Workforce assessment center takes place at later stages of the recruitment, typically the stage before the final interviews and job offer.
It involves series of activities aimed at testing a candidate’s psychological and mental suitability for the job role, usually in a way that aptitude tests do not. It is designed to test workplace skills such as teamwork skills, communication skills, analytical skills and presentation skills.
During the assessment day activities, professional observers (who are usually part of the company’s recruitment team) as well as the workforce group team are employed to evaluate and closely watch each candidates participation in the process, and also select the most likely candidates to success on the job.
Basically, four stages are involved and these stages could come in any order
- Competency Based Interview
- Group Task
- Analytical Task
- Presentation
Competency Based Interview
This is a type of interview where the candidate is asked questions based on what they have done in the past. The questions are geared towards testing your competence. It is assumed that the way you behaved in a previous work scenario could tell what you are likely to do in a similar situation in the future.
Questions from this interview could come in the form of:
…tell me about a time where you identified a problem at work and proffered many solutions
…tell me about a time where you displayed leadership in a team
…tell me about a time where you helped someone achieved a particular goal.
Often times, you will be asked this question by an assessor, who in turn hears your answer and puts them in writing.
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Group Task
In this activity, candidates are arranged in a group of fives and are given a case study brief. The group acts as consulting firm who is to advice another firm on the best step to take regarding a business decision. Usually, assessors will be on ground to observe the group as they discuss. A leader often emerges from the group who coordinates the discussions. At the end, the group comes up with a list of recommendations.
Assessors are usually close to the table to observe what is being discussed, who is contributing and the quality of their contributions. One important tip here is to be very audible such that everyone can here you.
Analytical Task
This is very much like the group task but on a personal level. Candidates are taken to a room filled with computers. They are handed detailed case study briefs and are asked to study the brief and make recommendations on the best way forward. These recommendations are to be prepared as slides which will be presented later. The preparation of these slides are timed. 45 minutes or 1 hour or there about. You need to be really time conscious and ensure you don’t get carried away by the volume of information presented to you in the brief.
Presentation
The prepared slides will be presented on a projector. An assessor will be in the room and the candidate is expected make the presentation. Just like a seminar presentation. The candidate is expected to convince the assessor on the best line of action, stating the pros and cons of his or her decisions from the prepared slides.
Summary:
The whole idea of the assessment center is to test your skills and abilities in a real work environment. In the real world, a lot of problems are encountered in a business or company setting. And workable solutions are to be generated as these problems arise. The idea is to see what you will do or recommend in a particular situation or the other.
