History of Assessment Centres
With human resources gaining much importance, combined with the raising costs of talented managers and their scarce availability, organizations are left with no choice than identifying and grooming talent from within.
This has led to the increased demand for use of assessment centres for enhancing leadership competencies. An assessment centre can be defined as a comprehensive, systematic and standardized procedure in which a variety of assessment techniques such as real life situation exercises and job stimulation (business games, discussions, role playing, and presentations) are used to evaluate employees on their abilities to perform a role.
What is an Assessment Centre?
An assessment center consists of a standardized evaluation of behavior based on multiple inputs and different assessment techniques. Assessments and evaluations about behavior are made by specially trained observers.
At the end of the assessment, the assessors share their data which is scientifically recorded on a set of evaluation forms and scales and come to a consensus on the assessments of each candidate. Most frequently the assessment centre approach has been applied to individuals being considered for selection, promotion, placement, or special training and development in management.
To effectively carry out the purpose of assessment centres today, it is important to know their history, how and for what purpose they were established.
Thus, in this article we are going to discuss about the history of assessment centres.
History of Assessment Centres
Selecting people based on them competencies to do the task required has long been established in the selection of military personnel. There are several examples of the origins of assessment centres throughout history, but it was between the World War that the German Army used the original assessment process to select officers.
Multiple assessment techniques as well as multiple assessors to evaluate complex behavior and candidate abilities with special focus on leadership were used, and assessment was based on subjective opinions and very little rating was done. Thus, the first uses of assessment centers dates to World War I when Germany used the method to select their officers. During World War II, the practice was adopted by the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to help objectively select both military and civilian recruits for specific activities.
The British Influence
The British War Office Selection Boards (WOSB) were set up in 1942 for identifying potential officers for the British army, which again focused on the assessment centre approach. The boards used a mix of military officers, psychiatrists, and psychologists to assess candidate abilities and performances.
Expansion to Civil and Corporate Sectors
Post-war, the assessment center method transitioned into civil services and the corporate sector. The British civil services adopted the WOSB model for recruitment in 1945. In the corporate world, American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) was a pioneer, with Dr. Douglas Bray conducting a significant 25-year study starting in 1956 to evaluate the potential of managers within AT&T using this methodology. The study confirmed that assessment centers could effectively predict managerial success.
Modern Developments and Guidelines
The assessment center method expanded significantly in the late 20th century, with major companies like IBM, GE, and J.C. Penney adopting it. In 1975, formal guidelines were established to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of the assessment process, covering the qualifications of assessors, the rights of participants, and the validity of the data. These guidelines h
Global Adoption and Current Usage
Today, the assessment center method is used by organizations all over the world in both private and public sectors to better select employees and identify their potential areas for development. This assessment approach is based on professional role plays and observations of behavior including expertise, communication and interpersonal skills. Early assessment centres were used essentially for selection purposes since the traditional methods were thought to be ineffective.
Conclusion
The assessment Centre method since then has been subjected to a lot of change and research much more than any other personnel practice. Because of the high-quality research and high reported validity, assessment centre methodology finds widespread use in several organizations. Besides selection, it is used for identification of management talent, promotion, and diagnosis of developmental needs.
