The Saville assessment is a family of psychometric instruments from Saville Assessment (part of Willis Towers Watson). The two most commonly encountered are the Wave questionnaires, which measure personality and work style, and Saville's aptitude tests, which measure cognitive ability. Which one you face depends on the role.
The main instruments
Wave. A personality and work-style questionnaire covering areas such as how you think, how you influence, how you adapt, how you deliver, and how you relate to others. It is available in different levels, and the level is chosen to match seniority. No right answers.
Aptitude tests. Timed ability tests covering areas such as:
- Numerical reasoning — interpreting tables, charts, and financial or statistical data.
- Verbal reasoning — evaluating statements against a passage.
- Logical / abstract reasoning — identifying patterns and rules.
- Checking and accuracy — spotting errors in data under time pressure.
- Mechanical or spatial reasoning — for technical and engineering roles.
Situational judgement tests. Scenario-based judgement items, common in graduate and management hiring.
Format and timing
Wave is untimed self-report with rating and forced-choice items. The aptitude tests are strictly timed, and the time pressure is part of what is measured. SJTs are usually loosely timed.
What practice improves
The aptitude tests. Numerical, verbal, and logical reasoning all improve with timed practice under realistic conditions. For verbal reasoning specifically, practise the discipline of answering only from the passage rather than from prior knowledge. For checking and accuracy tests, practise working quickly without re-reading everything twice.
What practice does not improve
Wave. It is a personality and work-style instrument; the only good strategy is to answer as your at-work self, consistently, rather than reverse-engineering a target profile.
How employers use the results
Typically as one input alongside interviews and assessment centres. Aptitude scores may set a threshold for progression in high-volume schemes; Wave profiles more often inform the interview or a development plan.
Limits worth knowing
Aptitude scores are sensitive to practice and to test anxiety, which is why coaching moves them. Personality instruments depend on self-insight and shift with context. Neither predicts performance on its own.
If you are the candidate
Ask which instruments you will face. Drill the timed aptitude components. Answer Wave honestly and consistently. On an SJT, answer as a competent professional rather than an idealised one.
Where this fits in a hiring process
If you are on the hiring side and want a repeatable read on candidates instead of a one-off score, AI candidate evaluation covers how to make that evaluation consistent across a pipeline.