As time pressures become ever more apparent in the express delivery market, the job of the forklift truck (FLT) operator becomes increasingly demanding. Recognising that not one aspect of the consignment process can be taken for granted, and in line with its innovative and forward-thinking approach, Target Express has introduced new assessment methods which will see trainee FLT operators facing the same challenges as trainee fighter pilots, resulting in increased productivity and improved safety.
Target is one of the first distribution companies to introduce psychometric assessment in selecting FLT drivers.
As such, the company is working to implement the most innovative HR approaches in the business and this special programme was devised in collaboration with a team of business psychologists from Human Factors International.
The first stage of the process was for Target to evaluate the performance of existing FLT operators using a variety of on-the-job performance indicators relating to reliability and productivity. After considering these measures and the details of the job description, Human Factors’ psychologists selected four online psychometric tests: personality, general reasoning, workplace values and discrimination reaction time.
The outcome showed a very high correlation between the test results and on-the-job performance levels. It was possible to identify all the high performers from the test results alone, proving that cost-effective and easily delivered tests can establish which candidates will prove to be the safest FLT operators.
