1. The Most Effective Tool to Measure SOFT SKILLS
ASSESSMENT CENTERS
The Most Effective Tool to Measure SOFT SKILLS
Karen Coffee
California State Personnel Board

2. Presentation Outline
Introduction: Succession Planning and Building our Future Workforce
What is an Assessment Center
When to use an Assessment Center
Advantages and Disadvantages of an Assessment Center
What Kinds of Competencies can be Measured?

3. Presentation Outline How are Competencies Measured?
Cost and other Administrative Considerations
State Programs and Resources
Questions?

4. Factors Affecting Succession Planning
Age: need to replace an abundance of workers in the coming years
Diversity: need to recruit increasingly diverse replacement workers
Competencies: replacement workers need the skills required for future jobs

5. What is a Competency?
A cluster of knowledge, skills, abilities and other work behaviors that share a common theme
May apply to many types and levels of jobs; however, how the competency is used on the job and how it is assessed is tailored for every job or job family

6. Competencies Gap Analysis
Identify competencies needed in the future
Develop strategies to recruit future employees with these competencies
Measure the competencies possessed by the current work force
Identify the “competencies gap”
Develop strategies to bridge this gap

7. Can Competencies be Measured?
Yes!
It is possible to determine whether an individual currently possesses competencies and at what level

8. Can Competencies Be Developed?
Possible to determine the amount and quality of competencies at a certain point in time
Can an individual effect significant competency improvement?

10. Administrative/Interpersonal Competencies
Lend themselves to development
Example: communication skills, willingness to delegate, risk taking, initiative

11. Personal Qualities
Probably do not lend themselves as well to development
Examples: flexibility, willingness to tolerate uncertainty, cognitive competencies (problem analysis, judgment, planning and organization)

12. What is an Assessment Center?
An Assessment Center is one of THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS to measure the competencies of potential employees
An Assessment Center is one of THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS to measure the competencies of the current workforce, to identify the competencies gap, and to provide a foundation for individualized plans to bridge this gap

13. What is an Assessment Center?
A variety of testing techniques designed to enable participants to DEMONSTRATE, under standardized conditions, the competencies that are most essential in a given job.

14. What is an Assessment Center?
Not a place!
Participants are put through a series of individual and group exercises, interviews, and tests designed to simulate the most essential conditions of the job, and to provide an opportunity for observation of key competencies.

15. What is an Assessment Center?
Participants’ behavior is OBSERVED by trained raters, evaluated, categorized and scored (if an exam)
Raters pool individual observations to arrive at an overall estimate of potential, or score
Participants are provided with oral and/or written feedback regarding their performance and potential
Training and developmental plans can be formulated

16. History of Assessment Centers
First used by the Germans in WWII
Used by large companies in the 1950’s to identify management potential
1975 Federal IPA grant to adapt AC methods for use in the public sector
Today, widely used in the private, federal, and local government sectors

17. When to Use an Assessment Center
Selection, career development, or succession planning
Most common for managerial or supervisory jobs
Jobs where competencies include focus on soft skills
Promotional process where developmental opportunities are maximized
Where other methods have failed

18. AC for Selection
Objective: provide an opportunity for participants to demonstrate competencies relevant to successful performance on the job.

19. AC for Career Development/Succession Planning
Objective: provide an opportunity for participants to identify competencies requiring further development that are then addressed through a carefully prepared career development plan

20. Advantages of an Assessment Center
Comprehensive evaluation
Valid; better predictor
Less adverse impact
Training effect for raters
Training effect for candidates
Multiple uses
More information for decision-making
Participants like it!

21. Inadequacies of Other Assessment Methods
Written Tests: expedient, appear objective, inexpensive, easy to administer, but research shows they are not adequate for evaluating soft skills
Interviews: questions regarding the predictive power of interviews, information about competencies can’t be observed
Supervisory Appraisal: opportunities for bias

22. Disadvantages of an Assessment Center
Requires expertise to develop
Developmental time can be lengthy
Requires high ratio of raters to participants
Requires multiple rooms for administration

23. Disadvantages of an Assessment Center
Time consuming
Costs more (time and dollars)
Involves more people
Still somewhat removed from the job
Difficult to administer for large groups
Hard to “reschedule” (appeals)

24. Standards and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations
Standardized evaluation of behavior
Multiple inputs
Multiple trained observers (raters)
Must include some simulations
Judgments are pooled

25. NOT an Assessment Center
Panel interviews or a series of sequential interviews
A single assessment technique
Paper and pencil measures only
Single rater assessments
Process without pooling of data

26. Competencies That Can Be Measured
Vitally important
Simple, not complex traits
Definable
Observable
Stable over time

27. Examples of Competencies
Decisiveness
Leadership
Productivity
Flexibility
Organizational skill
Judgment
Problem analysis
Planning
Initiative
Oral communication
Written communication
Managing change
Valuing diversity

28. How many Competencies Private Sector: as many as 50
Public Sector: usually 5-10

29. How are Competencies Measured?
Written Exercises
Oral Exercises

30. Written Exercises Letter Writing Report Writing Proposal Analysis
In-Basket

31. Oral Exercises Oral Presentation
Leaderless Group Discussion with assigned roles (competitive)
Leaderless Group Discussion without assigned roles (cooperative)
Interview
Role Play
Command Problem

32. Adapting Assessment Centers to Public Sector Constraints
Industrial model: 3-6 raters observe 6-12 candidates over three days
Public Sector Model: 6 raters observe 12 candidates over one day
Retains validity but reduces administrative costs

33. Cost Cost more than other measurement methods
Take more time to develop and administer
A superior process
An Assessment Center costs far less than one bad hire

34. Compatibility with Other Measurement Tools
Often used with an application review or a written test
The last part of the process for “finalists”
Use only selected exercises
Administer the in-basket first to determine who completes remaining exercises
Administer over time using different raters

35. State Service Program Pairs of Departments
Each department identifies participants and a team of raters
Raters evaluate individuals in other department
Generic AC to evaluate 1st line supervisory competencies
3 day model
Extensive feedback reports solely for participants benefit

36. Selecting First Line Supervisors in California State Civil Service
1998 Report
Competencies for 1st Line Supervisors from HR Manager
Job Analysis questionnaire
Definition and sample measurement instruments
Validity, cost to develop and administer, ease and objectivity of scoring
Size of developmental group
Ordering information

37. QUESTIONS?