If you are a human resources professional, or a manager, you will have already noticed how AssessmentCenter, a methodology for assessing behavioral competencies, is spreading even in organizations less accustomed to structured assessment processes.
In fact, the intervention of theprofessional Assessor is increasingly requested by top management who, having realized how strategic it is to enhance the strengths and know the areas of improvement of people, wish to acquire additional elements to be able to better support their teams through management training, mentorship and coaching paths, thus amplifying their effectiveness for the benefit of the organization.
How an Assessment Center is conducted
The methodology essentially consists of the following steps:
- Sharing goals with the Company: Development or Selection;
- Design of the skills to be assessed and the tests to be administered;
- Planning and communication to participants of the purpose and process;
- performance, in which candidates’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors are observed as they participate in activities, assessing their behavioral competencies and skills. Assessments can cover different areas and pertain to skills in the relational, emotional, innovation, and management/organizational spheres;
- feedback interview, which is the moment of restitution, consisting of sharing the outcomes with each individual participant and the Company.
The Role Behavioral Competence Assessment is also increasingly used during selection processes, especially during the final selection of a new manager.
Top management thus receives a structured output, the outcome of the application of a rigorous assessment methodology, enabling them to make the choice with greater awareness.
Public administration has also begun to use this tool (read the case study of Regione Emilia-Romagna); in fact, Guidelines were approved at the end of 2022 that provide for its use within selection processes to assess the management and organizational skills of aspiring managers.
However, while the Competency Assessment is now widely felt to be fundamental in the assessment of behavioral effectiveness related to role responsibilities, this is not equally true for the stages that precede and follow the evaluative moment.
Communication and feedback: the fundamental aspects of an Assessment Center
Communication and feedback, integral parts of the Development Assessment process, are often overlooked. Let’s look at some of the most common reasons:
- the fear that communicating the purpose of the Assessment may create a sense of pressure, anxiety or excessive competition among participants;
- concern that returning positive feedback may expose the Company to demands for financial recognition from employees;
- the fear that challenging feedback in terms of areas of improvement that have emerged may open up difficult-to-manage emotional reactions;
- the feeling of freedom of action: not communicating allows one not to commit to the next steps (training/development/professional growth plans) and, therefore, to feel less constrained in following up on the Assessment outcomes.
Justifications such as these are most frequently encountered in those organizational contexts that are entering the methodology for the first time.
While one can understand how nonhabit , non-knowledge, and unawareness of the effects can lead to giving up the “head and tail” of the Assessment, it is essential to be aware of the effects of poorly managed communication and feedback.
In fact, without proper communication at the start and throughout the process and without proper feedback at the end, an effective Assessment is not possible.
Why it is important to preside over all phases of a Management Assessment
Assessment is a “powerful” tool, characterized by rigorous structuring that ensures its effectiveness for the benefit of all stakeholders.
For this reason, too, it is important that it be administered by figures with appropriate levels of preparation and professionalism, guided by proven professional-ethical principles: professionals who can accompany the organization not only in the assessment of competencies, but also in internal growth toward a culture of trust, recognition and enhancement of everyone’s excellence.
In a Competency Assessment, communication and feedback-giving skills are key elements in the success of the process because they have the power to increase motivation, promote professional development and improve employee performance.
Open and clear communication ensures understanding of goals, methods, and objectives, stimulating active participation
To paraphrase Simon Sinek1, even in an Assessment domain, it is crucial to make the “why” clearly and transparently explicit.
Effective communication, in fact, reduces the emotional impact in terms of anxiety and stress and increases confidence in the process on the part of the people being evaluated: fostering a sense of purpose and motivation creates the best conditions for participants to best express their skills.
In other words, presenting the purpose of the Assessment with a positive approach, highlighting opportunities for personal and professional development and handling potential risks, such as pressure and excessive competition, with sensitivity and professionalism, fosters a constructive and motivating assessment environment.
The crucial role of feedback
Timely and constructive feedback provides an opportunity for participants to clearly recognize their strengths and areas for improvement, encouraging them to consciously work on them through action plans for professional growth and continuous learning.
Effective feedback requires preparation: it must be based on concrete observations and data and presented in a clear, nonjudgmental manner.
Studies, including more recent ones related to neuroscience, emphasize the importance of being able to accommodate the other person’s emotions, to communicate in a respectful and constructive manner, to focus on the specific and observable aspects of behavior by providing balanced feedback that highlights both the positive aspects and those that require improvement, so as to maintain an encouraging and motivating tone.
As explored by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen2, the dynamics of power relations within the organization can also affect the effectiveness of feedback, which can become a source of conflict and frustration; instead, an open and inclusive feedback culture makes people feel encouraged and confident.
It should also be kept in mind that the perception of feedback received may vary from individual to individual depending on several factors, including personality, past experiences, expectations and the context in which it is given.
How to conduct the feedback interview effectively?
For the entire process to generate positive results for the organization, the ability of managers to give feedback is crucial.
Often managers fall into traps such as using vague or generic language, lack of specificity in recommendations for improvement, or lack of sincerity in recognizing strengths. This can lead to a sense of frustration and demotivation in employees.
Even the scholars most critical of feedback3 agree that learning is based on efficacy awareness and that we learn more when someone else pays attention to our strengths and supports us in cultivating them.
A great “strength” of feedback therefore lies in being able to capture and highlight the moment of excellence. Think not of “simple” praise (which is not always simple, and even if positive is still judgmental), but of a manager’s ability to return what he heard, what caught his attention, what led to a satisfactory result.
Organizations can help their managers learn or improve their ability to handle feedback.
The most interesting effectiveness accelerator is undoubtedly Business Coaching, as it allows managers to experience and train themselves, supported by a professional Coach, in a protected dimension in which to increase awareness of themselves and their impact.
Assessment yes or no? A choice to be made if you are really ready
While it is true that there is no absolute good “recipe,” we can say that it is advisable to embark on a course of Assessment if you are ready to:
- Clearly communicate the purposes;
- To activate a process of structured tools that ensures fairness of evaluation and objectivity;
- Return constructive feedback, valuing effective behaviors;
- understand and manage emotions in giving and receiving feedback, as emotions can profoundly affect the perception and acceptance of the information provided;
- invest, together with participants, in the future of individuals and the organization by initiating and supporting individual development plans.
Carrying out an Assessment without a rigorous process, including proper management of all phases, is counterproductive: without “head and tail,” the Assessment retains its evaluative nature, but fails to achieve its purpose, which is to “push” and speed up the growth and development of people’s skills.
And you, are you ready?
