Echelon's ground-breaking actor-enhanced assessment for job applicants at St Pancras international station

While work on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) gathers pace - focusing on developing the new line from Fawkham Junction to London St Pancras via north Kent and east London, as well as developing the facilities at St Pancras - Echelon Consulting is working with London and Continental Railways (LCR) to recruit, select and train the numbers and calibre of station staff necessary to help build an impressive reputation for customer service and care.

Since having highly developed interpersonal skills are among the most important criteria for getting a job at the new station, Echelon engaged the help of actors from Characters Drama Based Learning Ltd to test the 1,570 or so job applicants. In addition, the actors also played a part in on-going staff development training in customer care techniques for the railway's existing staff.

After initially screening job applicants via a telephone interview, some 400 people were invited to the highly prestigious and conveniently situated Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in July for the final selection tests. There, in groups of up to 12 people, they took part in a half day selection exercise which involved:

· Watching a scene played out by actors Lloyd Campbell (railway customer service officer) and Catherine Hamilton (customer).

· Commenting on that scene as it is replayed.

· Commenting on a further scene - involving a customer complaint

· Identifying irregularities and potential hazards in a photograph taken on St Pancras station.

· Producing a report of an incident.

· One-to-one interviews.

Throughout the exercises, the candidates were observed by a team of assessors. All candidates were told the outcome of their job application within a few days of the assessment session.

"Echelon is also carrying out induction training for the successful candidates," said Echelon's managing director, David Hill. "This training which follows on seamlessly from the assessment process is due to be completed before LCR hands over responsibility for St Pancras station to Network Rail in September.

"Once the new staff have received their technical training and induction programme, they will be undergoing further customer care training - thus putting in place the fundamental criteria by which these staff can be perceived, and judged, by the travelling public."

Hill explained that the whole programme - from recruitment and selection to induction and customer care training - has been devised to allow the 'seamless' reinforcement of a highly professional Network Rail brand of customer service. He added: "We're very fortunate to be able to use such an excellent and prestigious venue as the Emirates Stadium to carry out the assessments and training.

"Moreover," he said, "we're not aware of actors being used in this way - as part of the assessment as well as the training process - before. Indeed, we'll be taking these actors to the Echelon stand at the Customer Service Management Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham at the end of September, where they will be demonstrating their ground-breaking role in this exercise."

www.echelonlearning.co.uk