Advanced Pre-Employment Screening of Seafarers

ETC – 2014 – OdessaHenrik Jensen

Danica Crewing Services

The Speaker

• Henrik Jensen• Owner of Danica Crewing Services• Command experience• Studied organization and HR management at a

business school in Denmark• Crewing Manager, Safety Director, Managing

Director in ship management/owning companies, HR-Marine Group Director.

Causes for loss at sea

20

80

TechnicalHuman

IMO’s homepage, human element, top text:

The safety and security of life at sea, protection of the marine environment and over 90% of the world's trade depends on the professionalism and competence of seafarers

Regulatory Regime

20

80

TechnicalHuman

Causes for loss at sea

95

5

TechnicalHuman

Regulatory Regime

STCWISM-codeILOTMSA

Safety Management

1998: 80% human / 20% technical • ISM-Code implemented in 1998 -2002• ISM – risk management approach added around

2010• Most ISM Safety Manuals are 80% technical and

reporting and 20% about human resources• The industry has spent huge resources on

composing procedures, copying, updating, auditing and training

2012: 80% human / 20% technical.

Crewing Manager:I have booked ECDIS

refreshment courses for all our Masters

A case03:25 – The tanker Golden Hope went aground The vessel is fully ECDIS equipped and all systems fully functional08:30 – Meeting in the office:

Managing Director:How could this

happen?

Yes. We have. I already sent a circular letter to the entire fleet underlining that they

should follow that procedure

Good! Well done. I am sorry that you again have to waste our time to cope

with the idiots we have onboard

DPA/Safety Director:All bridge staff ignored the Minimum-Water-Under-

Keel alarm

It is impossible! We have procedures for minimum under keel

clearance

Will the circular letter remove the root

course?

Will training remove the root course?

No. To remove the root cause the crew onboard should be

with a proper behaviour and

personality.

Risk ManagementAs we did not really achieve what we wanted with the ISM we added the magic wordsRisk management• New procedures • Risk assessments• Reporting, training, audits

Oil Majors defined good practices (requirements) in the TMSA guidance.

Again: most of the procedures are dealing with technical and operational risks. How many have a formal risk assessment of crewing risks in place?

Crewing Risk Management

What do most shipping companies do: Job descriptions: Every shipping company is very good

at that – minimum 3 pages for the captain Qualifications: STCW demands minimum required

training/experience Company requirements: Minimum years in rank –

some ship specific equipment training Cargo owners: Experience matrix Medical fitness: – ILO and P&I clubs have

requirements Drug and alcohol policy.

Job descriptions

All shipping companies have detailed lists of tasks each crew member is accountable forWe are good organized… and we know who is to blame when

something goes wrong.

Requirements

Not many shipping companies define what• Personality and • Competencesa crewmember should have to be able to successfully perform the task/accountabilities listed in the job description

… and even less companies screen the candidates for their abilities…

Reducing Crewing Risk

Define tasks and

accountability

Define personality and

competence requirements

Screening for suitability

Personality and Competences Elements

Talent PersonalCharacteristics

Skills Knowledge

Behaviour

Personality orIndividual foundation– Difficult to change

Competences - Possible to develop

It is how easy we can do something, pick-up new things. Intelligence, ability.

• It is our attitude and ability to understand a situation

• Stress coping ability

• Knowledge is information transferred to people via ears and eyes

• Knowledge is of value when put into practice through effective skills and relevant behaviour

• Skills represent the ability to perform an act in reality

• Skills are the result of persistent training

• Behaviour is the will and ability to act, which is adjusted and tailored to a given situation and surroundings

• Successful behaviour demands reflection

Job Requirements

The requirements should be define for each element for every (key) position:• Personal characteristics • Talent• Skills• Knowledge• Behaviour

For top-positions: The requirements should also consider the company’s vision and mission.

Job Requirements - the easy ones

Some of the job requirements are easy:Skills and knowledge:A fitter must be trained in welding, have passed a class approved welding course etc.Such “hard requirements” are easy to define and easy to check.

Relative easy to define and check

Job Requirements – The difficult onesWhen we move to the “soft” requirements then it becomes a little more difficult:• BehaviourWe want people with good social skills, team oriented persons, people who are not afraid of taking leadership• TalentWe want people with a certain IQ and ability to understand problems and pick-up new ways of doing things Personal CharacteristicsWe want people with good situation awareness, able to make the right decisions when under stress and we do not want to employ psychopaths…

Not always easy to define and

check, but very important

Reducing Crewing Risk

Define tasks and

accountabilities

Define personality and

competence requirements

Screening for suitability

Screening for suitability

The purposes of the screening are1) to collect as much information about the

candidate as possible2) To match the information with the job

requirementsThe screening will result in a prediction of how the candidate will perform in job environmentBy using proper tools then the uncertainty of the prediction can be dramatically reduced.

Screening methods / tools

Beh

aviou

r

Skills

Kn

ow

ledge

Talent

Perso

nalityReferencesExperience recordCarrier pathPractical coursesTheoretical coursesQualificationsLevel of education/marksInterviewAppearanceKnowledge testsIQ-testsPsychometric testsSimulator tests

Screening methods / tools

Behaviour

Skills

Knowledge

Talent

PersonalityReferences

• Covers all elements• Must be more than just a confirmation of

employment• Need to ask the right questions to get information

about behaviour, personality and talent• Recruiter/Caller must be trained/experienced• Low costs.

Screening methods / tools

Beh

aviou

r

Skills

Kn

ow

ledge

Talent

Perso

nalityExperience recordCarrier pathPractical coursesTheoretical coursesQualificationsLevel of education/marks

• Easy to check – administrative task• Maps skills and knowledge and also to some

degree the candidate’s talent• Can be done by less-experienced recruitment

staff.

Screening methods / tools

Beh

aviou

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Skills

Kn

ow

ledge

Talent

Perso

nality

InterviewAppearance

• Most companies do interviews but the interview is only about checking the candidate’s knowledge

• Done in the right way the interview can reveal important information about behaviour and personality

• It is about being an observer• Need to be done by trained recruiters who are

sufficient mature.

Interview Techniques• It is about observing• Standard set of “hidden questions” to reveal the candidates

profile – behaviour and personality• Checklist right after the interview to capture the impressions

• Nervousness vs Calmness• Organization vs Disorganization• Self-reliance or dependence• Objectivity vs Subjectivity• Humbleness vs Fear• Self confidence vs lack of self confidence• Approachable and open vs. taciturn and withdrawn.

Sobriety Drinking habits are difficult to reveal, ask:• "Do you use alcohol?", • "How often?", • "How much each time?", • "What do you mostly drink?", • "In what situations do you drink?", "Alone?", "To socialize?", • "When was the last time?“• "What do you think constitutes a proper limit for a weekly

consumption?“

• An alcoholic or “high consumer” will never admit his real consumption as he is aware that it is a no-go.

Screening methods / tools

• Easy standardized way of mapping a candidate profile• Results are presented in a uniformed way• The correlation of tests used need to be proper documented• Tests used should be relevant to the position• Recruiters must understand how to read the tests.

Beh

aviou

r

Skills

Kn

ow

ledge

Talent

Perso

nality

Knowledge testsIQ-testsPsychometric testsSimulator tests

Knowledge Tests• Normally multi-choice tests are easy to handle/evaluate• Most common one Seagull’s “CES-Test” and “Marlins” English test• Multi-choice test are to be used carefully:• 4 choices = 25 % / 5 choices = 20% chance to select the right answer• The questions have to be relevant• The question/case has to be presented properly• Wrong answers have to be plausible• A group of test persons without maritime knowledge scored 50% in knowledge test used

for examinations of mariners in the UK• If the test is not in the candidate’s native language then the result will show a

combination of the candidate’s knowledge of English and his professional knowledge…. This might be ok.

• Candidates who are familiar with computers (computer games etc.) might get a better score

• The candidates abilities to see and hear• Noise, light etc. might disturb the candidate• Should always be followed-up with a discussion.

IQ-Tests• Questions to be answered within a short period of time

• Purpose of the test is to check the candidates ability to solve problems by combining his reading skills and visual understanding capabilities and his knowledge and skills when under stress.

• Examples:• The word, "mineral," can be spelled using only the letters found in the word, "parliament." • If Richard looks into a mirror and touches his left ear with his right hand, Richard's image seems touch its

right ear with its left hand. • What is the next number? 2, 4, 8, 16?• What is the next number? 2, 4, 8, 32, 40, 64, 128, 256, 1024? (1280)• Which one of the five choices makes the best comparison? PEACH is to HCAEP as 46251 is to:

25641 26451 12654 51462 15264• Which larger shape would be made if the two sections are fitted together

IQ-Tests

• A lot of tests around• Should not be multi-choice (yes/no – 50%)• Many test favours candidates with good

mathematical skills but questions should include text and images• Should only be done using the candidates

native language• Candidate not to be disturbed during the test.

Psychometric Tests

Map the candidate’s:• Behaviour, talent and personal characteristics• Potential for development• Ability to adopt to changes• Leadership• Most tests are available online• Test must be in the candidate’s native

language or language neutral

Test Example

Test Example

Safety Awareness Tests

Test Requirements

• Test must be intended for the general level of the position

• Test must be documented:– What does the result mean?– How should it be understood

• Correlation: What is the probability that the candidate in real life performs as the test results indicate?

Detailed Correlation

Detailed Correlation

Simulator tests

• The candidate’s skills and knowledge are tested in various scenarios created in a simulator:

Bridge, engine room, cargo simulator etc.

• Behaviour, Talent and Personal characteristics?• Requires the simulator operators are

experienced in looking for such elements• Selection is not the same as training• With proper scenarios, proper operators and

trained observations = valuable selection tool.

Psychometric Assessment Centre• A full day session including

– IQ-test– Leadership and personality test– Situation awareness test– Stress coping test

• “Simulators” are used• Interviews with a psychologist • Detailed reporting• Can also be used as a tool for development of leadership etc.• Company specializing in this Marine-Profile• Used for cruise ships• Some oil majors accept this type of screening as an

alternative to the crew matrix requirements.

Some conclusions

• Crewing risk management could be better• Structured approach:

Define tasks and accountabilities

Define personality and competence requirements Screening for suitability

• Proper screening• Use tests to support the evaluation of the candidate• Off-the-shelves tests are cost-efficient but have shortcomings• Simulator tests – used in the right way – are efficient but expensive and sometimes involve

travel• Psychometric Assessment gives a high degree of screening but expensive and also not always

available and involves travel.• When the candidate's profile is know then pre-joining training (and later training) can be

“tailor-made”, more efficient and less expensive

Thanks