Preparation before the Centre

1/ Have a clear set of behavioural competencies that you have identified from people who are successful in your organisation who are currently operating at the level that you are assessing for.

2/ Flesh them out by describing in detail what these look like and how they would be recognised.

3/ Design appropriate elements for candidates to potentially display these competencies but also the prevalent culture of the organisation that you wish to reflect to them. ( i.e. do you wish assessors to mingle with candidates in between the elements, to answer informal questions about life in the organisation, to encourage participants to relax and be themselves in an atmosphere designed to encourage success; or do you wish to create a more formal clinical format with high pressure elements designed to observe reactions in a stressful situation?)

4/ Use different mediums ( 1:1; team ; written; verbal; formal; informal) as appropriate to the role being assessed – if it’s not normally part of what the person would be required to do – don’t include it.

5/ Train line managers (not just HR) as assessors and aim for a 1:2 ratio of assessors to candidates

6/ Have all assessors actually do the elements themselves to give them a greater perception of what the candidates are doing.

7/ If possible, run a pilot with existing staff to get their feedback, and also to give assessors practise in assessing.

During the Centre

8/ Create a clear face-value credibility that you can communicate to all involved - i.e “within this company you will be working predominantly in multi-disciplinary project teams , it is important to us that you can hit the ground running by defining and agreeing clear objectives, a common team purpose, devolved responsibilities, effective communication, and delivering results to the required standards and budgets. This element will encompass all of these aspects”

After the Centre

9/ Always ask candidates for their feedback after the centre – how was it for them, what could you have done differently?

10/ Always offer candidates feedback, if they wish, on their performance at the event, areas of strength and areas for potential development for them Even when unsuccessful in a centre, if people feel that it has given them something that they didn’t have before, (an insight, area for development or confirmation of a strength) - then they will generally feel positive towards the organisation running it.