Seats champion motor racing team uses its head to get into pole position

SEAT is using personality and aptitude tests, developed by SHL to accelerate its driver selection and development programme. This process is aimed at ensuring that SEAT selects the best racing talent for the track.

Budding Michael Schumachers competing for a place in SEAT Sport UKís touring car team will undergo comprehensive assessments that analyse behaviour, personality and thinking skills. The drivers are then put through their
paces at the Holiday Inn SEAT Cupra Championship, with the winner becoming a fully paid racing driver with SEAT Sport UK in 2005.

New recruits are tested using SHLís Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ), one of the worldsí most widely used personality questionnaires which
is proven to predict job-related performance. Their profiles are then compared to those of successful drivers like Jason Plato. This not only highlights drivers with potential to win championships, but it also gives
important insight into the individualís risk taking behaviour, how they perform under pressure and their motivations. The detailed psychological profile feeds into a tailored development programme, designed for the driver
by Kingswood Consulting, an assessment and development consultancy.

Judith Wardell, managing consultant for Kingswood Consulting who works closely with the drivers commented: We know from experience that thereís no
single personality that spells success on the circuit - weíre not trying to develop clones - but there are certain characteristics that successful drivers share. By using SHLís personality and ability tests we can spot those that have real potential. We will use the results to develop a
tailored support programmes that are designed to maximise driversí chances of success.

Kevin Kerrigan, managing director SHL UK added, Motor racing is a high-risk sport. When you consider how much is at stake - from the safety of the driver to the prize money - itís crucial that the team field the best
person. But íbestí isnít necessarily the most technically advanced driver; the íbestí person must also have the right temperament to really succeed.

Weíve already seen football teams borrowing boardroom-techniques for the pitch, with the likes of AC Milan using psychometric assessments, and now weíre seeing it spread to business-savvy motor-racing teams. The use of
objective methods to identify characteristics in employees that directly contribute to the success of a company will ultimately boost the performance of the organisation as a whole. Improving the bottom-line is something that
should be just as important to a racing team manager as a blue-chip CEO.

www.shl.com.