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Pre-Employment Testing of Clerical/Administrative Support Candidates

Summary: 

Fourteen cities were asked questions about their pre-employment testing of clerical/administrative support candidates.

Original Author: 

Stokes, Richard [1]

Date of Material: 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Survey Results - CLERICAL test survey 2012.pdf [2]

CLERICAL / ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TESTING SURVEY

1. Does your organization conduct pre-employment test as part of your selection process for clerical/administrative support candidates?

City/Agency	Yes/No
Brentwood	No
Jackson	No
Hendersonville	Yes
Knoxville	Yes
White House	Yes
Athens	Yes
Farragut	Yes
Chattanooga	Yes
Martin	No
Columbia	Yes
Lawrenceburg	Yes
Sevierville	No
Tullahoma	No
Pigeon Forge	Yes

If no, please briefly explain why not?

City/Agency	Why Not
Brentwood	Use prior experience and reference checks
Tullahoma	Small clerical staff and no significant turnover. Would be interested in survey results to consider testing for future openings.

If yes, please respond to the following:

City/ Organization	Job Title(s)	Test(s) Administered	Minimum Score(s) Required
Knoxville	Office Assistant I & II	Written Exam & Typing Exam	70% correct on written; 35 wpm typing
	Principle Secretary	Written Exam & Typing Exam	70% correct on written; 35 wpm typing
	Data Entry Operator	Written Exam & Typing Exam	70% correct on written; 35 wpm typing
	City Court Assistant	Written Exam & Typing Exam	70% correct on written; 35 wpm typing
White House	Billing Clerk	Grammar, Computations, spreadsheets, computer usage
	Police Clerk	Grammar, Computations, spreadsheets, computer usage
	Secretary	Grammar, Computations, spreadsheets, computer usage
Athens	Department Secretaries	Microsoft Word, Excel, Customer Service	70
	CM Admin Asst.	Microsoft Word, Excel, Customer Service	70
Farragut	Admin Assistant	Word, Excel, PowerPoint	No minimum; Score is used as one part of total interview score
Chattanooga	Admin Support Specialist	Clerical written; keyboarding	40 WPM keyboarding w/90% accuracy
	Admin Support Assistant 1 & 2	Clerical written; keyboarding	40 WPM keyboarding w/90% accuracy
	Customer Service Representative 1	Data Entry	4500 KPH; 90% accuracy
	Tax Specialist 1 & 2	Data Entry	4500 KPH; 90% accuracy
	Accounting Technician 1	Acct Principles written; data entry	4500 KPH; 90% accuracy
	Payroll Assistant 1	Clerical written; data entry	4500 KPH; 90% accuracy
	Court Operations Asst.	Clerical written; data entry and keyboarding	4500 KPH; 90% accuracy
	Personnel Asst.	Clerical written; data entry and keyboarding	4500 KPH; 90% accuracy
Columbia	Administrative Secretary	Grammar, Spelling, Math, Microsoft Office	70%
	Police Records Clerk	Grammar, Spelling, Math, Microsoft Office	70%
	Accounting Clerk	Grammar, Spelling, Math, Microsoft Office	70%
	Executive Secretary	Grammar, Spelling, Math, Microsoft Office	70%
	Court Clerk	Grammar, Spelling, Math, Microsoft Office	70%
Lawrenceburg	Admin Assistant	National Career Readiness Certificate, Typing Test for Speed, Word & Excel Proficiency	75 – 100 25 WPM 70 – 100
Pigeon Forge	All Clerical	Typing, Computer Usage (Memo’s, Memorandums, and letters	Depend on Dept and type of testing being done

2. Who administers the above test(s)? (check one)

City/Organizations	Staff	Outsource Agency	Others
Hendersonville	Yes	Yes
Knoxville	Yes
White House	Yes
Athens		Yes
Farragut	Yes
Chattanooga	Yes
Columbia	Yes
Lawrenceburg		Yes
Pigeon Forge	Yes	Yes

3. Does your organization create a qualified candidates’ pool list from your clerical/administrative support test results?

City/Organization	Yes/No
Hendersonville	Yes
Knoxville	Yes
White House	No
Athens	Yes
Farragut	No
Chattanooga	Yes
Columbia	Yes
Lawrenceburg	Yes
Pigeon Forge	No

Additional Comments

City/Organization	Additional Comments
Hendersonville	We use job specific testing. It may be drafting a letter that relates to that function; preparing bank deposits; excel spreadsheets….whatever is actually done on the job. We use typing tests and base those scores on nature of the work.
Farragut	We only test applicants who are interviewed
Chattanooga	Also test Permit Clerk, keyboarding test only, passing same as above
Lawrenceburg	We have Admin Asst. in every department but have not hired anyone in a very long time. These answers reflect how we intend to hire in the future

Contact Information:

Contact Person	City Name	Phone Number	Population	No. FT Employees
Mike Worsham	Brentwood	615.371.0060	35,000	250
Lynn B. Henning	Jackson	731.425.8252	65,000	671
Kaye Palmer	Hendersonville	615.264.5314	50,000	300
Matthew Bradburn	Knoxville	865.215.3052	178,874	1550
Cheryl Lewis Smith	White House	615.616.1008	10,000	90
Rita Brown	Athens	423.744.2703	13,458	108
Janet Curry	Farragut	865.966.7057	21,000	46
Susan Dubose	Chattanooga	423.757.4856	170,136	2280
Celeste Taylor	Martin	731.587.3126	11,515	147
Connie Etzkin	Columbia	931.560.1565	34,681	387
Doug Edwards	Lawrenceburg	931.762.4459X222	15,000	126
Kristi Inman	Sevierville	865.868.0908	11,757	275
Casta Brice	Tullahoma	931.455.2648	18,655	142
Kathy Valentine	Pigeon Forge	865.429.7307	5,875	260

Thank you for your sharing your time, knowledge, and information.