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Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Assessment and Development Centres

This guide provides a range of information about Assessment Centres, outlining their purpose, highlighting ethical and legal considerations and monitoring outcomes. It is aimed at those commissioning, designing and developing Assessment Centres.

30 September 2012

Assessment/Development Centres have gained wide recognition as a systematic and rigorous means of identifying behaviour for the purposes of recruitment, selection, promotion and development within the workplace. Good Assessment/Development Centres provide the following benefits:

  • Highly relevant/observable and comprehensive information.
  • Effective decision-making, including workforce planning.
  • Added fairness from multiple judgements (versus single judgements).
  • An enhanced image of the organisation from use.
  • An effective preview of the role/job level.
  • Developmental payoffs to candidates/participants arising from self-insight obtained.
  • Developmental payoffs to assessors/observers arising from involvement in the process.
  • A legally defensible selection system.
  • A method of assessment that predicts work performance.

Download the guideline