Assessment Center

For a decade, Career Directions has been offering a unique solution to organizations that can benefit from introducing third party neutrality and expertise into a hiring or promotion process. Government, public service, and non-profit organizations find our Assessment Center to be an appealing option because:

• It can help to alleviate internal morale issues that stem from real or perceived bias
• It offers rigor to an HR process that is potentially less than-state-of-the-art because it is rarely used/needed (e.g., hiring a new department head)
• It is less subject to external political pressure and criticism, simply because it was performed by third-party HR consultants and is based on measureable criteria

Career Directions tailors its Assessment Center process to assure the selection of candidates who possess the qualities, competencies, and skill sets most needed for a particular position using this approach:

The Success Factors Template

The Success Factors Template describes the key competencies of the position’s ideal incumbent. These competencies are translated to measurable scales and given weights that indicate their relative importance. The template is created based upon interviews with (1) a panel of individuals from the organization who will interact with the person in the position and (2) “star” performers who now hold or previously held the position.

Assessment of Candidates

Career Directions measures the competencies of individual candidates against the competencies defined by the Success Factors Template. The core components of this assessment are the Assessment Center Activities and the Behavioral Event Interview. Assessment Center Activities are constructed in consultation with the management decision makers. These activities may include in-basket, role-play, written, and oral interview exercises. In the Behavioral Event Interview, candidates are asked to describe past experiences that reveal strengths in the desired competency areas. These techniques are often supplemented with assessment tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the DISC Personal Profile. Before the screening process itself is conducted, candidates are thoroughly briefed on the assessment philosophy and process being used.

Presenting the Results

Career Directions will summarize the results of its assessments in numerical and descriptive form. We will provide decision-makers with either written or verbal summaries of each candidate’s strengths and developmental needs. Suggestions will also be made to help management further develop each internal candidate.

Developmental Discussions

Career Directions can conclude its evaluation by conducting individual developmental discussions with all of the candidates, indicating current strengths as well as areas that warrant further development. Specific suggestions for self-development will be offered, and career implications will be discussed.