Assessment centres: robust measurement machines or complex social-administrative systems?

Assessment centres are generally viewed as systems for accurately and comprehensively evaluating the performance of candidates in relation to several job-relevant dimensions. Put simply, they are construed as machines for measuring 148 potential performance. As a consequence, the literature on assessment centres is dominated by research on their psychometric properties, particularly their construct validity (Jones & Born, 2008; Kolk, Born, & van der Flier, 2002; Lance, Foster, Nemeth, Gentry, & Drollinger, 2007; Schultz, Konig, Hubner, & Stempfle, 2008) and predictive validity (Dilchert & Ones, 2009; Gaugler, Rosenthal, Thornton, & Bentson, 1987; Meriac, Hoffman, Woehr, & Fleisher, 2008). Furthermore, suggestions for improving the performance of assessment centres typically focus on measurement issues, such as improving the training of assessors so that they are better able to focus on candidate performance in relation to dimensions (e.g. Krause and Thornton(2009)) . As well as being measurement “machines” assessment centres can also be construed as complex social-administrative systems. Examples of the social processes involved in assessment centres are assessors meeting with, and talking to, candidates when these candidates are not performing in exercises; and assessors talking informally to each other about candidates. Examples of administrative issues are finding and booking appropriate in which to assess candidates, and ensuring that exercises start and end on time. Currently little is known about the nature of these social and administrative processes, including the extent to which they may be dysfunctional and undermine the validity of assessment centres, and the frequency with which they occur. The purpose of this research is to investigate the perceived nature of social and administrative processes and events in assessment centres, focussing in particular on those processes and events which are likely to undermine the effectiveness and fairness of the centres. Because operational assessment centres involve people playing different roles, this issue was investigated by surveying the social-administrative issues in assessment centres from several perspectives: assessment centre designers, administrators, assessors, consensus meeting chairs, and candidates