20 September 2013, Singapore: Came across this article by Linda Brenner, MD of Designs on Talent, LLC. Listed below were extracted from her white paper entitled "Don't Train Them - Assess Them".
AN OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS
For years, data has shown that companies which report effective and accurate succession management processes were significantly module in turn assesses a number of key skills or behaviors that are deemed critical to the business strategy, and success, of the organization.
Assessment centers are single or multi-day programs which companies typically use for selection and development. Such programs help streamline the identification and rapid training and development of high potentials by immersing participants in a series of simulated activities that surprise, challenge and test. Just like real work does to us every day. Assessment centers have traditionally been used for senior leaders, high potential managers and leaders of critical functional areas — such as Sales or IT.
The most effective assessment centers for developing leaders are grounded in a company’s or a position’s leadership competencies. Each module in turn assesses a number of key skills or behaviours that are deemed critical to the business strategy, and success, of the organization. Participants have multiple opportunities throughout the program to demonstrates their skills in areas such as
- Innovation
- Ability to leverage technology
- Influencing
- Strategic problem solving
- Business acumen
- Customer service
There is no one “standard” or “right” assessment center. The programs are made up of a compendium of different modules or elements, which often include all or some of the following:
- Virtual In-Box
- Role Play
- Case Study
- Interview
- Psychometrics
- 360° Feedback
When individual performance in each module is measured and analyzed as a data set, these exercises provide organizations with objective information outlining trends in these business- critical behaviors: who’s got them, who’s lacking them, and where training resources should be focused in order to drive targeted development for individuals or groups.
Assessment centers provide intense, pivotal experiences from which emerging leaders can learn and grow. After all, isn’t that what we’re hoping for when we pair someone up with a “buddy” or mentor? We hope that during the time with their partner they’ll experience something momentous from which they can develop. But it doesn’t always happen that way; a training buddy might just have the partner help out in random areas and observe unimportant happenings.
An assessment center, however, ensures that a targeted employee will not only experience one significant business challenge but many in a short amount of time. Coupled with post-pro- gram personalized feedback and development, those learning are magnified and the impact they can have on one’s personal effectiveness can be considerable. Further, when the feed- back and development is immediate or next-day, we believe that it can be even more powerful. The nuances and challenges of the experiences are fresh in the mind of the participant, enabling them to recall the situation and think about the specific application of the feedback.
Assessment centers have many strengths: (a) They can measure complex attributes, (b) they are seen as fair and “face valid” by those who participate in them, (c) they show little adverse impact, (d) they predict a variety of criteria (e.g., performance, potential, training success, career advancement).
– Gaugler, Rosenthal, Thornton, & Bentson, 1987
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