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If you employ someone on the basis of an interview alone, as many as eight out of nine decisions can be wrong." Roy Davis, director of recruitment consultant SHL, is not alone in his mistrust of the traditional face-to-face meeting. It is increasingly common for housing associations and councils to follow interviews with an extended selection procedure using a combination of techniques. But what are these techniques, and how do they work?

Role-play

What is it? Interviewers take on the role of colleagues whom the prospective candidate might meet in the job, and ask the potential employee to solve tasks

How much does it cost? Costs vary depending on the amount of people and the range of tasks, but could cost nothing apart from staff time if done in-house

Who uses it? East Thames Housing Association, Reading council, the National Housing Federation

Benefits It is cost-effective and not only does the employer get a chance to see how the candidate reacts in a realistic scenario, but the candidate gets a feel for exactly what he or she will be doing

Disadvantages Time-consuming, since it can take up to a week to prepare. Prospective employees may be nervous presenting in front of fellow candidates.

The prospective applicant will be given a task 鈥� such as dealing with complaints or presenting to a board 鈥� and time to prepare. The interviewer or interviewers will then quiz the candidate on the issue, or the candidate will be expected to direct his or her "colleagues" to solve the problem.

"Role-playing gives people practical things to do and lets them get a feel for what they will actually be doing," says Karen Harvey, human resources director at the National Housing Federation. "They learn more about the job and we can then measure practically how good they would be."

One housing director says his role-playing exercise was nerve-racking but useful: "We all arrived and were told that the interviewers were going to pretend to be the finance director, the chief executive officer and a policy adviser. We were given a fake scheme to do with the job. Then one of us was made the housing director, told to take charge of the assignment and organise the team, assigning different tasks for each person to solve. We did it three times, with a different person taking a different role. It was very good and gave you a real taste for what the job was."

Psychometric testing

What is it? Psychometrics uses multiple-choice questions to measure personality

How much does it cost? 拢40-100 a candidate if done in-house, up to 拢1000 a candidate externally

I am not influenced by CVs or past experience, just what I see. The test helps to check a person you think is best for the job but it feels like there is something not quite right

Ulf Wikstrom, psychometric consultant

Who uses it? Anglia Housing Group, Genesis Housing Group and Knowsley council are fans

Benefits Employers can find out about emotional or personality issues that would not arise in an interview. It's difficult for candidates to cheat as it's not always obvious what the "right" answers are

Disadvantages Time-consuming and costly. Tests, which take up to three hours, can be carried out by a professional approved by the British Psychological Society 鈥� or downloaded from its website. They are split into two parts, ability and personality.

The ability questions test maths, verbal reasoning and logic. A typical question is: "A diagram on a sheet of paper is increased in size to 120% of its original size, and this copy is then reduced by 40%. What percentage of the size of the original diagram is the final copy? A 28%; B 36%; C 48%; D 72%; E 80%." (The answer is below.)

The personality tests involve questions like: "Please respond to the following statement by indicating if it is true or false: aid to developing countries will stifle their development." In a series of questions like this, if the candidate answered "true" to the majority, it would indicate that they were primarily concerned with financial issues, while someone who answered "false" to most questions would be indicating that they were more worried about social issues.

That's not the only way of doing it. A common method is to test candidates after the first round of interviews and then interview them again after the test. Ulf Wikstrom, a psychometric consultant who works with Genesis, tests candidates for three hours, interviews them about the test, and then tests them for another three hours. "The key advantage is the objectivity," he says. "I am not influenced by CVs or past experience, just what I see. The test helps to check a person you think is best for the job but feels like there is something not quite right. They cannot behave the same way in the tests, and it gives improved accuracy, increased security, and a better and more accurate assessment. As a result, the chance of failure reduces."

One housing chief executive who underwent psychometric testing as part of his selection process is ambivalent about the technique: "We sat for three hours doing the two tests. The ability test was straightforward but the personality test was difficult 鈥� you were constantly wondering what each answer you gave would reveal about you. Then you had to spend another three hours with someone who talked you through the test. It was a real eye-opener. He'd ask me why I answered in this way and it was tough thinking on the spot. Then he'd say: 'Do you get cross easily?' and I'd wonder how he got that from the test. I got the job but I don't know how much my personality test helped."

Social evenings

What is it? The company arranges a meeting between candidates and senior staff in a relaxed environment, usually a drinks reception or other informal event

How much does it cost? The only costs will be drink, food and maybe the hire of a room

Who uses it? B&N Housing Association and Notting Hill Housing Trust

Benefits Employers meet candidates in a social atmosphere, which can reveal aspects of their character that a normal interview would not. It also gives candidates a chance to meet directors and chief executives.

One candidate became quite loud and expletives kept slipping into his sentences. Then at one point he fell over a chair. We didn鈥檛 ask him back for another interview

A personnel manager on the dangers of the social evening

Disadvantages Some candidates could get drunk to calm their nerves. Some may be uncomfortable meeting other staff. 

The main potential pitfall of this method is obvious 鈥� nerves combined with alcohol means your prospective employee's new career could be over before it has begun. One personnel manager who hosted an interview at a housing association recalls: "The event started in the morning and took up a good part of the day. We had group exercises in the morning and then a get-together at lunch. There was plenty of food and drink and one person had obviously been drinking to steel himself. He became quite loud and expletives kept slipping into his sentences when he was talking to people. Then at one point he fell over a chair. We didn't ask him back for another interview."

Handwriting analysis

What is it? A trained analyst examines the candidate's writing and assembles a character profile on that person.

How much does it cost? 拢45 a consultation

Who uses it? Although frequently used in the private sector, it has yet to catch on in housing.

Benefits It is hard to disguise handwriting, so candidates can't lie. Graphology 鈥� to give it its proper name 鈥� gives the interviewer a comprehensive profile of a candidate's personality and takes little time to organise.

Disadvantages Costly. Candidates can be put off by not being able to use a computer and the analyst never meets the person so you could argue the test is slightly unfair.

Analysis, carried out by graduates of the Institute of Graphology in London, works on a set of rules that specify, for example, that an upward slant on letters such as F indicates that the writer is level-headed and controlled. The results can be unnervingly accurate.

Graphologist Charlotte Alergant says: "One employer wanted the handwriting of a bodyguard he was hiring to be analysed. He was told by the graphologist that the bodyguard was a very violent individual but ignored the advice and hired him anyway. Then, at a garden party for one of his clients, the bodyguard pulled out a gun and started shooting pigeons in front of the guests."

Graphology can have other uses, too. Alergant was once asked to analyse a letter sent to a council, purportedly signed by several neighbours, complaining about another resident's extension. "I analysed it to see if it was a fake. It was actually very poorly done. One man had spent ages on the signatures but two of the paragraphs were exactly the same. Needless to say, he was easily caught."