Assessment Centres

A group discussion exercise to assess how well candidates engage in debate with others. Allow 45 minutes for completion.

A role-play exercise designed to test a candidate’s ability to conduct a sales pitch. Allow 20 minutes for completion.

A practical group task, designed to test teamworking and communication skills, in which candidates work together to design a game. Allow 40 minutes for completion.

A problem-solving group task designed to get candidates working together to solve a customer care problem. Allow up to one hour for completion.

A role-play exercise designed to test a candidate’s ability to conduct a difficult performance review meeting. Allow 45 minutes for completion.

A problem-solving group task in which candidates work together to resolve a fictional case study. Allow up to one hour for completion.

Guidance to help you to design an in-tray task for managers, where the candidate deals with a set of typical management tasks in real time. Allow two hours for completion.

A practical group task designed to test teamworking and communication skills, in which candidates are asked to solve a puzzle. Allow 30 minutes for completion.

An analysis exercise in which a candidate assesses a number of different pieces of information in order to organise an event. Allow up to one hour for completion.

A group negotiation task where candidates compete against one another in a fictional setting. Allow up to one hour for completion.

A problem-solving group task based on a fictional case study, with a particular focus on decision-making. Allow up to one hour for completion.

Guidance on how to create a candidate feedback questionnaire for use at the end of an assessment centre, so that you can make any improvements and gain valuable information for future assessment centre design.

A template for assessors to use during observed exercises to record events as they happen.

An example ratings form, used to draw out the competencies from the information recorded on the observation sheet. The example can be customised for different assessment centres.

An example of an evaluation grid, used to assimilate candidates’ scores from each of the activities. The example can be customised for different assessment centres.