It is important to note that the term assessment center does not refer to a physical place. Rather, it describes an approach to development. Assessment centers usually involve the participants completing a series of activity exercises based upon duties associated with a specific job. In some cases, however, the exercises can be based on more general criteria if the goal is not to predict job performance, but rather to provide feedback regarding a participant's skill level. Common skills assessed for development include planning and organizing, communication, initiative, decision-making, and teamwork.  

An important shift has been occurring over the last dozen or so years. Traditionally, assessment centers were used almost exclusively for pure evaluative reasons. From an evaluative viewpoint, assessment centers were seen as a powerful tool for picking people capable of performing a job well. When used for evaluative purposes, the end product was traditionally a yes/no decision (e.g., hire/don't hire, promote/ don't promote). As a result, very little attention was given to feedback and to skill development because the purpose was organizationally driven and not particularly participant-driven.  

Recently there has been a shift in thinking away from this traditional view of an assessment center to one that stresses development. A consequence of this is that today it is somewhat rare to come across an assessment center that does not have at least some developmental aspect to it. These more developmental assessment centers strive to provide objective assessments of a participant's behavior and then to provide them with a framework for developing their skills in the future.  

Some very important characteristics of developmental assessment centers are that they:
•  do not have a pass/fail criteria
•  are geared towards developing the individual
•  address longer term needs
•  do not rate performance through internal but rather external, unbiased assessors
•  have a greater emphasis placed on self-assessment
•  are geared to meet needs of the individual as well as the organization
•  place emphasis on developmental feedback and follow up with little
•  or no selection function
•  give feedback quickly  

Assessment development tools make the work of the organizational training professional easier. Corporations benefit by identifying key areas where their workforce training dollars may be focused, by selecting pre-qualified and specific training for their employees, and by receiving a higher rate of return on invested training dollars focused on identified needs.  

Iacocca Institute will be offering New for Fall 2007: the Assessment Center for Professional Development. For information on how this tool and how you may benefit from it visit http://www.iacocca-lehigh.org/exec/assessment/index.shtml.