What is an AC?
The Assessment Center is a process which is used to evaluate a person’s range of competencies. AC’s involve a combination of selection methods which are given to a group of candidates over the course of a day, or several days. Often, an AC will consist of a series of psychological tests, structured interviews, group exercises and paper exercises that aim to evaluate a candidate on a set of job relevant dimensions.
“An assessment center consists of a standardized evaluation of behavior based on multiple inputs. Several trained observers and techniques are used. Judgments about behavior are made, in major part, from specifically developed assessment simulations. These judgments are pooled in a meeting among the assessors or by a statistical integration process”. (Guidelines and Ethical considerations for assessment center operations: international task force on assessment center guidelines, 2000)
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When do companies use AC?
Personnel selection and assessments have become integral parts of organizational life. The contemporary economic climate has seen an ever increasing level of staff turnover and personnel reorganization and all this often happens amidst fierce competition and a tight labor market. Consequently, there is more pressure now on organizations and HR managers to fill positions quickly and with the most appropriate individuals.
Here is where AC’s have become increasingly popular over the recent years as it gives the best possible indication of an individual’s actual or potential competence to perform at a target job.
The AC is mostly used when an organization needs to recruit new staff and make predictions about the future work behavior of prospective employees. It is also used to make promotion decisions about employees or to further develop potential as part of career or succession planning.
AC’s are most common used for managerial or supervisory jobs although in theory every job can be evaluated using the AC method.
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Where can I find an AC?
The term 'assessment centre' usually calls up an image of a building with several rooms where various seminars and exercises are carried out. This is a common misconception.
An AC is not a place but in fact a method or approach for assessing individuals. An AC is a procedure that combines a range of assessment techniques so that the fullest and clearest indication of competence is achieved. When properly carried out, AC’s have been consistently successful in making reliable predictions of candidate success.
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An AC allows participants to demonstrate their strengths in term of behavior and thinking skills. They do not aim to test knowledge and technical skills. By doing this in a controlled and consistent environment an AC provides everyone an equal opportunity to demonstrate competencies that are critical to successful performance in a given job. It also provides an opportunity for participants to identify unique strenghts and areas that need further development.
Competencies assessed are usually job specific and well defined. Typical competencies are?? team work, analytical skills, leadership, decisiveness, tolerance of ambiguity, planning and organization.
Example:
Planning and Organizing: efficiently establishing a course of action for oneself and others in order to accomplish a specific goal. Properly assigns routine work and makes appropriate use of resources.
Exercises are designed to reflect critical tasks in the target job. A crucial characteristic is that it is behavior that is being observed and measured. The tenet behind this is that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. So if one wants to predict future job performance, the best way of doing this is to observe the behavior of the individual in carrying out tasks that are similar to those required in the job.
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An Assessment Center does not refer to a place but a process. Candidates are assessed either in group or individually. In the AC the candidate completes a set of varied group – and individual exercises that are designed to simulate aspects of the work environment.
The typical course of an AC exercise looks as follows:
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Candidates participate in a series of exercises that simulate on-the-job situations.
Trained assessors carefully observe and document the behaviors displayed by the participants.
Assessors individually rate and classify the observed behaviors of each participant on a range of set indicators using a prescribed performance scale.
Assessors share ratings and integrate the data in a consensus meeting.
Results are cross-compared against the same indicators measured in other tests.
An integrated evaluation report is written to document the final results and recommendations.
Participants receive feedback from the administrator or one of the assessors.
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What is wrong with the conventional Interview?
The accuracy of the traditional interview is generally regarded as low. One reason for its consistently low validity is that the traditional selection interview typically follows no particular structure which renders them highly susceptible to the subjective whims and biases of the recruiter.
Personnel selection interviews are essentially a conversation between a candidate and one or more interviewers with a specific purpose. In many cases the traditional interview produces a selection decision based on a freewheeling social interaction after which a decision is made as whether the individual's 'face fit' with the organization.
However, it is shown that different interviewers are likely to rate the same information differently. Features that are irrelevant for the job such as age, race, appearance, sex, experience of interviews and the job market situation introduce significant bias into how interviewers process information. Even if the recruiter is aware of these, the lack of a clear structure and objective benchmark makes it almost impossible not to fall back on subjective impressions.
Despite the fact that they are typically unreliable, invalid and subjective, interviews have retained its popularity as a selection tool. This is probably because it often serves a wider purpose than assessment, such as ‘selling’ the job to the candidate and communication or organizational values and norms to applicants. Yet it also attests to the misguided faith both employers and applicants have in the casual and unrestrained face-to-face conversation as a proper technique for selection.
While it may be accepted that interviews will always be necessary in some shape or form, it is when a company relies solely on those interviews that concerns over validity arise. This does not mean that the interview as selection technique should be taken to the woodshed.
A reliable alternative is the structured interview, which involves questions which have been developed through a form of job analysis, thereby limiting the traditional subjectivity of assessment. Every candidate is asked each of the questions, or standardized versions of the questions, previously devised. Responses are rated by the interviewer using an objective, behaviorally-anchored scoring system. By removing the subjectivity from the interview, standardizing the procedure, and introducing a direct link between the interview content and job success, it follows that structured interviews have a much higher degree of job relatedness and validity than their unstructured counterparts.
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What can I expect from psychological tests?
Psychological, or psychometric, tests are standardized methods used to assess the personality styles or mental abilities of job candidates. Candidates usually choose between multiple answers or assess themselves on a given scale.
Candidates answer a carefully derived set of questions that may focus on specific aspects of ability or facets of personality. The set of responses from a candidate will then be compared to a comparable sample group of people, also called the norm-group.
Scores on these tests usually require a psychologist or trained consultant for their interpretation and no test should be administered or interpreted by a person lacking appropriate training.
Whilst psychological tests are expensive and time-consuming to design and develop, they are relatively inexpensive to purchase and the financial benefits of improved productivity derived from their use typically far outweigh the cost. It follows that a well designed test can be an extremely valid and inexpensive selection tool.
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The best advice that can be given concerning psychometric tests is to answer questions honestly.
Some candidates try to choose the answers they think will best please the assessor. This rarely works as candidates do not know what range of profile is desired. Also some psychometric tools are designed to detect an inconsistent style of answering.
Bear in mind that if you are offered a job on the basis of your performance on a test in which you have been less than truthful then it is unlikely that you and the job will suit each other.
For the Assessment exercises we offer the following tips:
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Arrive in good time. Show your enthusiasm.
Be polite to everyone - the assessment has started from the minute you meet the first employer representative.
Assessors could be watching you constantly - so don't over-indulge, become flippant or over-confident.
This is the time to show your personal qualities.
Take time to think when presented with new material for group and individual exercises.
Listen carefully to instructions and ask if you are not clear about what you have to do.
Aim to focus on the essential points about the tasks, not every minor detail involved.
You do not have to perform superlatively in all activities. Assessors know that candidates will be better in some areas than others so do not dwell on what you see as failures and concentrate on doing well in the next task. Nobody is perfect.
Remember that you are not in competition with the other candidates so treat them as allies rather than rivals.
Try to stay calm and focussed throughout the assessment centre. Treat others with respect and sensitivity but don't be afraid to speak up for yourself.
Ask questions, join in discussions - don't sit in a corner on your own
Make sure you are aware of the time constraints in any exercise and produce what was asked for in that time.
After the assessment you may ask for feedback whether or not you were successful - you need to know how you could improve your performance.
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An Assessment reveals a series of snapshots from multiple angles of a person. After the assessment, the SRC consultant will organize these shots into useful feedback for both the client and the assesee. This feedback is usually structured along norm-based skill dimensions and factors relevant to the persons success in the target position.
SRC prepares a written report to document the analysis. This report gives a comprehensive overview of the participants performance, capability and personal styles, and communicates the consolidated interpretation of results and a clear recommendation.
Candidates are accustomed to receive a written copy of the results. In a feedback session, candidates are given the opportunity for a candid, respectful account of the results that are reported to the organization. Logistics sometimes dictate whether this feedback can take place in person or over the phone.
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The AC method is not a perfect indicator of success. However it is the single best aid for making selection and promotion decisions. Consistent research over various countries show that assessment centers are in general valid and fair in their predictions of future performance.
Today assessment centers can be found in nearly every country in the world. The main reason the AC method is valid in so many different countries is that it is a systematic procedure for evaluation and not a fixed content prescription. The specific content should be adapted to the requirements of the particular organization and environment. This helps to ensure that what is actually being measured during an AC is job related and culture relevant.
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How does SRC account for the cultural differences?
Amidst the emerge of global businesses, Assessment Centers are nowadays being implemented in an ever-increasing variety of countries around the world.
A question that naturally comes to mind is whether tests from abroad can be equally applied to the Chinese culture. Certain measures developed in one culture may indeed not be valid or reliable for another.
This ‘culture bias’ often happens when a test has not been adapted to the norms and language of the local population. SRC provides 3 answers to the issue of cultural bias:
- We use tools that have a sound history of scientific validation in various populations. We have accumulated representative databases for both western and chinese populations that enable us to directly compare the participants results against international or local norms.
Our tools are available in multiple languages, including English and Chinese.
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