Search results

The current business world is very different to that in which the original assessment centres were designed 50 years ago. The traditional centre still serves well for selection at lower organisational levels, but nowadays the need is for accurate diagnosis of development needs that include the delegate in the assessing process. Time must also be allocated for delegates and assessors to agree on evaluation of performance and sketch out a development plan. Hoechst (UK), seeking to develop managerial staff to director level, decided to adopt this Development Centre method. The Development Centre is described, and its impact assessed by Hoechst's divisional executive director.

Two forces of change in the field of assessment centres are described — change in company attitudes towards centres and a growing body of research which questions the current thinking on the subject. How one organisation — London Regional Transport — responded by making what appears to be very beneficial changes in the way it runs some of its centres is examined. Its problems with feedback and the general inappropriateness of the traditional design for development applications are examined.

The assessment centre method has received considerable historical attention as an effective tool for management selection and development. The method, originally developed by German psychologists, was used extensively during World War II by the Office of Strategic Services. Refinement of the method occurred at the American Telephone and Telegraph Company during the mid‐1950s in the Management Progress Study under the leadership of Dr Douglas W. Bray. The method found increased acceptance due, in part, to court decisions finding it in compliance with EEOC guidelines. The process used proposes to evaluate the relative strength within an individual of up to ten personality traits using exercises simulating job conditions and events. Studies performed years after assessment show impressive figures regarding the method′s ability to predict management success. Continuing research has shown a use for this method at all levels within an organisation.

Focuses on competence assessment, and its development in the context of self‐management. Detailed case histories are included. Concludes that competence assessment will be an approach adopted by an increasing number of companies.

I begin by examining some ways in which organisations have attempted to improve their recruitment and selection procedures to minimise bias and unfair discrimination, and focus on the assessment centre as a potentially useful technique in this respect, especially for managerial selection. I go on to examine the assessment centre in more detail, including its origins, construction and uses, before discussing the strong evidence for its validity as a selection and assessment procedure. I then describe some recent British innovations in assessment centre design and practice, especially in its use for management and organisation development purposes, before discussing some of my own recent research, in collaboration with Ivan Robertson and Usha Rout, on participants' attitudes towards the use of assessment centres for selection and development purposes, including gender differences in attitudes.

Discusses assessment centres set up during the reorganization of the National Grid Company after privatization. Assessment centres are used to evaluate the skills and personal capabilities of employees. This allows the company to identify future talent, draw up personal development plans, evaluate training requirements and facilitate organizational change.

Development applications of assessment centres represent an emerging and exciting area for human resources practitioners interested in maximising the benefits of such centres to their organisations and the people who work in them. Five applications are emerging: the use of assessment centre feedback, in itself, as a management development tool; early identification of high potential development programmes; use of centres for diagnosing strengths/weaknesses and devising individual training and development programmes; service as an assessor and as a developmental experience; and the centre as a tool for organisational planning/development.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach to talent management that consists of averaging performance appraisal and assessment center ratings for in-depth identification of lawyers’ talents.

The approach’s adjustment was examined using a 61 senior-lawyer sample from a Portuguese law firm. Comparisons between assessment center and performance appraisal ratings were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests and a kernel density function, and predictive validity was assessed with Pearson correlations. Evidence of both a general performance factor and two additional factors was verified using principal component analysis. Varimax rotation was used to verify three broad factors with job profile’s three broad areas.

Results suggest support for the assessment center’s predictive validity. Its lower and more variable ratings overcome performance appraisal rating bias. Adjustment of the new approach to lawyers’ overall talent identification (the general factor) and each lawyer’s relative talents (three broad factors) was observed.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding the substantive existence of a general performance factor, and adds to empirical research concerning talent management, which is lacking. However, generalizability requires broader samples and replication.

The approach is a methodology that informs career management, high-flyers’ identification, talent mapping, development, succession planning, team composition, and diversity analysis. For lawyers, objective feedback allows benchmarking talent and managing one’s career.

This study pioneers empirical research that develops methods for identifying talent in law firms, vital for firm sustainability.

The advantages of using assessment centre methods for employee appraisal at various organisational levels are described, with a detailed explanation of the background to the method. Centres still need further development, and some pointers are given to help in this direction.

Predicting leadership demonstrates how assessment centers can be designed to meet the extended goals of assessing three broad‐based and particularly critical indicators of hospitality leadership effectiveness: the ability to respond to change, the ability to foster trust, and the ability to create inclusive work environments.

A literature review reveals the most critical hospitality leadership needs in times of rapid and continuous change, and supports the assessment center approach as a means of judging key leadership competencies. The steps involved in developing a center to assess three particularly critical leadership competencies are outlined and challenges noted.

The assessment center is shown to be a valuable means of both assessing and predicting leadership talent beyond the scope normally associated with this method.

Assessment center methods can be extended to accomplish the organization's most important goal – preparing for, and responding to, future leadership requirements.

The paper is of value to both academic and practitioner readers interested in leadership development. It provides a rationale and practical guide for assessment center design and implementation.