Use of Assessment Centers in Talent Identification and Talent Management

chillibreeze writer — Niranjana Harikumar

The litmus test for the efficacy of pre-hire assessments and selection procedures is of how predictive their results are in terms of work performance, on-the-job productivity, organizational fit, and retention. While psychometric tests, behavioral event interviews, and “stress” interviews have been used as means for selection, very often, these may not provide the most scientific outcomes. This is primarily because the consistency and repeatability of behaviors are not completely captured in these methods. Therefore, one-off behaviors during the process may influence selection outcomes.

Assessment centers
The quantity and quality of information becomes particularly important when using assessment techniques to select individuals. This need is pronounced when it comes to helping candidates understand their own strengths and weaknesses in a developmental context. Thus, assessment centers become a key method for areas as diverse as talent identification, training, succession planning, and management/leadership development.

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Talent management
If assessment results are to be meaningful in the context of talent management, and if they are to be useful in producing training or career plans, then they must contain both detail and richness.

It is clear that merely telling candidates whether they will probably succeed or fail in a job does not help them a lot from a developmental standpoint. An assessment center is not only a highly scientific selection tool but also a robust input for creating individual development plans or critical talent. This is because data is collected over one or more days where the candidate tackles several challenging simulations of real-life situations that they might encounter on a day at work.

Thus, information is collected over a longer period and using a wider range of inputs than in any other method. Hence, candidates selected through an assessment center process are much more likely of being a good fit for the role they are chosen for. Similarly, a development center is likely to be a much more robust and detailed source of input for creating individual development plans since it incorporates an integrated approach to competency assessment.

How it works
The first step in conducting an assessment at a development center is to identify the competencies and the proficiency levels needed for success at a given role. Candidates deemed eligible are assessed through a series of exercises that measure them on these competencies.

Typically, a mix of industry-specific and industry-neutral exercises is used. The performance of the candidates is mapped to the behavioral indicators defined for each required competency. The assessors then sit together for the integration process where the ratings are arrived at using a numerical scale after in-depth discussion and consensus.

How it helps
Candidates are given specific feedback on their strengths and areas of development. Individual development plans are crafted after prioritizing their development needs and choosing the appropriate mix of interventions (training, coaching, and action learning projects). Various modes of measurement are also used to assess RoI of the initiative.

The key is to remember that assessment centers are only as effective as the integration of their output into HR processes. Organizations today are moving towards regarding assessment centers as an integral part of a holistic manager development program. The outputs are also deeply intertwined with other processes such as performance management systems, and succession planning.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in May, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Niranjana Harikumar is an electrical engineer and an MBA in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from XLRI. She works as a consultant with a leading strategic HR consulting firm and has worked for a number of projects with organizations such as Accenture, HDFC Bank, Citigroup (EMEA), Procter & Gamble, Whirlpool etc. She has freelanced for national newspapers including The Hindu and The Indian Express. She has experience in business writing, creative writing and web content writing. She is currently based in Delhi.

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