In-Basket Exercises

See how people prioritise under pressure.

In-basket exercises simulate a realistic workload and help assess how participants prioritise, delegate, respond, and make decisions with limited time.

Participants receive a set of messages, tasks, requests, problems, and competing priorities. Their responses reveal how they manage complexity, urgency, stakeholders, and operational trade-offs.

Best for assessing

  • Prioritisation
  • Time management
  • Managerial judgement
  • Delegation
  • Operational decision-making
  • Stakeholder management
  • Planning and organisation

How it works in TAP

Participants are placed in a role and receive a full inbox of mixed-priority items — emails, memos, reports, and requests. They must process each item and decide how to respond, delegate, defer, or discard. Evaluators score decisions and responses against the relevant competency rubrics.

Assess practical judgement in a realistic workload.