{"id":2723,"date":"2019-05-19T19:13:11","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T19:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hr4free.web-romandie.ch\/?p=2723"},"modified":"2019-05-19T19:17:53","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T19:17:53","slug":"how-to-design-an-assessment-center-sample-role-play-exercises-assessment-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hr4free.com\/en\/HR-Department-Toolkit\/Assessment-Development-Center-Sample-Exercises-and-Role-Play","title":{"rendered":"How to Design an Assessment Center – Sample Role Play \/ Exercises \/ Assessment Form"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An Assessment Center is an HR management process that consists in assessing the skills of individuals by confronting them to\u00a0simulations exercises<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0skills assessment tests<\/em>. This technique aims to complement more traditional assessment methods, such as\u00a0assessment interviews\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0self-assessments<\/em>\u00a0with the end goal of improving\u00a0HR decision-making<\/em>. It may for example be used in both (internal and external)\u00a0recruitment \/ selection processes (guidelines)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0career development planning (guidelines)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0– for mobility, competency development, career path, etc.<\/p>\n

Though it used to be limited to the selection and development of the company’s\u00a0“key-people”<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/strong>“high potentials”<\/em>\u00a0(young graduates, for example) and\u00a0top managers<\/em>,\u00a0the use of Assessment Centers is becoming more and more frequent with other categories of employees, independent of their hierarchical position<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Also note that, in some companies, this process can be initiated by employees themselves<\/strong>\u00a0in order to meet their training needs and contribute to their professional development.<\/p>\n

TOOLS<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Assessment Centers (AC) rely on well-structured assessment tools.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>All simulation exercises and role plays contain\u00a0two sheets<\/em>: one for the candidate and another for the assessor.<\/p>\n

1. Prerequisite form (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0This document marks the beginning of the process and is used to validate the candidate\u2019s access to the Assessment Center. It has to be filled in by the HR Manager during the\u00a01st interview\u00a0<\/em>and then addressed to the\u00a0Assessment Center Manager<\/em>. It is the latter who will then forward it to all the\u00a0assessors<\/em>\u00a0before the Assessment Center process begins, so that they may dispose of a common source of general data on the assessed person.<\/p>\n

2. Reference profile with the job’s required competencies (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Though generally omitted, this tool is essential in order for the Assessment Center to be successful, as it will yield the precise definitions of all the\u00a0criteria<\/em>\u00a0that are absolutely necessary for the targeted position (technical, professional and language skills, experience, know-how, personal skills, values, etc.). The annexed table also details the\u00a0tools<\/em>\u00a0that will be used to assess the diverse skills that are required for the position.<\/p>\n

3. Calibrated and validated computer tests:<\/strong>\u00a0Such tests aim to provide an objective basis for the orientation and structuration of the assessment interview, so that it may provide a comparison with the reference grid. Please note that, in order for them to be reliable, such tools will have to be calibrated and validated on the\u00a0population of reference<\/em>\u00a0(U.S. or U.K., for instance) and measure the candidate\u2019s\u00a0degree of compliance<\/em>\u00a0with the test. This is for instance the case with the\u00a0Sigmund Potential™<\/em>\u00a0assessment tool.<\/p>\n

4. Presentation exercise (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0This is an exercise in which candidates are handed out a sheet that provides them with information on a\u00a0<\/strong>real-life situation<\/em>. They must understand it, extract its essential data and analyze it quickly, so as to present a solution to their manager. The\u00a0limited preparation time\u00a0<\/em>should put the candidate under a certain amount of\u00a0<\/strong>pressure<\/em>, so as to be able to observe some of the criteria defined in the reference grid \u2013 such as the understanding of key issues, self-confidence or active listening, for instance.<\/p>\n

5. Role play (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0In its principle, this exercise is very similar to the presentation. The difference lies in the fact that, in this case, the candidate is confronted to another person (colleague, employee, customer\u2026) rather than to a written statement. Here again, the\u00a0limited preparation time<\/em>\u00a0shall allow for the observation of diverse criteria, such as: self-confidence, impact and influence, initiative, communication and negotiation skills.<\/p>\n

6. Questions and Answers (Q&A) exercise (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0This exercise takes the form of a\u00a0structured interview<\/em>\u00a0in which the assessor asks a series of questions, in order to allow the candidate to\u00a0discuss professional issues<\/em>\u00a0related to the position for which the Assessment Center is designed. The main aim of this exercise is to lead candidates to express themselves as much as possible, in order to observe such criteria as: active listening, market-orientation, the knowledge of the job, of the company, etc. In this case, the time pressure should allow verifying whether the candidate answers coherently and whether his\/her level of resistance to stress is acceptable.<\/p>\n

7. Final individual assessment form (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0This sheet presents the\u00a0synthesis of the assessors’ observations<\/em>. Every assessor individually consigns his\/her appreciation of each candidate.<\/p>\n

8. Final assessment form (sample):<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Finally, the individual assessments made at point 7 are discussed in common and regrouped onto the same sheet. This allows gaining a\u00a0global vision\u00a0<\/em>of the whole assessment program by providing a\u00a0ranking of all candidates<\/em>\u00a0and refining, if necessary, the appreciations.\u00a0This sheet shall be signed by all assessors.<\/u><\/p>\n

PRACTICE<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Assessment Centers are not isolated from the rest of the company\u2019s workflows.<\/u>\u00a0This postulate is fundamental, as it shows that an Assessment Center is never an end in itself; it always implies a\u00a0“before”\u00a0<\/em>and an\u00a0“after”<\/em>. The\u00a0methodology of an Assessment Center (illustration)<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is always the same, independent of the nature of the assessment; only the\u00a0<\/strong>contents of the exercises<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0assessment criteria<\/em>\u00a0may vary depending on the nature of the candidate’s (future) position.<\/p>\n

This process should however be deeply rooted in the company\u2019s organizational culture and values.<\/strong>\u00a0This is necessary, in order to be able to write a\u00a0mission statement<\/em>\u00a0that specifies the context in which the Assessment Center takes place.<\/p>\n

Another important point is that the\u00a0reference profile\u00a0<\/em>with the description of the job’s\u00a0critical skills<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(see point 2), may be determined in different ways. It may indeed be written:<\/p>\n