Assessment and self assessment

Development Award in Assessment and Development Centre Management

This three-day programme will give managers and human resources professionals the skills and confidence they need to design and manage a centre in their own organisation.
Please phone us for more information.

Assessment and development centres in the NHS

The NHS is again experiencing a period of transition: major organisational overhauls are aimed at improving planning, efficiency and patient choice. Important selection and appointment decisions will be made that will have long-term implications.

OPM provides career counselling, assessment, development and selection services and executive coaching to support you and members of your organisation through this transition.
Please call Paul Lloyd on 0207 239 7812 for an informal discussion.

At OPM we design and run bespoke assessment and development centres for organisations across the public sector.

Assessment or development?

Increasingly used as a basis for personal and team development and for recruitment and selection, assessment and development centres take a variety of forms. Assessment centres have pass/fail criteria, are geared towards selection, focus on what candidates can do now, and provide robust data on which to bases informed decisions.

In contrast, development centres are not about passing or failing, focus as much on potential as on current performance, and share outcome data with candidates, encouraging their future development.

In practice, hybrid forms of centres are possible and can offer particular benefits, combining the immediacy of a selection process with full debriefing and active support for your future development.

We develop exercises specifically for each development and assessment centre, in response to the demands of a particular post or role.

OPM's experience

OPM has a team of consultants with extensive experience of centre design, observation, assessment and feedback. Most have also held senior positions in public services. We are accredited users of a range of ability tests and psychometric instruments.

What happens at a centre?

Typically, centres consist of a mixture of:

Leaderless group discussions or team tasks in groups of four to six
Large (say 20) group simulation exercises, generally lasting a full day
Case study analysis
Presentations to a specified audience
Role-play exercises
Competency-based interviews
Psychometric profiling
Numerical and verbal reasoning tests.
360 degree feedback

Each exercise is designed to examine a specified number of competencies. All competencies are considered through at least two different exercises, and observers are rotated so that each candidate is assessed by more than one observer. Careful training and post-centre moderation are used to ensure judgements are made consistently.

Feedback and support

During and at the end of an assessment or development centre, we will offer feedback, ideally in a one-to-one meeting. We can also offer you detailed briefing sessions, to increase your confidence and understanding. This is particularly important if you are new to assessment and development centres.

Quality assurance

OPM has established moderation and quality assurance processes and we will always ensure we can meet your specific requirements and standards.

We are also happy to work alongside suitably qualified and experienced staff from your organisation to design and run centres or supervise their training.

If you would like more information about our assessment and development centres, please contact Helen Brown through her PA on 020 7239 7826 or Sheba Cheung on 020 7239 7873 or email Sheba