5 Responses

1. Start with the goals and work backwards
   Dear Elaine,

   With this type of training I find really clarifying the goals first makes developing the exercises easier. The exercises could be different if you are “testing” the delegates response to a live situation, or looking for a sharing of opinions. You may already have a list of behaviours you are looking to assess/ develop which can be used as a great starting point. So for example if you wish to look at the ability to cope with change a half hour session could be as simple as moving tables/ chairs out of the room (ideally when the delegates are at lunch)and discussing how delegates felt when they returned or could entail a fun puzzle solving exercise where the goal posts kept changing.

   I would be happy to help with a few specific ideas if you were to let me know the areas you are looking at. I hope this helps.

   Kind regards

   Jane Tredgett

   Tel. 01757 638748

2. Assessment Centre exercises
   Reliable and valid assessment of assessment centre exercises is much more subtle than meets the eye. What competencies are you actually trying to rate? How can you defend the level of inter-rater reliability against an objection of illegal bias?

   You might well find it worth investing time and a little money reading useful guides, e.g.
   Woodruffe’s published by IPD; Ballantine and Povah’s published by Gower.

   I can offer you a card-based discussion exercise, which can be customised to a specific situation and job(s).

   Kieran Duignan
   The Enabling Space, 020 8654 0808

3. Assessment exercise comments
   Dear Elaine

   There is the Gower Assessment Centre Pack (4 Books) which you can purchase and also a book by Nigel Porvah may help. We, at the Centre for Professional Development use our own developed exercises. What we do believe is that if you are running an observed assessment centre the most equitable way to achieve this is by aggregating the observations of many exercises by as many observers as is affordable. This gives you a huge range of response which the observed usually accept as valid because “2000 observations cant all be wrong” – you can achieve this type of assessment over two days using 4-6 observers. We also use our own developed computer programme to rapidly process the observations and associated feedback.

   I endorse Kieran’s point you must first decide which competencies you are trying to assess. I can send you a hard copy of a paper on observable leadership characteristics if you think it will help – unfortunately because of grids it contains it would have to come by snail mail. If you e-mail me a postal address I will send you a copy.

   Good Luck and Merry Xmas

   Bill Ferguson
   Chief Executive
   Centre for Professional Development

4. Assessment Centre Exercises
   Hi Elaine,
   I would endorse everything Keiron, Jane and Bill have said. In my experience a half hour exercise isn’t really long enough for people to move from pleasant behaviour to real behaviour. You’ll get lots of ‘what do you think’ and ‘Thanks for that’. If the exercise runs closer to one hour people tend to drop the pleasantries and you get a look at more realistic behaviour. Please give me a call on 0161 929 8299 I’ll be happy to talk you through some of the exercises we have designed.
   Kind regards
   Kevin Rodgers

5. Assigned and non-assigned group discussions
   I have a number of group exercises I used to use in Self Insight Assessment Centres and although some are longer than half an hour, please feel free to contact me for copies or just to discuss assessment centre design.
   jenny.kevan@compair.com