Assessment Centre Design and Delivery Working in partnership with clients to design, deliver and evaluate effective assessment centres for selection or development consultancy
What are assessment centres? Assessment centres provide a highly accurate and valid route to evaluating an individual s suitability for a job, or their development needs. Whether used for selection or development, they enable organisations to assess a candidate s performance using a combination of simulation exercises, interviews and psychometric assessments. Because the exercises replicate the key tasks and scenarios that individuals would typically face in the job itself, assessors can see first-hand how candidates perform against the technical and behavioural competencies required for success. Offering objectivity and rigour, assessment centres provide deep insights into a candidate s competencies, abilities, personality and motivation. This enables organisations to make more informed decisions on whether individuals have the ability and competence to perform the job effectively and where their development needs may lie. Benefits of an assessment centre: l Accurately predict future job performance: make better hiring and development decisions. l Objectively identify each candidate s individual strengths and development needs. l Identify high potential. l Cost-effective process for assessing multiple candidates simultaneously. l Multiple assessors reduce the potential for bias. l Candidates get a realistic preview of the job. l Candidates have the opportunity to showcase their talents. l Assessment process is viewed as fair and objective by candidates. How we can help you The success of any assessment centre lies in the quality of design and the way it is conducted. Suitably trained and experienced assessors are required to observe and facilitate the process. We can support you in a number of ways, depending on your resources and assessment ise. We ll work in partnership with you to provide the most effective solution to suit your requirements. Our services can range from a wholly outsourced solution, to giving you the exercises and skills to run assessment centres self-sufficiently. Whatever level of support you need, you can be confident that we will provide an effective solution, using the ise of our team of experienced psychologists. We can design standalone exercises and full assessment centre packages. All of our assessment centres are custom-designed and tailored to your unique requirements. Our assessor guidelines are rigorous yet simple to use and encourage fair and reliable ratings. 1
Our approach We consult consult design deliver train evaluate We get to know your organisation and the broader context: we ll gain an understanding of the organisational challenges, applicant pools, recruitment cycles, stakeholder needs and use of technology. We seek to understand the purpose of the assessment centre and what good looks like for you. This can include the review of existing materials, competency models and can extend to the development of a bespoke competency model for your organisation. We help you plan effective communications with candidates to reduce uncertainty and fear associated with what can be seen as a daunting experience. We design We take a clear brief to understand your needs and to decide the most appropriate exercises and approach, considering the needs of your key internal and external stakeholders. We design the exercise(s) to the highest standards, so they not only work but also show your organisation and brand in a positive light. We trial the exercises prior to full launch to ensure they re fit for purpose and that expectations have been met. As well as designing stand-alone exercises, we can produce a full package including venue booking and timetables designed for optimal utilisation of assessors. Should you prefer to use off-the-shelf exercises, we can advise on the most appropriate exercises from our partners, and then source exercises if necessary. We deliver Our consultants can deliver the assessment centre in its entirety, or we can work alongside your own assessors. We can provide a chairperson to guide and advise assessors. We train Our bespoke exercises are supported by an assessor briefing workshop to ensure assessors are knowledgeable and confident prior to delivering them. We have a wide range of training programmes, covering such things as assessor skills, assessment centre design and management, feedback skills, job analysis and competency development, and psychometrics. We evaluate We seek to evaluate the effectiveness of our assessment centres and offer a full validation service. This typically involves the comparison of assessment centre results with job performance measures. 2
Talent Q was recommended to Turtle Wax as an effective methodology for providing objective feedback via assessment to identify development needs and contribute to restructuring decisions an exercise that needed to be completed to short deadlines, with senior stakeholders, across four countries and in three languages. From my first phone call with Talent Q I was hugely impressed with the high level of customer service, they listened to my requirements and came back with a tailor made approach which, whilst a first for us, sounded exactly what we needed. Talent Q demonstrated a level of flexibility and responsiveness to assessing people across Europe that could not be faulted and we consequently completed a highly effective exercise hitting all deadlines. The Talent Q difference Jane Mackenzie, HR Director EMEA, Turtle Wax Our assessment centre exercises are true to life. They are reflective of real organisational scenarios and the demands that employees are likely to face on a day-to-day basis; making them highly predictive of future job performance. All our exercises are bespoke. They are designed to fit your brand, set in the context of your organisation and matched to your competency framework. Our design stage includes competency review, to ensure we understand the specific requirements of the roles covered. This helps us to design exercises that will accurately reflect the demands of each role. Clients own the bespoke exercises outright. Through a one-off payment, your organisation will own the exercises permanently. No annual license fees or renewal costs are necessary. We can work with and integrate data captured at earlier stages of the assessment process. With our team of experienced psychologists, you can be confident that our ise will deliver the best end result. All our assessment materials are written and designed to a very high quality, making them easy to understand and administer. This ensures a positive experience for both the candidate and the assessor. We offer follow-up validation studies to show that our exercises accurately predict strong performance against the competencies necessary for success. We re passionate about assessment and have a tradition of innovation, having been first to the market with a number of new initiatives and approaches. We work in partnership with clients and have a refreshingly different can-do approach. We are a global assessment specialist with operations and partners in over 25 countries. We have a strong track record of success and our next generation assessments are psychologically and technologically superior. Delivering value to our clients We take pride in the fact that our innovative and friendly approach has resulted in long lasting client relationships. We are delighted to deliver assessment centres for organisations such as AQA, Bombardier, DuPont, London Ambulance Service, Royal Mail Group and Societe Generale China. 3
Case study: 10F19102012 When a large commercial client wanted to manage redundancies and support recruitment for senior level roles across the organisation, it turned to Talent Q. We designed and delivered an assessment centre that included a case study and presentation exercise, a role play exercise, a competency-based interview and psychometric assessments of both ability and personality. Over a six-month period, we assessed 70 people. The result was an effectively managed restructure. Several successful recruitment campaigns were also implemented, through which high quality individuals were selected, using an objective and fair process. All jobholders were later evaluated using a performance management framework, which mapped to the competencies assessed in the assessment centre. The employees performance ratings were assessed against their performance at the assessment centre. The results showed a strong correlation between the two. High performers in the assessment centre exceeded performance expectations in the job. The client feedback highlighted the benefits they gained from the assessment centre approach and the level of ise that had gone into designing and delivering an efficient and effective process. Applicants felt the process was fair and they liked the fact that they had several opportunities to perform well. They also felt that the process gave them a realistic preview of what the job itself entailed. About Talent Q objective insightful flexible We design and deliver innovative online psychometric assessments, training and consultancy, to help organisations make better, more informed decisions about their people. The heart of what we do insightful flexible Our desire to simplify how organisations use and apply assessment is at the heart of everything we do. This influences the way in which we design and develop our assessments, training and consultancy services. It also affects how we choose to price our services and how we work with our clients. We have an elegantly simple portfolio of assessments, which delivers valuable insight into the skills and behaviours, abilities and motivations of people at work. All our psychometric assessments are constructed with a commitment to scientific rigour, practicality and flexibility. We have a wide range of training programmes aimed at equipping HR professionals with the necessary skills to use and implement objective assessment effectively in the workplace. Our consultancy services provide practical, and flexible talent management solutions. Our ise lies in transforming psychological theory into an applied, practical business context. The Talent Q way We believe we have a refreshingly different approach to working with clients open, committed and passionate and whilst we have a strong technical and psychometric pedigree, we re and practical in our solutions. Our global footprint We work with both national and international organisations, across all sectors. With a network of partners in over 25 countries and with assessments in over 40 languages, we re able to support clients across the globe. insightfu fle innovative objective flexible objective flexible insigh objec innovative Find out more For further information and pricing on our assessment centre services, please contact us with your specific requirements. +44 (0)1844 218980 info@talentq.co.uk www.talentqgroup.com 4 fle tru