The JobBank Descriptive Guide for the
Teamwork-KSA Test

The Teamwork-KSA Test is a psychological test instrument which was designed to measure the essential knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) that are predictive of an individual being able to work effectively in teams. The instrument contains 35 items and uses a multiple-choice testing format. Candidates are presented with hypothetical team situations and asked to indicate how they would respond to each situation by selecting from among the alternatives given for each question.

The Teamwork-KSA Test measures the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

INTERPERSONAL

The interpersonal and social demands upon individuals in team settings appear much greater relative to traditional environments. Work teams appear to require individuals much more capable at interpersonal communication, collaboration, building rapport, managing conflict, encouraging group discussions and facilitating collective problem solving.

§  Conflict Resolution
Resolving conflict effectively is an important skill for team members to possess and this often depends on using effective negotiation strategies. Rather than seeking compromises and concessions, a more integrative strategy should be followed in teams that seek to find solutions that satisfy the objectives of all parties involved.

§  Collaborative Problem Solving
In self-directed situations, team members are expected to take the initiative and to become involved in solving team problems and to do so while considering the contributions of other team members.

§  Communication
For teams to function effectively individual members must have the necessary skills to communicate and interact productively with others. The interpersonal competence of team members and the capacity to communicate effectively should not be confused with the ability to simply converse with others or to maintain cordial associations. Exchanges should be of sufficiently high quality and characterized by mutual respect, appropriate and timely sharing of information and genuine solicitation of feedback and opinion from others.

SELF-MANAGEMENT

The self-directed nature of autonomous and semi-autonomous work teams implies that, by definition, many of the team’s basic managerial and supervisory functions are performed by collective members of the team. Essential self-management areas are Goal Setting & Performance Management and Planning & Task Coordination.

§  Goal Setting & Performance Management
A clearly defined mission or purpose is critical for team effectiveness. Selecting the appropriate level of goal difficulty and obtaining goal acceptance are also critical to success. More effective teams are also aware of their own performance and progress towards goal attainment and frequently examine their progress.

§  Planning & Task Coordination
The capacity to plan, coordinate, integrate and sequence tasks and information is a central function in effective teams. Efficient group action therefore requires coordination of individual efforts. The proper allocation of individual members to specific tasks, duties and role assignments is also an important self-management function. Effective work teams generally have clearly established expectations about the assignments and roles filled by each member.

Upon completing The Teamwork-KSA Test, an overall Teamwork–KSA Test score is provided.  The personal report outlines the test-taker’s raw score as well their percentile score for each sub-scale and provides a Teamwork-KSA Total Score.

PROCEDURE FOR COMPLETING THE ASSESSMENT

• The assessment is administered as a paper and pencil test. As such, both individual and group administration may be facilitated.

• Although un-timed, the average completion time is 45 minutes.