Assessment Centre Tips

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I’m going to keep this really simple. Assessment Centres are a really useful way of recruiting a large number of similar vacancies. I’ve been running them for years and I have penned my 15 top tips for organising them:

  1. Design your Assessment Centre so that you hire people who will deliver your business goals. You’d be surprised how many organisations don’t factor business goals into their assessment centre.
  2. Present and market the job and the business to candidates. They will need a good understanding of the role on offer, the company vision, targets and how the business operates……and your business goals!
  3. You can use social media options to give them an understanding of your business or even better, produce a company recruitment video.
  4. Map out the competencies required for each role….. in advance. Decide on the activities required to measure competence and what criteria you will use to judge whether applicants match the skill set.
  5. Map out and do dummy runs of appropriate assessment activities to test whether your tests do actually assess the required qualities and competencies. Remember that attitude accounts for 85% of new starters’
  6. Consider verbal, numerical and psychometric testing. Situational, creative and technical skills tasks also need to be measured.
  7. Set pre-assessment centre tasks such as a presentation on a relevant subject and advise candidates in good time so they can prepare well. Make sure you set tasks that align with your business goals.
  8. Identify the right people to carry out the assessment and train them thoroughly, including how to record evidence of competency and skills.
  9. Prepare assessment packs and an agenda. Schedule candidates, interviewers, rooms and appoint an organiser who holds all of the resources. Good planning pays off.
  10. Choose the right venue and environment, with enough room for group and individual exercises, appropriate technology and an ambience that allows candidates to be themselves.
  11. Explain clearly to candidates how the centre will flow, timings, etc.
  12. Check that individuals can do what they say they can do instead of relying on oscar winning interview performances. Develop tests that determine whether candidates have the right skills and cultural fit but don’t forget to ask yourself do they really want this job? Or do they just want “a” job?
  13. Organise a wash up session immediately after the assessment finishes, while thoughts are still fresh in interviewers minds, but don’t be afraid to delay decisions until the following day if interviewers want to sleep on their thoughts. Bottom line is, will the candidate help your business deliver your business goals?
  14. Reference check before you offer if you can and give straight, honest feedback to candidates as quickly as possible after the event
  15. Finally, have some fun – like they did in the recruitment video at the foot of this page!

The Assessment Centre is a shop window for candidates and the process is a two way affair.

The company is marketing itself to the best candidate as well as vice versa.

Rejected candidates should leave with a positive view of the process – you never know where they might end, who they may talk to or write about your interview process on Glassdoor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBNbT-OogN4

Ruth is an expert in developing high performing organisations that grow because employees are all allied to succeed. She can help you design and develop your business so that you get the results that you know you can achieve….but can’t quite access yet. She is passionate about sharing the lessons that she has learned with your business. Why not connect with her now on 07976509551.

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