How Do Our Assessment Centres Work?

We use a range of activities in our assessment centres and combine the results to identify the most suitable candidates for the job.

Activities are drafted to determine which candidates best meet the job requirements over multiple measures.

Assessment centres, which can run from a few hours to two days, involve various psychological tests. Our experienced psychologists conduct these tests, ensuring the validity and reliability of the results. We also often engage managers in the assessment centres, particularly in the interview and role-play stage. Their involvement underscores the collaborative nature of the process, and their wealth of experience adds value as subject matter experts.

How Do Your Assessment Centres Address Bias and Avoid Discrimination?

Our assessment centres are carefully designed to reduce the bias inherent in other selection methods, such as interviews alone. Candidates are selected based on characteristics known to lead to successful job performance. Our teams of psychologists include women occupational psychologists, Black occupational psychologists, disabled occupational psychologists and LGBTQ occupational psychologists. Having such a diverse and inclusive team of occupational psychologists ensures we can reduce bias and increase candidate confidence. We use specially selected psychometric tests and activities which have been shown not to discriminate against people with protected characteristics. Before any decisions are made, the assessment centre process is carefully audited to ensure that there is no unfairness or bias in the process before any final decisions are made.

What Skills and Competencies Are Assessed in Assessment Centres?

In-person assessment centres are essentially the same activities described on the virtual assessment centre page but delivered in person rather than remotely. For most jobs, you should be able to work out the areas that will be assessed based on the person's specifications and job description. These are the most likely skills that will be assessed:

• Mathematical ability (cognitive reasoning)


• Verbal reasoning


• Strategic thinking


• Commercial awareness


• Team working


• Critical thinking


• Decision making


• Leadership


• Negotiation


• Planning


• Teamwork


• Negotiation


• Time management


• Customer focus


• Ability to work under pressure

The business psychologists, HR consultants, and line managers will combine each candidate's scores in an assessor matrix. There is then a “wash up” session where the candidate’s scores are moderated, and the views of each assessor are considered before the final matrix with the candidate's score mapped to the job competencies is produced.