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ASSESSMENT CENTERS

The Most Effective Tool to Measure SOFT SKILLS


Karen Coffee California State Personnel Board

Presentation Outline
 Introduction:

Succession Planning and Building our Future Workforce  What is an Assessment Center  When to use an Assessment Center  Advantages and Disadvantages of an Assessment Center  What Kinds of Competencies can be Measured?

Presentation Outline
are Competencies Measured?  Cost and other Administrative Considerations  State Programs and Resources  Questions?
 How

Factors Affecting Succession Planning




Age: need to replace an abundance of workers in the coming years Diversity: need to recruit increasingly diverse replacement workers Competencies: replacement workers need the skills required for future jobs

What is a Competency?
A

cluster of knowledge, skills, abilities and other work behaviors that share a common theme  May apply to many types and levels of jobs; however, how the competency is used on the job and how it is assessed is tailored for every job or job family

Competencies Gap Analysis


 Identify

competencies needed in the

future  Develop strategies to recruit future employees with these competencies  Measure the competencies possessed by the current work force  Identify the competencies gap  Develop strategies to bridge this gap

Can Competencies be Measured?


 Yes!  It

is possible to determine whether an individual currently possesses competencies and at what level

Can Competencies Be Developed?


 Possible

to determine the amount and quality of competencies at a certain point in time  Can an individual effect significant competency improvement?

Administrative/Interpersonal Competencies
 Lend

themselves to development  Example: communication skills, willingness to delegate, risk taking, initiative

Personal Qualities
 Probably

do not lend themselves as well to development  Examples: flexibility, willingness to tolerate uncertainty, cognitive competencies (problem analysis, judgment, planning and organization)

What is an Assessment Center?


An Assessment Center is one of THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS to measure the competencies of potential employees  An Assessment Center is one of THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS to measure the competencies of the current workforce, to identify the competencies gap, and to provide a foundation for individualized plans to bridge this gap


What is an Assessment Center?


A

variety of testing techniques designed to enable participants to DEMONSTRATE, under standardized conditions, the competencies that are most essential in a given job.

What is an Assessment Center?


 Not

a place!  Participants are put through a series of individual and group exercises, interviews, and tests designed to simulate the most essential conditions of the job, and to provide an opportunity for observation of key competencies.

What is an Assessment Center?


Participants behavior is OBSERVED by trained raters, evaluated, categorized and scored (if an exam)  Raters pool individual observations to arrive at an overall estimate of potential, or score  Participants are provided with oral and/or written feedback regarding their performance and potential  Training and developmental plans can be formulated


History of Assessment Centers


 First

used by the Germans in WWII  Used by large companies in the 1950s to identify management potential  1975 Federal IPA grant to adapt AC methods for use in the public sector  Today, widely used in the private, federal, and local government sectors

When to Use an Assessment Center


Selection, career development, or succession planning  Most common for managerial or supervisory jobs  Jobs where competencies include focus on soft skills  Promotional process where developmental opportunities are maximized  Where other methods have failed


AC for Selection
 Objective:

provide an opportunity for participants to demonstrate competencies relevant to successful performance on the job.

AC for Career Development/Succession Planning


 Objective:

provide an opportunity for participants to identify competencies requiring further development that are then addressed through a carefully prepared career development plan

Advantages of an Assessment Center


 Comprehensive

evaluation  Valid; better predictor  Less adverse impact  Training effect for raters  Training effect for candidates  Multiple uses  More information for decision-making decision Participants like it!

Inadequacies of Other Assessment Methods


Written Tests: expedient, appear objective, inexpensive, easy to administer, but research shows they are not adequate for evaluating soft skills  Interviews: questions regarding the predictive power of interviews, information about competencies cant be observed  Supervisory Appraisal: opportunities for bias


Disadvantages of an Assessment Center


 Requires

expertise to develop  Developmental time can be lengthy  Requires high ratio of raters to participants  Requires multiple rooms for administration

Disadvantages of an Assessment Center


 Time

consuming  Costs more (time and dollars)  Involves more people  Still somewhat removed from the job  Difficult to administer for large groups  Hard to reschedule (appeals)

Standards and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations




www.assessmentcenters.org/pdf/00guidelines.pdf

Standardized evaluation of behavior  Multiple inputs  Multiple trained observers (raters)  Must include some simulations  Judgments are pooled


NOT an Assessment Center


 Panel

interviews or a series of sequential interviews  A single assessment technique  Paper and pencil measures only  Single rater assessments  Process without pooling of data

Competencies That Can Be Measured


 Vitally

important  Simple, not complex traits  Definable  Observable  Stable over time

Examples of Competencies
Decisiveness  Leadership  Productivity  Flexibility  Organizational skill  Judgment  Problem analysis  Planning


Initiative  Oral communication  Written communication  Managing change  Valuing diversity




How many Competencies


 Private

Sector: as many as 50  Public Sector: usually 5-10 5-

How are Competencies Measured?

 Written

Exercises

 Oral

Exercises

Written Exercises
 Letter

Writing  Report Writing  Proposal Analysis  In-Basket In-

Oral Exercises
 Oral

Presentation  Leaderless Group Discussion with assigned roles (competitive)  Leaderless Group Discussion without assigned roles (cooperative)  Interview  Role Play  Command Problem

Adapting Assessment Centers to Public Sector Constraints


 Industrial

model: 3-6 raters observe 36-12 candidates over three days  Public Sector Model: 6 raters observe 12 candidates over one day  Retains validity but reduces administrative costs

Cost
 Cost

more than other measurement methods  Take more time to develop and administer  A superior process  An Assessment Center costs far less than one bad hire

Compatibility with Other Measurement Tools


Often used with an application review or a written test  The last part of the process for finalists  Use only selected exercises  Administer the in-basket first to determine inwho completes remaining exercises  Administer over time using different raters


State Service Program


Pairs of Departments  Each department identifies participants and a team of raters  Raters evaluate individuals in other department  Generic AC to evaluate 1st line supervisory competencies  3 day model  Extensive feedback reports solely for participants benefit


Selecting First Line Supervisors in California State Civil Service


1998 Report  Competencies for 1st Line Supervisors from HR Manager  Job Analysis questionnaire  Definition and sample measurement instruments  Validity, cost to develop and administer, ease and objectivity of scoring  Size of developmental group  Ordering information


QUESTIONS?

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