PROFESSIONAL GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSMENT CENTERS An Overview

Presented By:
Arijit Ray Astha Gupta Divyadweep Kar Megha Madan Ria George Sanjukta Mukherjee Souvik Ghosh

PURPOSE
To establish professional guidelines and ethical considerations for users of the assessment center method. These will provide Guidance to industrial/organizational psychologists, organizational consultants, HRM specialist and generalists, and others who design and conduct assessment centers Information to managers deciding whether or not to institute assessment center methods Instruction to assessors serving on the staff of an assessment center Guidance on the the use of technology in assessments

Evolution of the Guidelines

1975

First guidelines Concerns of early practitioners that the method needed standard guidelines

1979
1989

Further definitions, clarification of impact on organizations Expanded guidelines on training, additional information on validation

Streamlining of procedure to make it shorter and cheaper Assessment centers didnt work as originally thought by the proponents and the previous guidelines were too ambiguous

2000

More than a decade had passed after 1989 Technology had to be integrated with the assessment methods and some concepts needed specific definition

2006 2009

Formulation of guidelines on global assessment centers Expansion of guidelines on assessor training

Use of technology in assessment center practices Recognition of methodological differences among assessment centers used for different purposes

Assessment Center Methodology

Pooling of judgments or Statistical Integration

Trained observers and techniques

Judgments about behaviour

Methods should be validated against professionally accepted standards

Evaluation of the assessees performance on the dimensions

Essential Elements
Job Analysis/Competency Modeling
To determine the dimensions important for job success and to be measured in the assessment center Must result in clearly specified categories of behaviour that can be observed during the assessment procedures

Behavioral Classification

Behaviours displayed by participants must be classified into meaningful and relevant categories For eg. Attributes, characteristics, aptitudes, qualities, skills, etc.

Assessment Techniques

Must be designed to evaluate the dimensions determined by the job analysis Developers should link behaviours to dimensions to assessment techniques

Multiple Assessments

Includes tests, interviews, questionnaires and simulations. Techniques are pre-tested to ensure that they provide reliable, objective and relevant behavioral information.

Simulations

Exercise designed to elicit behaviors related to dimensions of performance on the job requiring the participants to respond behaviorally Assessment center designers should also be careful to design exercises that reliably elicit a large number of dimension-related behaviors.

Assessors

Multiple assessors must be used to observe and evaluate each assessee The maximum ratio of assesses to assessors is a function of several variables, including the type of exercises used, the dimensions to be evaluated, the roles of the assessors, the type of integration carried out, the amount of assessor training, the experience of the assessors, and the purpose of the assessment center.

Assessor Training

Assessors must receive thorough training Need to demonstrate performance that meets the Assessor Training guidelines

Recording Behaviour and Scoring

Systematic procedure must be used by assessors to record behavioral observations accurately Technology-based tools used for scoring processes should be evaluated for reliability and accuracy

Data Integration

Each individuals behaviours are integrated, based on pooled information from assessors or statistical integration Process used should be in accordance to professionally accepted standards.

Assessment Center Policy Statement

Use of Data Qualification of Consultants Objective

Assessees

Assessors

Validation

Legal Context

Assessor Training
Dimensions Classification of behaviour Exercise content Design Assessor Assessment Program

Training Content

Training Length

Performance Guidelines and Certifications

For the assessor contingent To ensure quality results

Currency of Training and Experience

Refresher courses due to lack of practice or experience

Informed Participation
Objective

Selection
Choices Staff Materials

Results Feedback Development Alignment Reassessment Access Contact

Should meet both professional and legal standards

Validation Issues
Emphasis on sound validation research Predictive Validity

Purposes of Assessment Centers

To predict future behaviour for decision making

Personnel Decision
To diagnose development needs
Emphasis on reliable and valid overall assessment rating

Diagnostic
Reliable and valid dimension scores

Developmental
Multiple points of feedback Repeated practice to track improvement

To develop candidates on dimensions of interest

Rights of the Participant

Receive feedback and recommendations Right to read any formal report on his performance
Ratings of dimensions recommendations available on request

To be informed what records and data are being collected, maintained and used

Consent has to be given in case of results being used for other purposes

Assessment Centers across Cultural Context

Performance Criteria Feedback Process

Training in Behavioral Observation

Customized
Criteria for occupational success Exercise Assessor Training

Behavioral Observation

Standardized

Classification of Behaviour

Systematic process of Integrating evaluations