Assessment Center

Assessment Center(assessment) - one of the methods of comprehensive personnel assessment, based on the use of complementary methods, focused on assessing the real qualities of employees, their psychological and professional characteristics, compliance with the requirements of job positions, as well as identifying the potential of specialists. To date, the assessment center is the most reliable method for assessing the competencies of employees (more reliable - only long-term observations of a person in real work).

Participants are evaluated by observing their real behavior in business games. Outwardly, the method is similar to training: participants are offered business games and tasks, but their goal is not to develop skills and abilities, but equal opportunities for everyone to show their strengths and weak sides. In each task, an expert is assigned to each participant. He records in detail the behavior of his mentee, which relates to the observed competence.

The composition of the assessment center procedures:

• an interview with an expert, during which data is collected about the knowledge and experience of the employee;
• psychological, professional and general tests;
• a brief presentation of the participant to experts and other participants;
• business game (under the guidance of an observer, a group of employees or candidates plays a business situation according to a pre-prepared scenario);
• biographical survey;
• description of professional achievements;
• individual analysis of specific situations (business examples) - the participant is invited to choose a specific strategy and tactics of action in the proposed situation;
• expert supervision, the results of which are recommendations for each employee.

The method originated in the West during the Second World War. In the UK it was used to recruit junior officers, and in the US it was used to recruit scouts. Subsequently, it was adopted by business organizations, and at present, in the West, almost every large company uses this method to evaluate personnel. In Russia, the method has been used since the early 1990s.

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what the "Assessment Center" is in other dictionaries:

The personnel assessment system is a set of several instrumental systems that are firmly connected with the main functions of personnel management: Recruitment and placement of personnel Motivation, compensation and benefits Training and development Work with personnel reserve... Wikipedia

AC- analog digital Dictionary: S. Fadeev. Dictionary of abbreviations of the modern Russian language. S. Pb.: Politekhnika, 1997. 527 p. AC analytical center under the President of the Russian Federation AC Auction Center ... Dictionary of abbreviations and abbreviations

The request "exercise" is redirected here. A separate article is needed on this topic ... Wikipedia

Or recruitment is a business process, which is one of the main responsibilities of HR managers or recruiters. Also recruitment is the main service offered by recruitment agencies. Contents 1 Candidate selection 2 ... Wikipedia

Recruitment is one of the main responsibilities of HR managers or recruiters. Recruitment is also the main service offered by recruitment agencies. Choosing the right candidate can help increase productivity, profits and ... ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Competence. Competence (from Latin competere correspond, fit) is the personal ability of a specialist (employee) to solve a certain class of professional tasks. Also ... Wikipedia

Recruitment or recruiting is a business process that is one of the main responsibilities of HR managers or recruiters. Also, recruitment is the main service offered by recruitment agencies and specialized Internet ... ... Wikipedia

Or an analysis of the regulatory impact (influence), RIA / RIA (English Impact Assessment, Regulatory Impact Assessment, Regulatory Impact Analysis, RIA, German Gesetzesfolgenabschätzung, GFA, French l évaluation des politiques publiques et aux ... ... Wikipedia

Pharmacoeconomics is a new independent science that studies in a comparative way the relationship between costs and efficiency, safety, quality of life in alternative treatment (prevention) regimens for a disease. Complex ... ... Wikipedia

Books

• Organizational psychology. Man and Organization, D. Gebert, L. von Rosenstiel. The book by the German scholars Dieter Gebert and Lutz von Rosenstiel is a complete modern textbook on organizational psychology. The authors consider in detail the motivation and assessment of personnel, ...
• Personel assessment. Textbook and workshop, Anna Romanovna Sardaryan. disclosed in the textbook theoretical basis personnel assessment: the concept and essence of personnel assessment, its role in personnel management, technology of evaluation procedures. Special attention…

One of the stages of passing the competition for a vacancy in serious companies is the assessment center, AC (assessment centre), or, in other words, the “assessment center”.

Interview in the format of the assessment center, what is it?

The assessment center or assessment interview is usually conducted at the final stages, when the pool of finalists has already been determined, and the employer wants to choose the best of the best. An assessment is a rather expensive procedure for a company, and for a candidate it is an opportunity to assess their competencies and qualities deeply and without prejudice. Therefore, whether you passed the assessment successfully or not, the experience will remain with you, which is not unimportant for the next step.

The assessment center can be held internal forces company, or a specialist from third party company(e.g. Ecopsy, SHL, DDI).

Assessment interview. What do we evaluate?

The main objective of this event is to assess the competence of the candidate. Competences are carefully selected in advance, their primacy and importance are discussed. As a rule, 5+- competencies are chosen for the assessment, which are top-priority for the successful completion of tasks in the company. Using this method, you can assess the potential of the candidate, his strengths and weaknesses. This is the most accurate assessment method that gives a complete picture of the candidate.

Then tasks are developed with clear and understandable evaluation criteria. After the assessment itself, the specialist takes several days to decipher the results.

The assessment center, on average, lasts from several hours to one working day, which is exactly how much time is needed for the candidate to open up as much as possible and show the real level of competencies.

All tasks that a person must complete are designed in such a way that, using the example of solving specific tasks, you can see and evaluate several parameters at once.

An assessment center may include:

• Testing, questionnaires
• In-Depth Interview
• Competency interview
• Business games (simulation)
• Paired role-playing games
• Presentation on a given topic (with analytics)
• Group role-playing games with role distribution

Not necessarily all the components described above will meet you during the assessment, often this event includes interviews and business games.

How is the assessment

An assessment is a type of group interview and is similar to business training, where the candidate participates in business games and completes assignments. During the AC, business cases close to reality are modeled, solving which the candidate shows certain qualities.

Consider an example of an analytical presentation

The assessor gives the task, explains what is expected from the candidate and clearly fixes the time, and then leaves the candidate alone. The candidate receives material on the basis of which he needs to solve a business problem. For example, he received statistics on the development of different markets, and he needs to make a proposal to enter a specific market with some kind of product. Or he receives a description of the company's work for the last 2 years, data on employees, a profit and loss statement, and other inputs. He needs to offer a solution that will help bring the company out of the crisis.

After a certain time, the assessor returns and begins to check the result of the work, that is, listen to the candidate's presentation, which will contain data analysis and some solution. And the observers at this time record the information provided by the candidate: how competently he assessed the situation, whether he used the provided analytics, how convincingly he speaks, conveying his idea, etc.

Consider an example of a paired role-playing game

The candidate receives a task from the assessor, which describes the situation where 2 employees are involved: the candidate (supervisor) and the subordinate (the assessor himself can play the role of the subordinate). There is a description of the merits of the subordinate, his behavior, the importance for the company and the department. The manager (our candidate) needs to give him feedback after an unfulfilled assignment that had consequences.

The assessor retires again and gives the candidate time to prepare the interview. When the allotted preparation time runs out, the facilitator returns to the room, and a dialogue is played out between them. Observers at this time describe the leadership style of the candidate, how he reacted to one or another phrase of the subordinate, etc.

Consider an example of a group role-playing game

The candidate receives a description of the situation in which he plays the role of the head of sales for a particular region. Over the past three months, sales have dropped by X%, and he, along with the heads of marketing, purchasing, customer service, needs to develop a plan. The reasons for the drop in sales are clear, there are certain introductory ones. Each of the participants has his own position (plays a role, studies the material in advance), there is a participant with whom it is most difficult to agree, who has a different point of view, there is one who will support the candidate during the conversation, and there is one who will be inert, will not participate in the discussion. Candidate task-end the meeting with a plan of action for the next quarter, with which all participants in the meeting would agree.

After a certain time, which is given to study the situation and data, the assessor returns to the room with other "heads of departments", and the discussion begins.

Observers at this time record how well the candidate understood the situation, how he defends his position, whether he hears others, whether he involves passive participants, etc.

Observers

At any stage, an internal HR can join the interview, who is also interested in hearing how the candidate solves certain tasks. Usually at the assessment center there are 1-2 observers for each candidate who do not interfere in the process and do not ask questions, they note important points, their thoughts.

Observers play an important role in the assessment center. Their task is to record and describe in as much detail as possible the behavior of the candidate during the performance of tasks, they use the NOKO technology - observation, description, classification, evaluation. Observers may be employees of a third-party company that conducts the assessment, or internal employees companies in leadership positions. Thus, managers have the opportunity to get to know the candidate before his employment.

In-Depth Interview

Often, at the request of the company, an in-depth interview is conducted at the assessment. AC can begin with it. Such an interview is conducted by an independent specialist - a psychologist or even a psychiatrist. The result of such a conversation is the psychological portrait of the candidate. The assessment center is a stressful, but very effective method of assessment that benefits not only the company, but also the candidate.

Competency interview

It is a structured conversation, one on one. Distinctive features are tight time frames, clarifications, attention to detail.

Evaluation and feedback

At the end of the AC, the observers and the facilitator discuss the behavior of the candidate and give marks. This process negates the risk of subjective assessment, allows you to accurately assess the qualities and potential of a person.

After the scores are summarized, the assessment company provides a written report on the candidate to internal HR, and after that the candidate receives feedback.

The assessment center as a method of personnel assessment is successfully used in large companies around the world. The technology of the method allows for a deep assessment of the professional abilities, skills and personal qualities of employees and predicts their effectiveness in labor activity. This assessment technique is the key to the successful functioning of the enterprise.

From the article you will learn:

Principles and tasks of the Assessment Center

Applying Assessment Center, you can successfully make the right arrangement among the company's personnel. As a rule, the main tasks of the method include:

providing the enterprise with well-coordinated and competent personnel;

diagnosing employees in terms of their development needs;

encouragement of personnel to self-development;

accurate estimate professional qualities managers and other professionals;

optimization of the management function of the enterprise;

formation of a personnel reserve;

identification of employees capable of becoming leaders, and clarification of a program for their further promotion and development.

Principles of the Assessment Center as a method of personnel assessment

The assessment center as a way of assessing personnel has its own rules and principles. For a competent analysis using this method, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate as much as possible the factors that can affect the outcome of the test. To do this, minimize the ability of employees to behave in a way that pleases the expert.

All exercises and tests must contain clear instructions with predetermined rules of conduct and procedures. When conducting an assessment using the Assessment Center method, it is impossible to stop the subjects in the process of completing the task and change it to another. All employees undergoing assessment must be given the same conditions and equal opportunities to demonstrate their skills and abilities.

Read also related articles:

Conducting an Assessment Center

Before carrying out personnel assessment using the Assessment Center method, it is necessary to draw up a successful profile for each position. To do this, experts, together with management, determine what competencies, that is, the ability to solve professional problems, an employee should have.

For example, for a middle management position, the key competencies would be:

ability to make decisions;

positive impact on staff;

self-organization.

Any position has a whole set of competencies that an employee must have in order to successfully work in this place. Each competency in the assessment is a scale with detailed description. The Assessment Center method allows you to clarify at what phase of development each of the given abilities is in the subject.

Usually, the Assessment Center takes several days. It is advisable to divide the assessment into several stages in order to obtain more complete and reliable information.

In the process of the Assessment Center several methods are used:

• business game;
• testing;
• interview.

A business game is a simulated situation, which is the basis of the AC method. The game is played in front of specially trained observers. The conditions for analysis here can be, for example, negotiations, work to attract customers, etc.

Interviewing and testing after playing out business cases will help to unite the assessments of the experts, and the final result will be as accurate as possible.

Assessment by the Assessment Center method

During the Assessment Center, experts assess the apparent behavior of the subjects: how the employee behaves in a particular situation at work and how effective his actions are.

In this case, the assessment of experts should be:

1. independent;
2. complex;
3. unambiguous and understandable.

For each position, the so-called success profile with its own scale is predetermined, in most cases for analysis a 5-point scale is used. The most commonly used criteria are:

• emotionality;
• intellectuality;
• self-esteem;
• communication;
• leadership skills.

On a 5-point scale, the indicators will be as follows:

score- absolute incompetence – the employee is irresponsible, does not feel the desire to develop and change;

points- temporary incompetence – the necessary ability can be developed;

points- the specialist is reliable in normal working situations;

points- high competence – the employee demonstrates successful work in non-standard cases;

points- point to the leader – the employee demonstrates calmness in case of force majeure, can successfully solve complex problems, manage a large number of subordinates in crisis situations.

The results of the analysis are provided in the form of a report for each tested employee. The report reflects integrated assessments of competencies from observers with comments and a description of the level of ability shown. Recommendations for the development of an employee can also be given here. Based on the results of the evaluation program of the Assessment Center, it is possible to determine the prospects career development enterprise personnel.

Analysis of the assessment results of the Assessment Center

After receiving all the results of the personnel assessment, the stage of their analysis begins. At the same time, data from different procedures are compared and summarized in single system.

First of all, the test results are processed, and on their basis a profile of the development of certain competencies is compiled. The results of the role-plays are discussed among the experts, who agree on the observed results and come up with an overall score.

The results of the tests are compared with the evaluation of the observations of experts, all this is reduced to a single indicator, which includes the level of expression of each competence, the features of its manifestation in specific conditions, restrictions and with a given complexity.

At the end, the dynamics of the employee's work throughout the test is analyzed. Based on the results, management, together with experts, builds hypotheses about the specialist’s learning ability, his stress resistance and ability to work effectively in new conditions.

Creating a report based on the results of the Assessment Center

Bringing together all the assessment data by the AC method ends with a single report. An enterprise can choose any form of reporting, but the following options are most often used:

Ranking the list of employees for each competence with the derivation of the average rank.

Evaluation of the severity of skills and professional qualities according to the point system with recommendations for development and training.

The results of the assessment, indicating specific shortcomings and recommendations for improving skills, should be made available to staff for review. This increases the motivation of specialists for self-development.

In conclusion, it is worth emphasizing that the Assessment Center today offers the most effective method assessment of the personnel potential of the enterprise. The results of this method not only make it possible to identify a successful manager and a highly qualified specialist, but also give an idea of ​​the direction in which to develop personnel policy companies.

Assessment Center or Assessment Center(Assessment Center, Assessment Center) is a conglomeration of methods for a comprehensive assessment of personnel for specific customer tasks based on certain criteria (competencies). The Assessment Center is designed primarily to identify the potential of an employee.

The Assessment Center will allow solving the following tasks with an accuracy of 87%:

1. Selection best candidate for a vacant position
2. Identifying the potential of an employee/candidate
3. Formation of a personnel reserve
4. Programming individual development and corporate staff training programs

Competencies is a set of knowledge, skills, personal qualities and motives described in terms of observed work behavior.
There are professional, managerial and corporate, and personal competencies.

Professional competencies- these are the requirements for the professional behavior of an employee, described in behavioral indicators. Professional behavior develops if the initial level of these competencies is not lower than acceptable.

Managerial competencies- these are the requirements for the company's leaders, described in behavioral indicators. Develop if the initial level of these competencies is not lower than acceptable.

Corporate competencies are the values ​​of the company for all employees, described in the language of observable behavior. Developed with the help of a system of requirements and regular assessment of the fulfillment of these requirements.

Personal competencies- These are the individual characteristics of a person's personality, manifested in behavior. Most often do not develop within the framework corporate business(they are commonly used in hiring, as well as for the formation of talent management programs).

Competence Model is a description of behavioral indicators by levels of manifestation according to the scale adopted by the Company.

Competence system- these are several competency models combined into a single system of requirements for the company's personnel. The competency framework should not contain more than 9 competencies in total.

Which models you need to develop in your company depends on the life cycle of the company, and most importantly on the objectives of the assessment.

Below is an example of a description of one competency:

Leadership is the ability to make people want to follow you

1. Takes responsibility for team performance
2. Sets the rules and organizes the work of the group
3. Uses information about the individual characteristics of employees when setting tasks and delegating authority
4. Pays attention and time to the development of employees

Stages of development and implementation of the Assessment Center

1. Development of a competency model

In order to conduct an assessment using this technology, it is necessary to first select competencies and develop a competency model.

Depending on goals estimates use different models. If we want to assess the managerial potential of an employee, then we need to build a managerial competency model. If we need to evaluate an ordinary employee for compliance with the position and develop recommendations for professional development, then you need to develop a professional model. If you need to solve two problems at once, then you need to develop a system consisting of professional and managerial competencies.

Corporate model is used when the company builds a proactive personnel policy, systematically approaches the assessment, development and career advancement of employees in the Company. In this case, there is a common set of competencies for all employees in the company, and the level of requirements for these competencies depends on the level of the hierarchy in the organizational structure.

Competencies can be selected from the “competence library”, or you can conduct a focus group with internal experts.

First selected a large number of useful competencies, then, using the method of paired comparisons, a few of the most important for achieving goals (professional, managerial, or corporate, aimed at realizing the Company's mission) are left.

An example of a managerial competency model:

1. Leadership
2. Cooperation
3. Motivation to achieve
4. Ability to develop
5. Making decisions

The competency model is a description of competencies by levels of manifestation according to the selected scale.

The scales describe from 4 to 9 levels.

Below is an example of a 5-level scale:

0 - level of incompetence, describes unacceptable behavior.
1 - the level of limited competence, describes the behavior in which the employee can be effective only within the framework of the template.
2 - basic level, describes the desired behavior within the competence in standard situations.
3 - skill level, describes the behavior of an employee in non-standard situations of increased complexity, requirements for mentors.
4 – strategic level, describes behavior based on long term, actions in the interests of the Company as a whole.

An example of a description of competencies by levels of manifestation according to the chosen scale in the language of behavioral indicators

Any economic entity that uses labor employees, sooner or later will face the need to evaluate their subordinates in order to analyze the degree of their professional training and determine the potential necessary for career growth. There are many methods and techniques for this assessment, but one of the most effective is the integrated assessment technique or assessment center.

Why is it necessary to conduct a staff assessment?

Evaluation of employees is the basis for the development and implementation of an effective system for their coordination and controlling. It allows the manager to implement the following personnel procedures with greater productivity:

• selection of staff units;
• internal transfers;
• selection of a reserve for the development of the company;
• controlling;
• advanced training, retraining of employees;
• motivation of subordinates;
• COT optimization;
• preparation of training programs for staff units.

With its help, they identify and check:

• performance by employees of their functionality and its effectiveness;
• personal and behavioral characteristics of the employee, his strengths and weaknesses, optimal areas of work for each, the analysis of which will increase labor efficiency;
• the competence of subordinates, their suitability for the position they hold or readiness to perform new work;
• comparability of personal achievements with standard ones;
• opportunities for career growth of subordinates, the training program required by him;
• changes that have occurred to subordinates (for better or for worse).

The results of the assessment allow us to talk about satisfaction, dissatisfaction and a significant excess of labor standards by certain employees, which will make it possible to make managerial decisions regarding them (raise, dismiss, work on improving their skills or improving the quality of knowledge, form a worthy personnel reserve).

Depending on the effectiveness, methods personnel research are located as follows:

1. assessment through an assessment center (or assessment center, as it is also called);
2. structured interview;
3. professional testing;
4. skills testing;
5. personality testing;
6. unstructured interview;
7. recommendations.

The most effective and comprehensive method is the first one.

Essence of assessment assessment, its normative regulation

An assessment center (hereinafter referred to as AC) is an assessment technique based on the observation by qualified assessors (assessors) of the behavior of assessed subjects in simulated work situations or in the course of their performance of various tasks, the content of which is determined by the problems of work in a particular position. Specialists fix it, discuss and evaluate it to determine the professional suitability of the employee.

Although the AC is close to testing due to the presence of standardization, the difference lies in the standards for the implementation of procedures and elements of the evaluation system (criteria, scales).

Initially, the method was used in the 30s of the last century to replenish the personnel of the German and British armies. Then the actions of the military in artificially created situations were evaluated to analyze their skills and preparedness.

In the business environment, the technique has been actively used since 1956. At this time, the largest telecommunications American corporation AT & T erected a building specifically for its implementation, called the Assessment Center. Soon the very method of evaluation began to be called that.

Distribution in Russian Federation he received in the 90s due to the lack of effectiveness of old methods.

The algorithm for its implementation is strictly regulated. So, national standards are available in the following states:

• Russia;
• Germany;
• Great Britain;
• Indonesia.

As for the standard for the Russian Federation, it was developed and adopted in 2013, initiated by the National Confederation for the Development of Human Capital with the support of foreign experts.

Reasons for the popularity of the personnel assessment center, the level of validity

The demand for the method is due to the following factors:

1. With proper implementation and practical application the results obtained, it is possible to significantly increase the competitiveness of an economic entity in the personnel market, which is important, since human resource, today, is considered to be the most valuable.
2. It allows you to attract highly qualified professionals by creating conditions within the company that would interest them.
3. In the course of its implementation, it is possible to form the necessary attitude of employees towards the employer company.
4. Staffing of the method and its computerization. Experts in this field are trained, constantly improving their skills and knowledge, which allows them to perform work more efficiently than ordinary personnel clerks, and technological equipment is the key to conducting more voluminous and in-depth diagnostics.
5. The costs of conducting are relatively small, especially for large business entities, and include the remuneration of experts, external consultants, the development and implementation of a system of tasks.
6. High performance and validity, that is, the degree of reliability (70-90%).

The effectiveness of the assessment center is achieved through the following:

1. Significant duration of assessment (from several hours to a week, which depends on the number of competencies assessed and the goals of the staff assessment). For example, when analyzing the suitability of top managers, more than 10 managerial competencies are evaluated, after which the ratings are agreed (general ones are set by observers not in the form of an arithmetic average, but depending on the effectiveness of the discussion of the behavioral nuances of the subjects).
2. Its scope and precision. Unlike other valuation techniques, the results of which are indices and relative data, this method allows you to get a reliable and comprehensive picture.
3. Evaluation informality.
4. Minimal subjectivity due to the involvement of several observers, especially if the subject uses the services of a third-party valuation company, and not a personal appraiser.
5. Lack of interpretation of results, good or bad, because they are indicators of potential opportunities.

It has been empirically proven that the method is effective not only in the employment of new personnel, but also for the audit or certification of existing employees, as well as for the adoption of other management decisions. This is due to its typology.

Method typology

It is customary to distinguish the following types of ACs:

• traditional - the competencies of employees are assessed;
• strategic - development of a strategy of action and orientation of the labor activity of an economic entity for its development;
• team building - assessment of the coherence and effectiveness of a team of managers and specialists;
• developing - aimed at developing the conditions for the development of subordinates;
• personal - comprehensive assessment manager.

Advantages and disadvantages of an assessment center

This assessment method, like any other, not only has a number of advantages, but is also not without drawbacks.

The pluses include:

• a clear understanding of the employer's strategy by subordinates;
• objectivity, comprehensiveness and depth of assessment of staff units;
• identification of employees who are ready to develop and for whose training it is advisable to allocate funds, that is, competent planning of expenses for employees;
• ease of perception of the program by the subjects, trust in it, understandability of the results, accessibility feedback which can be used for self-improvement;

Disadvantages (mainly for companies that are not interested in developing their human resources) are:

• higher cost compared to testing or interview;
• assessment during business hours.

In practice, the hidden costs of conducting ineffective interviews or tests are much higher than the price of the methodology.

Principles and rules of this method of personnel assessment

In order to confirm its effectiveness, the personnel assessment center methodology should be carried out:

• complex;
• independently and unbiased;
• clearly.

All examinees are provided equal conditions to demonstrate skills, while only the visible behavior is recorded without analyzing its causes.

In addition, it is necessary to eliminate the factors influencing the results of the assessment, to minimize the possibility of the subjects to adapt to the observers and specifically to express themselves in an atypical way.

All tasks must have instructions on the procedure and behavior that exclude various interpretations.

It is forbidden to stop assessees at the moment of performing the task to delegate something else to them.

Who is eligible to evaluate

The assessment can be carried out:

1. one specialist-generalist (internal or invited);
2. expert team.

Thus, internal consultants often have large companies having the means to maintain the evaluators. Managers are engaged in inviting an external expert, whose financial capabilities are not so great, but there is a need to obtain reliable results.

In the second case, the assessment involves:

1. Expert Observer– has the skills to describe behavioral reactions and organize feedback. Passed specialized training and had to take part in a number of practical trainings. Engaged in the assessment of the behavior of the subjects, fixes and classifies it. He has information about the assessment methodology and the content of the exercises, is familiar with the characteristics of the economic entity and the immediate tasks of the assessment center.
2. Leading- controls the content of the assessment center, manages the activity of the assessed, gives instructions, monitors cooperation, organizes expert work. Often, he has experience as an observer.
3. Administrator- responsible for technical questions assessment, prepares and distributes everything necessary for its implementation.
4. Role member- is a partner of the subjects in tasks requiring cooperation. They can be both an observer and a specially trained person.
5. Program designer– develops and is responsible for the overall concept, selects specific exercises depending on the goals and existing requests, describes the algorithm for assessing.
6. Exercise compiler- is subordinate to the previous specialist, is responsible for the development of specific exercises. Most often, he has skills in the field of management or psychology.

Assessment steps

Personnel assessment includes certain stages:

Stage 1. Preparatory

At this stage, there is a discussion and determination between the experts and the administrative body:

• assessment purposes;
• its procedures;
• his criteria.

So, the significance of certain evaluation criteria, the choice of assessment center methods, the composition of the expert group and, directly, the final result will depend on the goals set.

After that, a formal preparation is carried out: the timing of the assessment, criteria are determined, the team is informed about it, and internal orders are issued.

Here it is important to clearly define the time of the entire procedure as a whole and each of its stages separately, with the resources involved and the amount of work required to be completed. So, the time spent will vary depending on:

• the number of subjects (ideally, no more than 10 people);
• depth of assessment;
• the composition and readiness of the expert group, the need to involve other specialists;
• non-standard criteria, the need to develop a fundamentally new toolkit.

In parallel with this, competencies are revealed. There are two approaches to this:

1. the customer provides a set of competencies by which personnel should be assessed;
2. they are identified and described by specialists independently, based on the analysis of the position.

Competence refers to a set of characteristics of behavior required from a subordinate for the effective performance of his/her duties. functional duties. That is, from the point of view of HR, this is a certain set of qualities (or, in foreign practice, performance). It is also necessary for successful work, as well as the knowledge and skills acquired in the learning process, since it allows you to put the theory into practice.

Examples of competencies are leadership qualities, the ability to work in teams, make decisions and take responsibility, customer focus, and communication skills.

The definition of competencies on which the assessment center relies may differ from the usual meaning. For example, the competence "teamwork skills" implies the adaptability of an employee to work in a team. Those who do not have this quality may, according to colleagues and management, be quite “competent” in their work, but, at the same time, they are unsuitable for professional assessment.

The standard procedure includes the assessment of the test subjects on 5-10 competencies, presented in the form of a scale with a description in order to understand the level of development of each of the abilities.

After that, evaluation methods are selected to reliably and accurately characterize the subordinate according to certain criteria.

The main requirement for a set of evaluation methods is their optimal combination, which provides the amount of information sufficient to formulate a conclusion. Due to this the main task consists in the selection of procedures that allow to evaluate several criteria simultaneously from different angles and in different ways.

After that, internal orders are issued in the company and employees are informed about the assessment.

Employees must obtain written consent to the processing of personal data.

Stage 2. Directly conducting an assessment center

In the course of performing the task by the subjects, the experts monitor them, collect information about each, and measure their behavioral manifestations. Regarding competencies, each action can be classified as positive or negative. After that, they are compared, carefully processed and a final mark is displayed for all quality.

The composition of the techniques (procedures) implemented at this stage:

• business game - simulation of a business situation (negotiations, work to attract clients, project supervision) according to a scenario prepared in advance under the guidance of an observer, which is the basis of the method. Participants must develop a personal or collective group solution, find a way out, show creativity, achieve the task in short term. The discussion is followed by an expert group, in particular, a moderator and an observer. The latter forms an opinion about the level of competence of employees, mental and organizational abilities, and also evaluates their actions according to the following scheme: observation - description - classification - assessment. The facilitator must ensure the independence of the latter, stop discussions among observers in the course of performing tasks by the subjects. A study of the NK RChK, conducted in Russia, showed that the most popular among domestic respondents are analytical cases (88.5%) and role-playing games (86.7%). The test and interviews after the simulation of cases allow you to combine the assessments into one whole and make the resulting result particularly accurate;

Games are best held in the middle of the assessment center so that the participants adapt and do not feel the influence of external conditions.

• tests of psychological, professional and general orientation - allow you to collect information about the qualities that influence the behavior of a subordinate in the organization and determine his productivity as a personnel unit;

Ambiguous interpretation of questions should be excluded. They should be specific and suggest the only correct answer from several options, which will help to better systematize the results and avoid errors.

• interview with an expert - is aimed at collecting, as a rule, factual data about the employee. During the conversation, the specialist finds out the tasks and interests of the employee, his expectations, pans regarding further work in the company and the algorithm of actions to achieve the goals.

• personal analysis of the proposed examples - an offer to the subject to choose a model of behavior in a particular business situation;
• self-presentation of a participant to a team of specialists;
• biographical survey;
• description of work achievements;
• expert observation, on the basis of which they are formed for each assessed;
• Circle evaluation (360 ⁰ score) – evaluation of the participant by his colleagues participating with him in solving working moments. For its implementation, special questionnaires with a list of characteristics are compiled.

The first four procedures are the main ones. In general, the techniques in each individual case may differ depending on the goal set by the client, the parameters being evaluated and what is being investigated with their help. The choice is largely determined by the financial resources of the customer and is made at the preparatory stage.

Examples of business games:

1. The manager of the economic entity motivated his subordinates with the payment of bonuses and indicated its date. But at the time of its occurrence, the volume of funds at his disposal was lower than expected. Task: among subordinates, it is necessary to choose those who are entitled to a reward, and who should be denied it. The last to be explained decision. The answers of the subjects of the company in which the game took place boiled down to the following: tell those who were left without bonuses that they did not earn it, or that everything was possible for an equivalent payment, but the higher management gave a different order.
2. The subjects are faced with the task of optimally distributing certain cash taking into account the fact that each unit has priority items of expenditure. 60 minutes are allotted for the discussion, during which the participants should come to a common opinion in a civilized manner, demonstrating leadership qualities, perseverance, flexibility of mind, strategic thinking, the ability to convince and convey their thoughts, as well as receive feedback.
3. Participants in the assessment are tasked with talking with a “problematic” client or subordinate. In this case, the ability to distance oneself without arrogance or familiarity, the ability to listen and reasonably convey one's point of view to the interlocutor is assessed.

Typology of tests:

1. Individual - are used to assess the psychophysiological characteristics and personality traits. They are convenient because they can be held simultaneously with a large number of participants. They have standard rating scales and keys, which makes it easier to determine the result. The specialist working with this method must have the skills to interpret the results.
2. Psychological (psychodiagnostic) tests - are used to obtain information about the qualities that influence the behavior of the individual. Their use allows you to compare the performance of different candidates among themselves and with the group.

Stage 3. Summing up and feedback

The longest stage. After the previous stage is completed, the experts watching the game or other procedure mark the participants for all the required competencies, thus forming their portraits, in which the level of development of their abilities is clearly visible. In this case, the setting of the ball must be argued.

The results are summed up in the process of a general discussion between all the specialists of the group and are documented in the form of a report for management for each assessed. It indicates the strengths and weaknesses of the subordinate, the level of his abilities and other characteristics, as well as recommendations for personal development and career opportunities are determined. That is, in addition to quantitative assessments, it also contains quality ones.

In order for the results obtained to be used as efficiently as possible, it is desirable to accompany the report when it is submitted to the governing body or persons responsible for making personnel decisions.

During the presentation, it is important to consider several points:

• after carefully reading the report, the manager can ask questions of interest, which are best clarified promptly by providing additional information on them or by defining tasks for additional analysis of individual criteria;
• during the conversation, decisions may be made that are not related to the originally defined purpose of the assessment center.

After that, or in parallel with the presentation, personal conversations of experts are held with employees to give feedback, point out shortcomings and make personal recommendations for self-development. This increases their motivation and interest in improving productivity.

What is assessed during the AC

Although each position implies its own competencies,In most cases, the following criteria are evaluated on a five-point scale:

• intellectual;
• emotional;
• communication;
• self-esteem;
• leadership skills.

The descending scale indicators are as follows:

• Complete incompetence - the subordinate not only treats his work negligently, but also has no desire to change or develop;
• Short-term incompetence - competence can be developed;
• Average rating - the employee is capable of normal work in normal situations;
• High competence - the subordinate is able to work effectively even in non-standard situations;
• Leadership competence - the participant behaved calmly even in unforeseen situations and, at the same time, coordinated the work of subordinates.

Thus, the assessment center is the most effective way of personnel assessment. It is universal and can be used both in large industrial facilities with a staff of more than a thousand people, and in small firms with no more than a couple of dozen employees. In addition to assessing the level of competence of subordinates, it allows you to determine their professional suitability and identify possible managers to form a reserve. At the same time, each of the AC participants, through feedback, learns their strengths and weak spots and also receives advice on identifying potential growth areas.