Interests: Work Type Orientation Scale
Nature of questionnaire: A questionnaire querying the respondent’s interest in performing nine sets of managerial activities most often performed in a business organisation at work levels 3, 5, 6 and 7.
Purpose: To determine the degree of interest that a person has in performing nine distinctly different supervisory or managerial work sets or activities. In this way the respondent’s interest profile can be compared with the activities that the position requires. Where there is a good fit between the required position activities and the respondents interest, we can assume that the incumbent will perform at higher levels of productivity, be more inclined to work overtime, go the extra mile, train and develop him/herself and may probably spend more time thinking about his/her work. Where the profile of the person does not meet the position requirements, we can assume low personal application to the work, higher levels of boredom, more errors and a disinclination to learn and grow in the position.
Interest Fields:
Interest in the following work sets at levels 3, 5, 6 and 7 is measured:
- Conceptualisation
- Process and technology
- Quantitative and numerical
- Innovative production
- Coaching
- Organisation of people
- Operations control
- Influence through communications
- Administrative orientation
Deliverable: A two-page report indicating each dimension measured in the form of a bar chart, with descriptions interpreting low and high scores.
Question type: The WTOS consists of 36 paired statements, each representing a different activity. The respondent chooses from each pair the activity s/he would most like to perform.
Duration: 20 minutes
Application: Useful in making promotional, placement, or selection decisions, in developmental situations as well as diagnosing performance problems. Also very powerful in career guidance situations. Applicable to managerial staff at junior, but particularly middle and senior levels.
Research: Research into the correlation between a candidate’s interest and actual job performance and potential has yielded surprisingly positive results, beyond what personality test usually deliver. This led us to include interests as an assessment tool in all our solutions. Interest provides a measurement of passion to perform the required activities and this aspect is not easily measured through personality tests.