195

Mictel - individual in tray exercise. Challenging selection tool for senior managers

Mictel is a 90 page package containing a very complex, 52 item business simulation. Mictel can be used either individually or as part of a group exercise but has been designed primarily for individual use. The candidate is presented with an in tray containing 52 documents. They are required to process the in tray and leave precise instructions as to how they wish each item to be handled. Part of the assessment is based on how they leave the file and the clarity of their instructions to their staff. Whilst there are no absolute answers, assessors are provided with a comprehensive marking guide which includes positive and negative indicators for each item in the in tray. Assessors are also provided with competency guides against which to judge professional and mangerial competencies. Mictel is suitable for senior management and is particularly useful assess how a senior decision maker will perform under pressure.

  Mictel business simulation in tray exercise - £295

Click here to see the first 4 pages of the iTray package:

Click here to see the first 4 pages of the Tropria Zoo Simulation:

Click here to see the first 5 pages of the Medanair Simulation:

Click here to see some sample pages from the Mictel In Tray Exercise:

Choosing which intray to use:

Feature	Imperial	iTray	Mictel
Exercises included	"Imperial"	"Tropria Zoo" and "Medanair"	"Mictel"
Full Instructions	Yes	Yes	Yes
Includes Competency checklist	Yes	Yes	Yes
Includes documentation & answer sheets	Yes	Yes	Yes
Individual/ Group	Individual	Both	Individual
Size	23 items / 16 Questions	Tropria Zoo - 14 incidents, Medanair 30 incidents	52 items
Marking guide?	Yes - absolute answers	No	Yes with +ve & -ve indicators
Uses	Selection/Assessment Centre/ Team building/ Management Development	Selection/Assessment Centre/ Team building/ Management Development	Senior Management Selection/Assessment Centre
Difficulty	Moderate	Tropria Zoo - easy, Medanair - moderate/hard	Hard
Time allowance	40 - 60 minutes	45 - 90 minutes	120 -150 minutes + Feedback
Requires facilitation / supervision	No	Yes	No
Supply format	Editable "Word" file	Non editable "Word" file	Non editable pdf file
Can be used flexibly	Up to a point	Yes	No
Availability	Immediate by download	Immediate by download	Immediate by download
Price	Imperial In Tray Exercise £150	iTray In Tray Exercise £195	Mictel In Tray Exercise £295
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In Summary

Selection of the appropriate exercise will depend on the characteristics you want to test. Imperial works very well to test the abilty to work and make decisions under pressure. The iTray, when taken as individual exercises will do the same thing. However it is also very powerful as a group exercise on an assessment centre or management development course. Mictel is a very complex exercise designed to test senior applicants. The difficulty of the iTray can be adjusted by allowing longer or shorter periods between incidents whereas in Imperial and Mictel the difficulty can be adjusted by reducing or increasing the time allowed to process the In Tray. Because success in the the iTray in tray test is measured agaianst professional and managerial competencies, the exercise can be shortened by simply skipping to the final incident. The iTray also provides two exercises instead of just one

All of our in tray exercises are licensed for use within your company. This means that once purchased, they may be shared by as many users as required within your organisation and used as frequently as you like. 

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