Recruiting for the Behaviours at LUU
At LUU it’s important that we find and keep the best people that can
do the job. However, it is just as important that these people are able
to behave in the way that we expect of all our employees. Therefore
we need to ensure that we are selecting people that not only have the
right skills and experience for the job but also have the potential to:
Be friendly, helpful and supportive towards others
Work with trust and respect
Show innovation and creativity in what they do
Demonstrate a positive attitude
Bring some fun to LUU and our members!
Selecting the right people according to behaviours is a balancing act.
As well as the right behaviours, we also need to test the candidates’
skills, knowledge and experience at the interview stage. However, the
more a skill can be learnt on the job, the more importance is placed on
choosing people with the right behaviours. This is because you can
train skills and acquire knowledge, but it is much harder to change
someone’s behaviour.
Think of your interview, assessment centre or test as a set of scales to
balance:
Skill/Experience/Knowledge
Behaviour
The less experience needed (where a lot of the skills can be learnt on the job)
the more weight is placed on assessing the behaviour. For example, for Bars
and Retail Assistant positions where no experience is necessary, the balance
might be tipped much higher in the favour of the behaviour questions.
skill
behaviour
However, whilst you might have nearly all behaviour-based questions or
assessments, the scales should not be tipped too much in the other direction,
where there is too much focus on skill-based questions and no assessment on
whether the candidate can fit with our behaviours .
Skill
behaviour
Regardless of how much skill is required for the role, our people still need to
have the potential to demonstrate the right behaviours for LUU to thrive in our
culture. Your interview questions and assessment methods should reflect this.
If you need any help determining how the scales should be balanced for
your vacancy, please speak to a member of the HR team.
Below is a selection of interview questions and exercises for you to choose
from. Depending on how your scales are balanced, you can choose more or
less of these types of questions. Or you can write your own. However, you
should aim to assess the behaviours in every recruitment campaign to ensure
we choose the right people for LUU.
Behaviour Questions for an interview
If you choose to write your own questions, remember that you are assessing
behaviours linked to LUU and the person spec not a candidate’s personality
or personal preferences. If you would like assistance writing your own
behaviour questions, please speak to a member of the HR team.
Introduction to the questions (for use in an interview situation)
At LUU we live by a set of behaviours in our daily work. These behaviours
are…... I’m now going to ask you a series of questions relating to these
behaviours. Your answers will help us to assess whether you have the
potential to fit with our behaviours.
General Behaviour Questions (to assess all LUU’s behaviours)
1. Give an example of a time when you have given (or received)
excellent customer service.
2. Give an example of a time you received praised for doing a good job.
3. How would your team mates describe you?
4. How would your manager describe you?
5. How would your colleagues describe you?
Positive Attitude
1. Give an example of a time you have been praised for having a
positive attitude.
2. One of our behaviours is having a positive attitude in your work. What
does having a positive attitude at work mean to you?
3. Tell me about the most positive person you know. What are they like?
4. Give an example of a time where you believe you have applied a
positive attitude to your work.
5. Give an example of a time that applying a positive attitude has helped
you to achieve results.
Friendly and Fun
1. How would you ensure that you give a friendly service in your new role?
2. How have your brought fun into your previous
workplace/team/studies?
3. How would you welcome a new member of staff into your team?
4. How do you have fun at work?
5. One of our behaviours is being friendly and fun at work. What does
being friendly and fun at work mean to you?
6. Give an example of a time that you have gone out of your way to be
friendly to someone at work/in your studies.
7. How would you make one of our International students/student with
dependant/mature student feel welcome if they visited the X
department?
Helpful and Supportive
1. Give an example of a time you have been praised for being helpful at
work/in a team/in your studies.
2. One of our behaviours is being helpful and supportive at work. What
does being helpful and supportive at work mean to you?
3. How do you help others in your work/extra-curricular activities?
4. Describe the most supportive person you know. What are they like?
5. How would you ensure that you give a helpful and supportive service in
your new role?
6. How would you treat someone who had been helpful to you?
7. What groups of students do you think might need extra support or help
from you in your new role?
Trust and Respect
1. One of our behaviours is showing trust and respect towards others.
What does behaving with trust and respect mean to you?
2. Why do you think it’s important for our employees to behave with trust
and respect in the X department?
3. Can you give an example of a time when you have demonstrated trust
and respect at work/in a group/ in your studies?
4. What do you think are possible situations you would encounter working
in the X department where you would need to demonstrate trust and
respect?
5. If you were successful, how would you demonstrate trust and respect in
your work?
Innovative and Creative
1. One of our behaviours is being innovative and creative in our work.
How would you bring innovation and creativity to the X department?’
2. Can you give an example of when you have been Innovative &
Creative at work/in your studies/in a group?
3. In your opinion, what are the benefits of being innovative and creative
at work?
4. Tell me about a time you have received feedback for being innovative
or creative at work/in your studies/in a team?
5. From what you know about the X department so far, how do you think
we could be more creative?
6. How do you come up with new ideas?
7. Give an example from your previous role of a new idea you came up
with to improve a process or service for customers.
Behaviour questions for posts with people responsibilities
1. What kind of characteristics do you think makes a good
Leader/Manager?
2. How would one of your direct reports describe you as a manager?
3. How have you supported your team to achieve results?
4. How would you support a new member of your team?
Assessing the answers
Example model answers provided as per current interview forms, with ratings
as below:
No evidence
Limited
Moderate
Good
Excellent
You should be looking for a minimum of ‘Good’ rating throughout the
behaviour questions for the candidate to be considered for the post.
Behaviour Exercises
The following exercises can be used before or after the interview. There is a
mixture of group and individual exercises to choose from.
Group Exercises
Staff Social
Suitable for: All roles
Resources needed: flipchart paper, pens, paper, LUU’s behaviours
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: With LUU’s behaviours in mind, in your group design a staff social
for the X department to be held at LUU one evening next month. You have
a budget of £50 to spend. You need to agree the objectives, catering and
drinks, promoting the event, the theme and any activities. You have 10
minutes to come up with your plan. Your event needs to be suitable for a
very diverse mix of staff!
This exercise should last a maximum of 10 minutes with 5 minutes to present
back at the end. You must allow AT LEAST 2 minutes for brainstorming ideas
only at the beginning. Any idea goes, all ideas should be welcomed by the
group!”
The 10 commandments
Suitable for: all roles with customer service element
Resources needed: flipchart paper, pens, paper, LUU’s behaviours
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: As customers, we can all think of times when we’ve received
great face-to- face customer service. These are the shops, the cafes, the
bars and the restaurants that we remember and would visit again and the
ones we wouldn’t!
In your teams, we’d like you to brainstorm as many examples of excellent
customer service as you can. You then need to agree on your top 3
favourite places in Leeds for excellent customer service and the reasons why
you have chosen them.
You should now have gathered lots of ideas about what it takes to give great
customer service. With LUU’s behaviours in mind, agree between you ‘10
commandments’. These are a list of 10 do’s and don’ts for LUU staff to live by
in our X department to ensure that we’re known for our excellent service for
our members.
You will need to present back your top 3 places and your ten
commandments to the assessors.
This exercise should last a maximum of 10 minutes with 5 minutes to present
back at the end. You must allow AT LEAST 2 minutes for brainstorming ideas
only at the beginning. Any idea goes, all ideas should be welcomed by the
group!”
Bubble Trouble
Suitable For: All commercial roles
Resources needed: bubble wrap, flipchart paper, pens, paper, LUU’s
behaviours
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: You work for Essentials/Cats & Gear/Venues which has just taken
a huge delivery of hoodies/bath bombs/chocolate hampers/etc. Things
aren’t going well - they aren’t selling. You’re now left with the aftermath – a
massive container load of bubble wrap which LUU will have to pay to have
taken away to recycle. As your department is in danger of making a loss,
you want to impress your manager with a great way to save money and
make the most of this situation!
As a group and with LUU’s behaviours in mind, you are going to think of a
possible use of your bubble wrap and sell the assessors your idea.
You must also take into account the different groups of students that LUU
caters for, including



Post Graduates & Mature Students
International Students
Students with Dependants
Your group should undertake a brainstorming exercise. Once you have made
a decision about the best use for your bubble wrap you must organise a 5
minute presentation in which everyone must take part. You can present in
any way you like; we are not judging the quality of your idea, or your artistic
skills, but we are assessing the way in which you interact with the rest of your
team.
Staff Away Day
Suitable for: All roles with people Management responsibility
Resources needed: flipchart paper, pens, paper, LUU’s behaviours
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: At LUU we have a set of behaviours that we all try to incorporate
in everything we do. Using these behaviours as a framework you all need to
come up with 2 activities for the X staff away day in the Summer.
The away day is held in an outdoor space and you have a maximum of £60
to purchase any items you may need as well as utilising any items that are
already in our possession.
There will X people attending the away day incorporating all of the areas
within the X department (e.g. .describe examples of staff roles who will be
attending )
You have 15 minutes to complete your plan for the 2 activities and will need
to present your ideas back to the assessors at the end (please allow 5 minutes
for this including questions).
Instructions for a Brainstorm - for each group exercises
 Your brainstorm should last 2 minutes
 Write up suggested ideas on the Flipchart paper
 All suggestions must be recorded
 No suggestion should be ridiculed
 There are no right or wrong suggestions
 Please let your Ideas be as creative and imaginative as your brains
allow!
As your time ends, you must agree which suggestion you are going to use
PLEASE DON’T GET TOO CONCERNED with fine detail – it DOESN’T MATTER
WHETHER IT’S PRACTICAL!
Individual Exercises
Provide the candidate with a quiet space, a pen and some paper. Give
them 10 minutes to prepare their answers. Ask them to feedback their
response to you at the end of the time.
Busy Day!
Suitable for: All commercial roles
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: Taking LUU’s behaviours into account and using the paper
provided, write your answer to the following question. You have 10 minutes
to complete the exercise.
It is a busy time of the day, and you are currently serving customers with
another member of your team. You have a long line waiting impatiently to
be served. At the same time the following happens:
1. The next customer approaches, and wants help choosing a
gift/cocktail/drink/grocery item (depending on department).
2. A customer suddenly knocks over a display so that product is
now scattered all over the floor.
3. You notice a disabled student member who is having trouble
accessing the shop because of an obstacle in the doorway.
4. A new member of staff requires your assistance to do a refund.
What do you do? Prepare your response.
Team night out
Suitable for: all roles
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: Taking LUU’s behaviours into account and using the paper
provided, write your answer to the following question. You have 10 minutes
to complete the exercise.
You’ve been successful in your interview at LUU and have been offered the
job. Well done you! On your first week you’re keen to make a good first
impression, so when your manager asks if anyone would like to organise the
next team night out, your hand goes straight up!
Write a plan for the night out. The budget for the team night is only £50, so
you need to think smart. Your answer must be suitable for a diverse mix of
staff. It should include catering and drinks, a theme, a venue and an activity
suitable for everyone. What will you choose?
Student in distress
Suitable for: all roles
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: Taking LUU’s behaviours into account and using the paper
provided, write your answer to the following question. You have 10 minutes
to complete the exercise.
You’ve been successful in your interview at LUU and have been offered the
job. Well done you! On your first week you’re asked to pop down to
Essentials to buy some more post it notes for the department. On your way
you bump into a student who seems to be in distress. You stop to ask her if
she’s okay. She tells you she is an international student who has just had her
bag stolen from her in Hyde Park. She has lost her wallet, her room keys and
her phone and international calling card. She is very upset. What do you
do?
Freddie
Suitable for: Roles with people responsibilities
Marking: Scoring Sheets to assess this exercise are available from HR
Instructions: Taking LUU’s behaviours into account and using the paper
provided, write your answer to the following question. You have 10 minutes
to complete the exercise.
Freddie is a new member of staff in your department. Freddie has done a
similar role before at Leeds Met Student Union, so you know he has some
good experience. For the first few months Freddie settles in well and seems to
be picking up the job quickly. You hold his first probationary meeting and tell
him he has made a good start. Then in his third month, things start to go
wrong. You notice Freddie become withdrawn on his shifts and not speaking
to the rest of team. His customer service is also starting to suffer, the other
day you noticed him serve a customer and he was quite rude. What do you
do?
You later learn that Freddie is struggling to balance the hours in his new job
with LUU with his full time studies. He has also had a run in with another
member of the team who is known for being very outspoken and jokey.
What action would you take at this stage?