Consider the following:

– To what extent would you say that you are happy with the staff you have in their respective roles?

– To what extent do you think they would say they are a good fit?

– Would you say that you have the right people in the right roles?

– Do you have performance issues that you wish you had known when you first hired someone?

– Are staff well aligned well to the work they are doing, and/or the values of the organisation?

If you have any concerns when considering the above questions, it may be that it this is reflective of your selection process. The importance of a well designed selection process, including using properly trained observers, is an area that organisations and managers frequently underestimate. This also often combined with an over estimation the ability to spot a good hire, identify talent and a good fit for the team.

This is not a perfect science and you cannot know everything before you take someone on, however having a well designed assessment process can significantly reduce issues such as cognitive bias and significantly increase the validity of the assessment process. This means in practical terms that a good assessment process can be better at predicting job performance and mean that you have staff that are a better fit for their roles which in turn leads to more engagement and greater organisation performance.

Development centres may be considered to be very similar to assessment centres, however the process is usually carried out with existing staff and the outcome is focused on identifying opportunities for development rather than making decisions around whether someone should be hired or not.

How can we help you?

Having experience of assessment and development centres since 2003, we are in a good position to be able to help and advise organisations on their selection and development centre needs. This may involve the following:

• Design and delivery of materials.
• Auditing the process and providing best practice advice.
• Conducting or designing behavioural or competency based interviews.
• Using psychometrics to provide a deeper understanding of candidates’ potential areas for development and strengths.

If you would like to explore how you may be able to help you with your assessment process, please get in contact.