Assessment centers help select and develop people—but what do their scores really mean?

What is it about?

Assessment Centers (ACs) are widely used to evaluate how people handle different simulated work situations. The ratings of candidates in different exercises and on different competencies are used for decisions on personnel selection, promotions and development. But what do the scores from these assessments really show? Do they reflect strengths (i.e. competencies) that people show across situation (e.g., cooperativeness), or differences between candidates that depend on the particular tasks — for example, a group discussion, a role-play, or a presentation? To find out, we analyzed data from 19 Assessment Centers with almost 5,000 participants. The results showed that AC scores mostly capture how well people perform overall and how they overall respond to different tasks and also to a considerable extent differences in strengths tied to particular situations. In addition, there was considerable variety across assessment centers, showing that organizations using ACs are well adviced to scrutinize their own ACs.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

These insights can help organizations design and use ACs more effectively. For instance: • Give feedback that helps people see where they perform consistently well across tasks and where their performance changes depend on the task • Avoid focusing feedback solely on specific skills across situations; instead, link it to tasks that show when those skills come to life.