An Assessment Centre can be defined as "a variety of testing techniques designed to allow candidates to demonstrate, under standardized conditions, the skills and abilities that are most essential for success in a given job" (Coleman). According to Werther and Davis, it is another method of evaluating future potential of a candidate. It offers an integrated approach to assessing the current and potential competencies of employees and candidates. It is a standardised form of appraisal that relies on multiple types of evaluation and sometimes multiple assessors. An assessment centre can consist of a variety of activities, i.e. interviews, psychometric tests, personality questionnaires and simulation exercises.
Job Simulation exercises are used to evaluate a candidate’s behaviour relevant to the most critical aspects (or competencies) of the job. In other words, these exercises are applied to simulate the actual work environment. Trained observers are used to assess the participants’ behaviour. Judgments about behaviour are made and recorded where after behaviour is evaluated and scored based on specific rating scales.
There are two types of assessment centre exercises:
- Individual exercises for example in-trays, self report questionnaires, self ratings, individual written exercises, aptitude tests etc.
- Interactive exercises for example group exercises, presentations; fact finding exercises, role-plays, etc.
The history of assessment centres
Selecting people based on their ability to do the task required has long been established in the selection of military personnel. There are several examples throughout history, but it was between the world wars that the German Army used the original assessment process to select officers. In the book 'Spies and Saboteurs', by Dr W.J. Morgan (1955, London – Victor Gollancz Ltd), the author describes how a German psychologist, Dr Simoneit watched officers performing a variety of tasks.
Some of these tasks involved certain tests, the forerunners of today's exercises, and the officers were rated on how well they performed and were chosen for promotion accordingly. He started this research in order to gain a better understanding of why certain officers did not exhibit or act in the way they had said they would once they were promoted.
Dr Simoneit's work formed the foundation of what became known as 'An Assessment' in the German army. Further psychological and scientific methods were added to his original work. The virtues of this system were recognised by the British Government and a Selection Assessment Board was created using its own testing methods. American Intelligence also recognised the benefits of such selection methods and added further psychological tests and more exercises to their assessment days (Psychometric Success.com UK).
According to Rao and Juneja, assessment centres methodology is known to have been used or recommended at least 1500 years ago in India. Different methods of assessing a candidate for ministerial positions have been spelt out in the Arthashastra including: observation, performance appraisal, assessment by those who knew him, interviewing, and other forms of testing.
Assessment centres were first applied to business in 1956 by the director of human research at American Telephone and Telegraph (Werther and Davis). By 1981, more than 2500 organizations applied assessment centre methodology to select potential managers (Ganesh in Rao and Juneja).
How are Assessment Centres Different Now?
According to Rao and Juneja, early assessment centres were used essentially for selection purposes since the traditional methods were thought to be inadequate. The assessment centre method since then has been subjected to scrutiny and research much more than any other personnel practice. Because of the high quality research and high reported validity, the methodology finds widespread use in a number of organizations. Besides selection, it is used for early identification of management talent, promotion, and diagnosis of developmental needs.
Why assessment centres?
Assessment Centres are one of the best currently available methods for predicting how well people will perform at work. Besides being a useful tool for external recruitment, assessment centres also play an important role in making internal staffing decisions (Grobler, Wärnich, Carrell, Elbert & Hatfield). The primary purpose of an assessment centre is to improve an organisation’s selection of managers.
An assessment centre can be used to determine a candidate’s strengths and development areas. The results can be extremely useful for aiding management development and placement decisions (Werther & Davis). It can be very useful for developing future talent within the organisation. Research indicates that the results of assessment centres are a good predictor of on the job performance.