Senior staff at ITV are to face a series of psychometric tests following the appointment of Adam Crozier as the new head of the television company.
Crozier, who was in charge of Royal Mail before joining the broadcaster, has ordered 150 of his most senior staff to undergo ability and aptitude tests in order to assess their skills in areas such as decision-making.
The initiative is being seen as an attempt to root out shortcomings among staff and to find out where ITV has been going wrong. Although the psychometric tests have already started and are expected to carry on for the next few weeks, it is understood that the examinations will not lead to staff reapplying for their jobs.
According to newspaper reports the results will help Crozier shape the structure of the company and the results will be discussed with line managers and the personnel department.
A senior ITV executive is reported as saying there will be little opposition to the psychometric tests, and it was paranoid to worry about a procedure that has also been used by the BBC.
Meanwhile a spokesman for ITV said the psychometric tests were part of an ongoing programme of investment and development designed to improve the performance of ITV's leadership team.