Corrections officers face tough situations every day on the job.  From unruly inmates to medical emergencies, there are times when they have their work cut out for them.  No doubt, corrections is not for everyone. 

So, when hiring staff, how can corrections agencies determine which applicants are best suited to working in a correctional environment?  Although no testing method is foolproof, some agencies administer pre-qualifying, video-based exams to see if their applicants have what it takes to make it in corrections.

Ergometrics, a video-based selection and training program developer, manufactures tests specifically for this purpose.  Since its creation in 1988, many corrections agencies have relied on Ergometrics' Corrections Officer Video Test (COVT) to help them determine which applicants have the most potential to succeed in the field.

"The idea behind it was that [agencies] pretty much were hiring people using information they had rather than information they really wanted to have, about people before bringing them into the correctional environment," said Carla Swander, Co-owner of Ergometrics.

Traditionally, Swander pointed out, corrections agencies have used written tests to screen job candidates and the results of those exams reveal little about an individual's true character. 

According to Swander, COVT elicits responses from people that shed light upon their innate qualities, like how they respond to work-related problems, provocation and inmates' needs. 

"You can train people [on the rules], but, to really take a person and actually fundamentally and profoundly change them in the way they interact with other people is almost impossible for a trainer to do," Swander said.  That's why, she explained, it's so important for agencies to start out with the right people when they are hiring corrections officers.

Trying to Find the Right People Through Testing

COVT is a video-based test that consists of 83 questions, or scenarios, which feature corrections officers and inmates, as well as corrections officers and their superiors, interacting inside correctional facilities.  The scenes are realistic and require applicants to decide how they would react if put in similar situations. 

"What [the test] does is it simulates situations a person who is a corrections officer may encounter on the job.  [It asks] 'What would you do given this set of circumstances?'" Swander said.  "[The questions] are crafted to bring people to [a] critical decision point."

For example, applicants have to decide what they would do in the event of an inmate medical emergency or an altercation between inmates in a dining hall.  After the issue is presented, the candidates have multiple answers to choose from; they are each weighted, with the best answer carrying the highest point value.

"People pick an answer [and] they just mark it on a multiple choice answer sheet," Swander said.  Within 48 hours, she added, Ergometrics scores the tests and corrections agencies have the results.  In Michigan and Utah, these results determine who is eligible to continue on in the hiring process.

Helping with Hiring Decisions in Michigan

"[COVT] is a tool that helps us make good decisions," said Florence Schrauben, Recruiting Manager for Corrections Officers for the Michigan DOC.  "We're hoping that we get candidates that once we hire [them, they] will still perform well on the job."

Michigan began using the Ergometrics test during the late 1990's when the state noticed a significant amount of corrections officer turnover.

"There was a concern about the type of corrections officers coming into the academy," said Vivian Tansil, Human Resources Manager for Applicant Assessment at the Michigan Department of Civil Service.  "[The DOC] was finding out that a lot of corrections officers [being hired] were not able to keep up with the rigorous standards on the job."

So, the Michigan Department of Civil Service and DOC began using COVT as a prerequisite for being considered for employment as a corrections officer.  If candidates do not perform satisfactorily on the video-based test, they are not even eligible to interview for a corrections officer position.

"If they pass the exam, they have to come and interview and [take] a physical agility test," Schrauben said.

While passing COVT doesn't guarantee a job applicant a position at the DOC, it helps the department weed out weaker candidates before taking the time to interview them and test their physical fitness.

Using COVT in Utah County

Another agency using COVT to find the best people to staff its jail is the Utah County, Utah, Sheriff's Office.  Video-based testing began there when the county was opening a new jail, which doubled the number of corrections officers it needed to have on staff.

"We use the video as a screening tool to narrow it down to those that are more suited to this type of environment and job," said Merritt Fullmer, Personnel Analyst for the county.  "Anyone [who] gets a score of 65 or above is eligible to continue on in the testing process."

According to Fullmer, COVT is a helpful tool because it lends objectivity to the beginning of the hiring process when decisions had previously been subjective.

"It takes me out of making a subjective decision, like when I'm doing additional screening to narrow it down further," Fullmer said.  "It's the same test for everyone." 

COVT, according to Fullmer, helps the county to learn more about its applicants for correctional specialist positions.  It tests people more on their ability to judge than on their learned behaviors, she said. 

"They don't need prior experience to get a good score," Fullmer said.  "We believe that [even with experience, people] maybe are not best suited for this position."

And, that is the purpose of COVT--to find the best people for the job.

"I do think it takes a certain type of personality to be effective in [a correctional] setting," said Fullmer, who noted that corrections staff turnover has been reduced in Utah County since it has been the test.  "[There are] some things that you can't really teach a person, [like] their basic instincts."

Video-Based Testing IMPACTs the Juvenile Corrections Officer Hiring Process

While COVT extracts information from applicants about their natural instincts and predispositions for working in the adult corrections field, a different, newly-created Ergometrics' video-based exam is designed to do the same for applicants for juvenile corrections positions.

According to Swander, good adult corrections officers and good juvenile corrections officers are made of very different stuff.

"Kids are just different than adults.  That's all there is to it," Swander said.  "A youth can end up bonding with anyone in an institutional environment."

Because of that fact, IMPACT, Ergometrics' juvenile justice testing and training system, is comprised of questions that determine how an individual will react in a juvenile correctional environment.

"[Being a juvenile corrections officer] is a whole different level of respect and recognition of the fact that you actually are part of [young people's] development process," Swander said. 

In Georgia, the Department of Juvenile Justice uses the test to make sure that the right kind of people are working with juveniles while they are going through these developmental stages.

"I think very well of the system," said Orlando L. Martinez, former Juvenile Justice Commissioner in Georgia and a juvenile justice consultant.  "My suspicion is that it will be very effective," he added about the test that was developed in August 2003.

Giving Staff a Preview of Life on the Job

Both IMPACT and COVT, while they provide information to corrections agencies, have another benefit, too.  The tests also help applicants to learn about the environment they would be working in if they got the job.

"We lost a lot of staff once they got into [the correctional institution] and worked a day or two," Martinez said.  The video-based test, he explained, exposes them to the correctional environment even before they begin working there.

"One of the nice things about doing the video-based test is that many people are very unaware of what [a] correctional institution [will] really be like," Swander added.  "By testing people [using COVT or IMPACT], the candidate can see not only what the institution looks like, [but] what kinds of situations they are going to face."

By providing information to both agencies about applicants and job candidates about what type of position they are really applying for, COVT and IMPACT can help reduce staff turnover, which can save agencies money, Swander pointed out.

And, saving money during tough financial times is music to any corrections agency's ears.

"Every [staff] problem you have is costly," Swander said. "If you're shutting the back door, you're cutting your losses."

Resources:

To learn more about Ergometrics, go to www.ergometrics.org

To contact the Michigan DOC, call (517) 373-6391

To contact the Utah County Sheriff's Office, call (801) 851-4000