Assessment and Development Centres –
Your partner to decide with confidence

Assessment and Development of (potential) employees

In addition to Selection and Recruitment, Focus on Talent specializes in Assessment and Development Centres. They constitute an invaluable complement to the executive search process, but we also organize them separately. Assessment and Development Centres indicate whether you are making the right decision during a selection or promotion procedure. They give you insights into the talents, the potential and the developmental needs of a candidate.

As such, Assessment and Development Centres go way beyond job interviews and one’s gut feeling. Research has shown that traditional job or selection interviews are an unreliable way of assessing a candidate’s talents. References by former employers are almost always biased and therefore equally unreliable. The STAR methodology also has its limitations. Candidates may not have faced a certain situation, and even if they did, the actions they took at that time are not necessarily representative of their behaviour today. Finally, questionnaires and personality tests by themselves may not always provide the necessary answers.

In an Assessment Centre, on the other hand, the assessors not only interview candidates, they also observe them during business cases of professional situations. Provided that these Assessments are carried out by skilled assessors, this proven methodology has a significantly higher success rate and allows you to decide with confidence.

Assessment and Development Centres in practice

• Together with the client, we define the competences that are relevant for a specific position.
• In the Assessment Centre, we evaluate whether a candidate meets these requirements. This evaluation is usually conducted through business cases or simulations.
• In addition, candidates complete one or more questionnaires and a behavioural-based interview. Such exercises provide conclusive insights into a candidate’s suitability.

We adapt our approach and the exercises depending on the position, the candidate and the rank in question, ranging from middle management to executive positions. Moreover, we also consider additional factors, such as your organizational culture. All evaluations and subsequent reports are carried out by two professional, experienced and highly trained assessors, which allows us to evaluate each competence twice and to consistently guarantee high-quality advice.

Our Assessment and Development Centres can be organized in English, Dutch and French.

Remote Assessment Centres

In a world that is working globally and becoming ever more digital, Focus on Talent now also offers you Remote Assessment Centres, in addition to the Assessments we conduct in our office or on-site. More than an online test, this is a fully interactive virtual Assessment Centre, tailor-made for your organization and the position in question. This full-day program combines written tasks that the candidate prepares in advance with live interviews, business cases and discussions through videoconferencing. Our experienced assessors work with state-of-the-art platforms to carry out these interactive Assessments and provide you with the degree of reliability and quality to which we always aspire.

Remote Assessment Centres have several benefits. They offer you and your candidate an unprecedented level of flexibility. As they can be held anywhere and at any time, you save valuable time and money that would be spent on travels. The candidate, meanwhile, can complete the preparatory tasks at their own pace.

We have invested in a state-of-the-art assessment platform that is secure and user-friendly. After the Remote Assessment, you and the candidate will receive a detailed report with our analysis, feedback and recommendations. Afterwards, we schedule a call to further discuss the report.

In sum, Focus on Talent’s Remote Assessment Centres are the full virtual counterpart of our physical Assessments, ready for a global and digital workspace. They are carried out by the same experienced assessors, who rely on proven methods, based on scientific research, to provide you with solid support for your hiring decisions.