What Is The DNA of An Assessment Centre – It Is Competencies!!

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Competency-based approaches played a significant role in the effectiveness and efficiency of military operations during World War II. The competencies cultivated during World War II were deeply interrelated with military tactics and strategies for technological advancements, demand for managed logistics, supply chain, medicine and healthcare, etc. The emergence of technologies like atomic bombs, aircraft carriers, radar, etc. during the war played a crucial role in reshaping the nature of welfare. Formal assessment centre started much later

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln defines competency as “the combination of observable and measurable knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal attributes that enhance employee performance and ultimately drive organizational success.” Assessment Centres measure the team’s competency levels. Talent Management plugs these scores into the 9-blocker grid along with performance scores.

Assessment Centre – the key to Unlocking Superior Performance

Organizations have always been trying to find out what predicts better performances, is it Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional quotient (EQ), Cultural heritage, Gender, Technical skills, Years of experience, Education, Certification, or Personality traits.In 1973, David McClelland Harvard University psychologist gave the concept of Competencies and showed how they could be a better predictor of Job performance than IQ and Personality Tests. In this paper, he demonstrated that behavioral traits and characteristics are far more effective than aptitude tests in determining who would and would not be successful on the job or in the area of work. McClelland demonstrated that superior performers exhibit behaviors such as exercising good judgment, noticing problems, taking actions to address them, and setting challenging goals – behaviors that are relatively independent of aptitude, skill proficiency, and experience level. This was the starting point of curating and rolling out Assessment Centre’s

Competence at work derived by Lominger (67), SHL (20). Spencer pioneered competency-based management by developing “Competency Modeling” to determine crucial skills for diverse roles. Their model typically highlights 5 to 15 critical competencies required for each role, as determined through job analysis and expert feedback. Every organization creates a unique competency framework based on their people strategy, which they then utilize in Assessment Centres.

Almost unknown before the 1990s, competencies are now used by the majority of Fortune 500 companies. Today, the world’s most talent-hungry and skill-focused organizations—companies such as Google, HP, Nike, Volvo, and many more—rely on competency-based talent management strategies to help them attract, retain, and develop talent and reinforce organizational values. Assessment Centre’s are a regular feature in these Organisation’s

It’s not just blue-chip organizations that are using competencies. As competency content, tools, and training become more affordable and widely available, smaller businesses are also turning to competencies as a better way to strengthen their human capital. This is because competencies identify the observable behaviors of top performers—not just WHAT employees do, but HOW they do it. By identifying the competencies required for a specific role, organizations can develop a blueprint for success that anyone can see and understand—HR professionals and employees alike. Organizations can choose how much they wish to invest in Assessment Centre’s and they can use one tool or multiple tools.

Finesse Curates Tailor made Assessment Centre’s for YOUR Organization!! We are adept at creating the entire journey from – developing competencies to rolling out Assessment Centre followed by Creating IDPs and handhold coaching Journey.

 

Assessment / Development Centre

An assessment centre is used to evaluate the potential of employees working in an Organization. Potential is the how of performance just like KRA’s (key result area) are the what of performance. The report generated from the Assessment Centre may be used by the management to take the following career decisions for employees:

  • Career development and Individual Development Plan
  • Potential appraisal for identifying “high potential’s”
  • Succession planning
  • Promotion
  • Role Change
  • Allocations of challenging assignments
  • Identification of training needs

The validity of an Assessment Centre is ensured by the following:

  • Each participant is assessed by multiple assessors . This increases the objectivity.
  • There is a calibration exercise where assessors discusses each participant in depth.
  • Multiple assessors, multiple exercises, multiple sources of information, specifically defined competencies and a thorough review and integration of evidence by all assessors,
  • The Development centre is focused on identifying the potential and on creating the development plan for an individual.