ASSESSMENT CENTRES

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Introduction

Assessment centers are advanced selection procedure that offers relatively high predictive validity for managerial and supervisory jobs. Assessment centers are intensive selection procedures that may last several days, in which multiple assessors observe the abilities of applicants in a wide range of settings. Assessment centers combine several traditional selection procedures such as interviews and tests with procedures that simulate managerial work in a job setting (Greer, 2013).

Figure 1: Assessment Centers 

                            (Source: Depositphotos, 2022)

Characteristics of Assessement Centers

An assessment center uses a set of comprehensive standardized procedure in which multiple assessment techniques such as situational exercises and job simulation (business games, discussions, reports & presentations) are used to evaluate individual candidate for variety of manpower decisions. Set of trained observers and techniques are used in assessment centers. Judgments are made by observation of behavior of participants specifically developed assessment simulations. These judgments are pooled in a meeting among the assessors or by statistical integration process (Joel, 2018).

  • Exercises are used to capture and simulate the key dimensions of the job.
  • Candidates are interviewed and tested
  • Performance is measured in several dimensions in terms of the competencies required to achieve the target level of performance in a particular job.
  • Candidates are assessed together to allow interaction and to make the experience more open and participative.
  • Several trained assessors or observers are used to increase the objectivity of assessments (Armstrong, 2009).

Job simulation

A key component of an assessment center is the job simulation exercise, which is designed to be an accurate representation of performance in the job itself. Candidates are placed in situations that they are likely to face if selected. Examples include in-tray exercises and role-play interviews. An extension of job simulation is work sampling. That is giving the candidate the opportunity to perform in the role for a specified length of time (Beardwell, Holden & Claydon, 2004).

Figure 2: Job sampling examples

                                                                 (Source: Pulakos, 2005)  

Management Assessment Centers

The center itself may be a simple conference room, but more likely a special room with a one-way mirror to facilitate observation. Many firms use assessment centers (Dessler, 2013). Assessment centers are based on an understanding of the competencies which they are looking to investigate and use systematic methods for measuring the degree to which each applicant fulfils (Armstrong, 2009). Typical simulated tasks include into assessment centers,

  • The in-basket (Candidate should identify the priority of jobs when he/she too busy)
  • Leaderless group discussion
  • Management games
  • Individual presentations
  • Objective tests
  • The interview (Greer, 2013).


 

References

  • Armstrong, M. (2009) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (11th ed). United Kingdom, Kogan Page.
  • Greer, C.R. (2013) Strategic Human Resource Management (2nd ed). United States of America, Pearson Education.
  • Ian Beardwell, Len Holden & Tim Claydon. (2004) Human Resource management a contemporary approach (4th ed). England, Pearson Education.
  • Joel,K. (2018) Human resources  planning and recruitment, Human resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Derrick WilliamDecember 4, 2022 at 12:44 AM

    Hi Miyuru, Further more, dimension scores represent the ultimate outcome from an assessment centre and exercises are seen as sources of error that potentially interfere with dimension assessment. Jackson (2007) suggest that, because they are summarized across exercises, dimensions are, in practical terms, often presumed to behave like stable traits. Further, Howard (2008) suggests that assessment centres were never intended as trait measures, which raises questions about the appropriateness of scoring assessment centres by exclusively aggregating dimension scores across exercises. Alternative directions for scoring assessment centres have been explored and one of these approaches focuses on aggregating scores by simulation exercise (Howard 2008).

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    1. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 2:05 AM

      Thanks for the comment Derrick. addition to that, because an assessment centre gives the opportunity to observe actual behaviour in workrelated situations, some ‘reality’ scenarios from the company may be used (Armstrong, 2009).

      Delete
  2. Zacky HassanDecember 4, 2022 at 8:06 AM

    Agreed. A comprehensive perspective of how others see them is made possible through assessment centers, which encourages people to sharpen their abilities and put in more effort to meet company objectives. As more selection techniques can be used during the process, accuracy is increased. Additionally, it makes it easier to evaluate current performance and forecast future work performance (Tripathi, 2016)

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    Replies
    1. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 2:07 AM

      Thanks for the comment Zacky. Addition to that, assessment centres are based on an understanding of the competencies they are trying to investigate and use systematic methods for measuring the degree to which each applicant fulfils them (Armstrong, 2009).

      Delete
  3. Romeda WijewardeneDecember 5, 2022 at 10:40 PM

    Agreed Miyuru. In addition to this, double-dipping occurs when considerations concerning promotion or retention in a circumstance like downsizing are made using data from a developmental Assessment Centers (AC’s) and there are several reasons to refrain from this behavior (Kolk, et al., 2004). This use of data might expose the company to legal issues (Thornton, et al., 2006). The outcomes will be an employee's usual performance rather than their maximal performance since individuals in a developmental AC's may be more ready to make mistakes in order to learn from them (Jones & Whitmore, 2000).

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    Replies
    1. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 2:08 AM

      Thanks for the comment Romeda. Addition to that, assessment centres also give candidates a better feel for the organization and its values so that they can decide for themselves whether or not they are likely to fit (Armstrong, 2009).

      Delete
  4. Vidura YahampathDecember 6, 2022 at 6:32 AM

    Good Introduction on Assessment Centers Miyuru. I would further like to explain on how this functions. Assessment centers are events used to evaluate the skills or personal capabilities of participants. All participants take part in a number of assessment exercises such as business simulations, interviews, psychometric tests and questionnaires. Several assessors, usually managers two grades above the participants, take part in the assessment center observing and evaluating candidates′ performance on at least one exercise. A competency framework describing high and low performance in behavioral terms means that evaluations are carried out against a standardized template.

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    Replies
    1. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 2:11 AM

      Thanks for the valuable comment Vidura. It is so informative. In addition to that, the ability of assessment centres to predict how well someone will perform (predictive validity) is lower than that of intelligence tests combined with structured interviews. Assessment centres are expensive and time-consuming and their use tends to be restricted to large organizations for managerial positions or for graduates (Armstrong, 2009).

      Delete
  5. Anna LeeApril 29, 2025 at 6:42 AM

    his was an excellent read! The information was clear, detailed, and perfectly structured. I truly appreciate the effort and depth you put into explaining the topic. Excited to see more valuable content from you soon
    IT Staff Augmentation company

    ReplyDelete

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