ASSESSMENT CENTRES

Is a technique used in the selection of candidates for a job in an organisation .Most

businesses ranching from larger organisations and increasing number of medium sized
companies uses assessment centres as the final stage of recruitment of graduates on to
graduate schemes and students on to placement schemes. It is mostly used to help
determine which employees have the potential to be promoted into management positions.
Lasting from half a day to three days , assessment centres involve individual and group
exercises to assess skills and competencies that are hard to judge from interviews alone
such as;
interpersonal skills such as teamwork, leadership, social awareness listening and public
speaking .
Problem solving , analytical skills , prioritising , decision making , planning , working under
pressure and commercial awareness.
Assessment centres employs a variety of techniques and multiple observers in a close
setting. They often combine traditional assessments such as interviews and psychological
tests with stimulation exercises including in basket which is (the provision of candidates
with a series of items that might be found in an inbox and ask them to indicate actions that
would be taken) or leaderless group put several candidates in a group setting with a task to
complete. Trained ratters would review each candidates performance in each exercise and
provide scores. Based on the analysis of the skills and competencies for the job in question.
Exercises for the candidates are selected in order to review information regarding the
required qualities and attributes.
Assessment centres have been shown to be useful for hiring employees because they are
valid predictors of employee job performance that is scores in the assessment centres are
related to job performance.
Employees believe assessment centres to be the most accurate means of recruiting the right
people for their vacant jobs. At an assessment centre, candidates are usually marked
objectively in terms of highly structured competencies. The tasks they are asked to perform
usually reflect the work they will be doing if hired and consequently their ability to perform
the job in question.
The group aspect allows assessors to find out about candidates key personality traits such as
how well suited candidates are with working with other people. Being invited to an
assessment centre means the employer already knows that you have many of the qualities
they require and you have got a good chance of a job offer thus you will be assessed against
how you personally do, not in competition with the other candidates there. One assessment
centre can result in several job offers if the candidates are good, or none if no-one
impresses.
Usually several assessors can monitor performance throughout the course of the
assessment which can last anything from a few hours to several days. Some organisations
uses assessment centres after an initial interview to see how candidates will react in
situations that might occur in the role they applied for.
Example
If one has applied for a management role in a customer call centre, you would likely to
through role playing scenarios where you would have to manage an unhappy customer over
the phone. You might be tested on your ability to multitask or your ability to lead a virtual
team and you might be asked to come up with a plan detailing how you would increase
customer satisfaction with each call.
Alternatively, if one is applying for an IT position, he might go through several
troubleshooting scenarios. The organisation might also test ones ability to coach non-profit
professionals and assess his ability to solve problems effectively.
Why organisations use assessment centres
1) This testing enables the organisation to see how an applicant would react in an
environment similar to the one that he would be working in. This tasks, activities and
problem scenarios faced by the applicant should be real life situations.
2) Assessment centres are useful for screening groups of potential candidates all at one
time.
3)This process benefit the applicant because going through this sort of assessment helps
one to get a good sense of knowledge and skills that will be needed. It also serves as a
realistic job review which allows one to see whether they are likely going to enjoy the
work and the organisational culture. One can then decide on whether the applicant and the
organisation will be a good fit.
Why hold assessment centres
1) They are one of the most reliable markets of assessing candidates.
2) They are generally accepted as a fair method of selection, providing equal opportunities
for all candidates and selecting on merit.
3) They are designed to provide selectors with as much information as possible about
candidates.
4) They assess what candidates will actually do if selected not just how good they are at
interview.
5) They offer a thorough in-depth assessment for the candidates even if rejected after a
selection centre and they will feel that they had a fair chance to show what they can do.
Preparations
The good news is that the recruiter usually tells the applicant in advance about the
competences and the skills that the organisation is looking for. This means that the
applicant can do several things to prepare.
Assessment Activities
The assessment activities will vary depending on the organisation role being applied for.
Some of the activities are stated as follows;
i) Psychometric tests
ii) Presentations and role plays
Iii) Inbox / in tray exercises
IV) Role playing

i) Psychometric tests
These are tests designed to evaluate objectively specific knowledge sets or technical skills
personality, logical or verbal reasoning ability, problem solving or judgement. Fewer
employees now use tests at this stage .They tend to be used as the first stages in the
application process or after you have submitted your application but before the assessment
centre.
ii) Presentations and role plays
The applicant may be asked to make an individual presentation or group presentation.
Public speaking skills should be excellent in order to make a successful presentation thus
they are used to check how you communicate to an audience, how well you prepare for a
task among others. Examples which can help one to develop public speaking skills are
getting involved in societies and activities, being a student representative
iii) Inbox / In tray exercises
One will take part in a real life situation. The applicant will be presented with material or
tasks that he would have applied for. The applicant will then be given time to study the
material and then they are asked to explain or demonstrate how they will deal with such
scenarios.
Inbox assessment can be intimidating to recruits especially since they are given a strict time
frame to complete them. Tackling these tasks will require good decisions on the applicants
part and in order to make good decisions under pressure one has to develop his reactive
decision making.
iv) Role playing
These are one on one session with an assessor, manager or even an actor or there might be
group role playing activities. These role playing activities are often designed to put
candidates in stressful situations where it is essential to think on their feet, this means
staying relaxed and confident, under pressure, listening attentively and practising a slow but
clear delivery.