Expert appraisal of corporate assessment systems

Today many organizations have established their own Assessment Centers. Some companies invite consultants, while others establish Assessment Centers using their own resources.

Over many years of practice we have noted with our international partners that corporate Assessment Centers established by an organization's staff suffer from the same shortcoming. The more a company employee runs Assessment Centers, the lower the quality of the assessment, as the individual gradually stops applying stringent technologies (keeping detailed records, conducting an integral session, including a discussion of behavioral examples, and not the impressions of observers, and accurately storing all materials, etc.).

It goes without saying that the quality of the methodologies is also directly dependent on the quality of the assessments. The tests and questionnaires should be extremely reliable and valid. The exercises should be in line with the complexity of future objectives. In terms of structure, the exercises should reflect the types of challenges that the participant will face if promoted.

Finally, the errors committed during the organization of Assessment Centers may affect the duration of a procedure, the impression of participants in the assessment and the reliability of the results.

To enhance the effectiveness of the corporate Assessment Center at your company, Detech offers the following services:

1. Perform an audit of the employees responsible for the Assessment Centers and offer them developmental feedback. Where necessary train the employees in how to run the Assessment Centers.
2. Analyze existing methodologies from the perspective of their reliability and validity. Analyze existing exercises and provide recommendations on how to use them or correct them. We are also ready to analyze the appraisal forms (the extent to which they accurately identify assessment criteria, taking into account specific competencies and applicable exercises).
3. Assess existing procedures and issue recommendations on how to improve them or develop them in line with the company's requirements. This may include the following:
• Assessment matrix
• Schedule of the Assessment Center
• Detailed description of roles (participant, observer, role player, presenter of the overall session) and a list of actions for each role.
• Algorithm for providing feedback.
• Algorithm for writing reports.
• Algorithm and procedure for conducting the whole session, etc.

These measures will help you improve materially the reliability of the assessments and optimize the procedure of the Assessment Center.