Why Companies Hold Assessment Centers
Uchechi Moses
Uchechi is a Business Development Associate at JarusHub
Hitherto, companies moved from the aptitude test stage to the interview. However, they came to discover that most candidates don’t perform well on the job; interpersonal skills are poor; no group thinking; poor leadership qualities etc. Then came what is known as assessment centre. What then is an assessment center?
An assessment center or its abbreviated form, AC, is a stage of recruitment for evaluating leadership, performance, and critical thinking skills of candidates. It is used for a group of candidates by experienced HR personnel who utilise different recruitment tools in order to extract and grasp information about candidates’ capabilities and leadership quotient. During the AC, you would be tested on a set of varied exercises, some of which are formulated to mimic different work situations in the work environment. The assessment center exercises evaluate your behaviours. It gives you the chance to demonstrate a wider range of skills than you would have been able to showcase during a conventional interview. An assessment center is a combination of tasks and activities that test your suitability for the job.
Depending on the position applied for, the company and industry, an assessment center can last for one to two days.
So what happens at an assessment center?
- Group exercise/group task
- Presentation exercises
- Case study
- Role play
- In-tray exercise
- Psychometric test
A mock Assessment Center oraginzed by JarusHub to prepare candidates for the AC of a top oil and gas company. See our Assessment center preparation page.
ASSESSMENT DAY
You won’t be assessed against job proficiencies by recruiters. Rather they aim to ensure you are the right person that can fit into the role. Yes, being assessed for such a long period can be onerous and challenging. But assessment centers give you the opportunity to counterpoise for poor performance in one task by excelling in another. Important skills recruiters look for include but not limited to the following:
- Efficiency
- Cognitive thinking
- Business awareness
- Communication
- Leadership
- Planning
- Teamwork
- Time management.
Assessment centers also incorporate group exercises, which are used by major recruiters in the country. Examples include PwC, First Bank, Sterling Bank, KPMG, MTN, Friesland Campina, GTB Bank, Royal Dutch Shell, Seplat etc. Group exercises are used for roles that involve lots of team work and engagement with different groups. This is because when on the job, you will work with humans not robots. Candidates are usually assessed in few to semi large numbers (5 – 10) depending on the industry and recruiter. They will be provided with a work-based scenario which will require the group to work together in achieving the answer(s) with a limited duration. Throughout the period of the test all candidates will be observed, and their behaviours and performance will be noted by the recruitment staff.
PREPARATION TIPS
Just like any event that holds high value, you must prepare, and prepare real hard.
- Read about the company as well as the industry. Also read up on any relevant news (financial, investment, corporate social responsibility, business strategy, mergers, acquisitions and partnership).
- Practice a mock assessment center.
- Give yourself time to complete and practice any similar material in the industry.
- Study technical materials relevant to the industry
Keywords in Assessment Centre
Assessment Centre: A process that uses a wide range of procedures and assessors to ascertain to an extent how a participant exhibits required competencies.
K.S.A: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attitudes that are required for competency.
Assessor: An individual with the knowledge on how to understand, document, systematise and make reliable judgement about the behaviours of those being assessed.
Simulation: An imaginary situation in which the candidate is expected to respond from the perspective of someone in the level being sought.
(E.g. Presentation exercises, Case study, Role play, In-tray exercise etc).
Finally, on your assessment day, eat well. You are in for a long ride!
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