An Assessment Centre (AC) helps in the selection of colleagues for the right position. A Development Centre (DC) helps in the measurement of competences of given employees in a position, as well as forms the foundation of the development process leading to a tailor-made career-planning. Both methods have a similar build up.

1. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMAND PROFILE AND OBSERVATION POINTS OF VIEW:

Before the actual AC/ DC days, a common understanding of demand profiles is formulated in cooperation with the company’s employees.

It is very important for us to understand not only the required skills in the given positions, but the expectations set to leaders. We make interviews with HR specialists and future possible managers too. It is important to clarify what a given competence means in the role, when is it done properly and what exact competences are needed for it. During the interviews and job analysis, we fine tune this, while collaborating with the customer.

2. PROGRAMME PLANNING

Based on the demand profiles, our consultants prepare the list of processes enabling observers to have the best possible output from the day. Our goal is to have the most accurate picture of an applicant’s skills and competences needed for the job. We can have this data collected through modelling life-like situations. In the end, the inputs collected will be observed and compared to the criteria.

Closely collaborating with our customers, we customize the AC/DC processes each time to match the given organisation’s unique features, as well as to match the competences needed in the role advertised.

3. PREPARATION OF OBSERVERS

Another important feature of an AC/DC is that besides the presence of the consultants, there are observers from the management and HR department of the given company too. They are prepared for this role before the process starts. This makes sure that the client’s special needs are truly met during the AC/DC processes.

There is a short theoretical introduction during the preparation phase of the work, later the observers are introduced to the processes of the AC/DC, as well as to the observation criteria and their behavioural forms. The most important forms of feedback giving is learnt. This helps the applicants in their development paths too.

4. The day of AC/DC

The day of the AC/DC is run by two consultants. One of them is responsible to run and facilitate the day, the other one is responsible for helping the work of the observers, and to summarize all observation criteria inputs.

At the end of the day, the 2 consultants and the 2-3 internal observers have an evaluation conference. Here they discuss their findings: each applicant is evaluated from a strength and areas to improve point of view. In case of an AC, they give propositions for employing the selected people.

At the closing section of the programme, participants receive feedback on their performance, the observation criteria, and they can also react on the feedbacks provided. The framework of this discussion is the so-called feedback interview, and it has a pre-defined protocol. The intention of these personal talks is to provide direct feedback to participants. During this discussion, personal strengths and areas to improve are expressed and a path forward is also defined.

ADVANTAGE OF AC/DC

AC helps in the prudent selection of key leaders and colleagues playing an important role in the future efficiency of the organisation.

• From the job’s point of view, it measures the skills and personality structure of the applicants.
• From all the well-known selection methodologies, it provides the most accurate forecast.

USE OF AC/DC

It is primarily used in leadership and management roles. It can also be a great selection tool for positions where interpersonal competences contribute a lot to the success of the role. An Assessment Center is more efficient to rely on than the other, traditionally more used methods. The reliability of the evaluating methods are the following:

• Interview: 0-25%
• Performance tests: 10-30%
• Intelligence tests: 20-30%
• Personality tests: 20-40%
• Situational games: 20-40%
• Assesment Center: 40-75%

AC provides accurate answers for questions like:

• what human and intellectual capacity does the company have on the given scope,
• what kind of development is needed on an individual basis,
• who are the ones that are relevant when it comes to internal career paths,
• who are the ones who are not yet ready for a move.

Use of DC:

• in case of decisions on promotion
• internal selection programme (talent programme)
• early survey of talents
• mapping of subjects for development
• organisational planning
• career development
• promotion
• skills development in groups, etc.

Participants of the AC /DC get a very precious reward for their participation: open-minded and objective evaluation of their performance. They not only get a realistic picture of their talent, they are also provided with information on their areas to improve. It can also be revealed if their current job is not optimal for the participants. This could be a painful moment to be confronted with, yet in the long-run it is extremely useful since it can prevent any further failures happening. Even more, skills and competences could surface that are valuable in other roles in the company.

• Compared to a regular 1-1,5-hour long interview, observers will have 6-12 hours of experience of the applicants.
• Several observers measure the same criteria. By comparing their findings, an objective picture can be seen of the performance of applicants.

...and what is there for the organisation?

• Preparation of an AC/DC is an efficient leadership training both for the observers and the participants.
• Observers can use the observation criteria system learnt during the preparation trainings well in their regular performance management meetings with their colleagues.

METHODS WE USE DURING AC/DC

AC/DC programmes usually have the following parts (customized based on needs):

• Fact finding processes
• Situation exercises
• Meeting your direct report, meeting your boss in a conflicting situation
• Group exercises,
• Individual presentation tasks
• Personality and attitude questionnaires
• Competence-based interviews

Feedback: the AC/DC finishes with an individual, face-to-face feedback session. The participant gets feedback on his performance during the day, he also gets to know the observation criteria, and he can also react on the inputs he has received. The framework of this discussion is the so-called feedback interview, and it has a pre-defined protocol. The intention of these personal talks is to provide direct feedback to participants. During this discussion, personal strengths and areas to improve are expressed and a path forward is also defined.