The style and exercises will vary some are quite close to assessment centres with assessed exercises but instead of looking for the best performer out of the candidates and discussing the candidate performance in a “wash up” session the results are shared with the participant so they can learn from the experience and use this to create a personal development plan.  

This assessment centre included two different group exercises with the candidates working in different groups; this is really useful as dynamics can have an impact on how people get on and the way they handle different people.

We also covered presentations, role plays and written work.

There was also an in-depth personality questionnaire the Saville Consulting Wave. This is a great assessment to help to understand a person and you can map the scales against a company’s competences so the person can see how they match up.

When I prepare for a feedback session I read through the results and hypothesise how the session will go. Today I was concerned how a participant would take my feedback. He saw himself as someone who was lacking in rapport and wasn’t interested in developing relationships, being very assertive in style. I needn’t have worried this was exactly how he saw himself. That’s good but it was harder to get him to see how another style might be more appropriate.

Companies will use development centres to look for ways to get the best out of their employees and to help them identify the right career path for them, for some it’s a traditional climb up the ladder but others may seek to take an alternative path and for some their best move may be outside of the company.

There’s plenty more I can write on development centres so you will have to come back for more.