New graduate assessment centre process
WorkLife worked with one of the top UK graduate recruiters to ensure their assessment process was rigorous, user friendly, best practice, and further aligned to the graduate programme needs. This involved:
- Refining the competencies at graduate level
- Designing a competency based pre-assessment centre telephone interview script
- Designing a number of new bespoke exercises for the assessment centre – designed after close liaison with both the graduate recruitment team and stakeholders within the business
- Developing simplified and consistent materials – all produced to ensure a ‘family’ feel – which administrators and the different level of managerial assessors would feel comfortable with
- New scheduling – to ensure a comfortable candidate experience and ease of facilitation
- Providing information to go out to candidates in advance of the centres – enabling candidates to be fully prepared on arrival at assessment centre;
- Training the company’s graduate recruiters as Lead Assessors - to ensure quality and efficiency of assessor marking and output throughout the centres and ‘smarter’ wash-up sessions
- Training almost 90 internal managers in ORCE assessment skills plus full training on the exercises they would be assessing on during the centres
- Developing a user friendly manual for assessors to use as a tool during their role as an assessor
Graduate screening programme
Working in close partnership with a top 100 graduate recruiter, WorkLife carried out a programme of competency based on-line assessment for some 5000 graduate candidates a year. Screening was conducted against stringent criteria in line with the orgnaisations high standards.
The results:
- Fast identification of high potential candidates
- A substantial improvement in the quality of candidates reaching assessment centre stage. Only some 5% – 10% of applicants reached this stage and a high proportion of them were offered positions
- A fast, seamless and professional response to candidates. Candidates were informed if they are successful in reaching assessment centre stage within 2-3 days of applying
- A steady flow of candidates to assessment centres – allowing the company to recruit on a rolling programme throughout the year
- A very cost effective process – with employment costs for initial screening ‘out of house’ and less assessment centres required
Preferred supplier – on-going candidate assessment
As the preferred supplier for this large public sector organisation WorkLife carries out assessment tests for all managerial positions for the organisation. This includes:
- On-line ability testing for all relevant roles
- On-line personality profiling followed by bespoke reports produced around the organisation’s competencies
- Providing advice on one-off work simulation exercisers for assessment events
- Design and management of assessment centres where appropriate
- Carrying out on-site update sessions with the HR team on testing and assessment initiatives, options etc
Graduate screening programme
WorkLife worked with this highly successful and respected Graduate and Placement recruiter to identify and select suitable candidates in a diverse range of disciplines including: Research and Development, Electronic Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Finance, Sales and Marketing, Information Systems and Human Resources.
- Screening was conducted against stringent technical and behavioural competency criteria
- For the successful Graduate at this stage an additional telephone interview was arranged and managed by WorkLife, again this was based on behavioural competencies
- From here ‘pass’ candidates undertook on-line ability testing and those who reached the benchmark were invited to assessment centres
- The whole programme is successfully conducted every year over a four month period with the organisation being able to make a record number of offers during their Assessment Centre programmed
Public sector consultancy assessment centres
WorkLife developed a generic assessment centre for this high profile public body to help them with their extensive recruitment programme for Consultants.
- After developing a set of pragmatic, user friendly competencies for the roles, WorkLife designed a new assessment centre. The centre was composed of mainly bespoke exercises which WorkLife developed after consultation with our client plus appropriate aptitude, managerial judgement and personality tests
- We then ran a series of London and regional based one-day centres
- WorkLife trained a team of line managers to assess at the centres alongside WorkLife assessors, ensuring that the organisation would have ownership of the process
- The centres produced strong candidates for final short listing and were specifically praised by the client’s HR team for their ‘high predictive validity’
Management Development Programme
Working with this large public sector organisation on their Management Development Programme the aim was to recruit results driven candidates with strong analytical, relationship building and communication skills
- Taking our brief from the client’s Training & Development Manager, WorkLife together handled the campaign from initial attraction through to assessment centre design and all stages of the assessment process
- Taking all response directly on behalf of the client, we carried out the initial screening of some 150 candidates
- We then conducted on-line ability testing and competency based telephone interviews to ensure we were able to carry though the ‘best fit’ candidates
- Alongside this we designed a rigorous, face-valid assessment centre
- We also trained a group of the organisation’s Managers to act as assessors at the event ensuring the client had buy in and ownership of the process
- On the day we managed the actual centre ensuring a professional, efficient and smooth process for both candidates and assessors
- The end result of the campaign was all positions were filled (with some candidates in reserve!) with a number of excellent candidates.
Executive Director recruitment
Working with this public sector organisation on the selection of their new Executive Director, WorkLife worked closely with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Association as well as the HR team. WorkLife
- Defined the competencies required for this high profile, politically sensitive role
- From here we designed the assessment centre from a clean sheet. This included a mix of off the shelf and bespoke exercises
- We also provided assessors for the event, carried out event facilitation and integration and provided detailed written reports on each candidate
- The centre proceeded very well; the client expressed particular satisfaction at the professionalism of the event.
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