Running an Assessment Centre

Running an Assessment Centre

Work Out What You Want to Achieve

Using Organisational Values as the Basis for Assessments Start by aligning your assessment centre with your organisation’s core values. These values should be the foundation upon which all assessments are built, ensuring that candidates are evaluated not just on their skills but also on their fit with the company culture.

Understanding the Requirements of the Role Clearly define the role you are recruiting for. This involves understanding the key responsibilities, challenges, and expectations associated with the position.

Gathering Information on the Role and Its Responsibilities Conduct thorough research to gather detailed information about the role. This can include job descriptions, performance metrics, and input from current employees in similar positions.

Identifying Required Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes Determine the specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in the role. This will help in creating targeted assessments that accurately measure these attributes.

Involving All Relevant Stakeholders Engage all relevant stakeholders, including hiring managers, team members, and HR professionals, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the role and its requirements.

Setting Robust and Fair Criteria for Assessments Establish clear, objective, and fair criteria for evaluating candidates. This ensures consistency and fairness throughout the assessment process.

Choosing the Right Activities

Designing Your Own Exercises or Using Off-the-Shelf Tools Decide whether to create custom exercises tailored to your organisation’s needs or to use pre-designed assessment tools. Custom exercises can be more specific, while off-the-shelf tools offer convenience and standardisation.

Using External and/or Internal Facilitators/Assessors Consider whether to use internal staff who are familiar with the company culture or external experts who bring an unbiased perspective. A mix of both can provide a balanced approach.

Matching Activity Outcomes to Organisational Values and Required Skills Ensure that the outcomes of the activities align with the organisational values and the specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes you want to observe in candidates.

Using Group or Individual Assessments Decide whether to use group activities, which can reveal interpersonal skills and teamwork, or individual assessments, which can focus on personal competencies.

The Benefits of One-to-One Interviews One-to-one interviews provide an opportunity for in-depth evaluation of a candidate’s experience, skills, and fit with the company culture.

The Importance of Planning the Schedule Carefully plan the schedule to ensure a smooth and efficient assessment process. This includes allocating sufficient time for each activity and allowing for breaks.

Using Personality Profiling Incorporate personality profiling tools to gain insights into candidates’ behavioural tendencies and how they might fit within the team and organisational culture.

Getting the Best from People

Offering Every Candidate an Opportunity to Demonstrate Their Skills Design assessments that give all candidates a fair chance to showcase their abilities, regardless of their background or experience.

Pre-Event Briefing Information for Candidates Provide candidates with detailed information about the assessment process, including what to expect and how to prepare. This helps reduce anxiety and ensures they can perform at their best.

Welcoming Candidates and Addressing Any Concerns Create a welcoming environment and address any concerns candidates may have. This helps put them at ease and allows them to focus on demonstrating their skills.

Putting Candidates at Ease and Providing a Welcoming Environment Ensure that the assessment centre environment is comfortable and supportive, helping candidates to feel relaxed and confident.

Equal Opportunities for All and Avoiding Bias Implement measures to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates and to avoid any form of bias. This includes training assessors on unconscious bias and using diverse assessment panels.

Giving Feedback Provide constructive feedback to all candidates, regardless of the outcome. This helps them understand their strengths and areas for improvement.

Skilling Up the Assessors

Training Your Assessors and Interviewers Invest in training for assessors and interviewers to ensure they are skilled in evaluating candidates fairly and effectively.

Using External Experts and/or Trained Internal Assessors Who Know Your Business Consider using a combination of external experts and trained internal assessors who have a deep understanding of your business and its culture.

Putting in Place Checks and Balances for Fairness Implement checks and balances to ensure the assessment process is fair and unbiased. This can include having multiple assessors review each candidate and using standardised scoring systems.

Recording Evidence, Discussions, and Decisions Maintain detailed records of all assessments, including evidence, discussions, and decisions. This ensures transparency and accountability in the assessment process.

Having a Fair and Robust Process Ensure that the entire assessment process is fair, transparent, and robust. This builds trust in the process and ensures that the best candidates are selected.

Giving Fair Evaluation and Feedback to Candidates Provide fair and honest evaluations to all candidates, along with constructive feedback that can help them in their future career development.

Taking Things Forward

Action Planning After the assessment centre, create an action plan based on the results. This can include onboarding plans for successful candidates and development plans for those who may need further training.

By following these guidelines, you can run an effective and fair assessment centre that helps you identify the best candidates for your organisation.