The assessment center method is an evaluation system which is used, through simulations, to assess future potential of assessees, including current employees and job applicants. Since AT&T first introduced the assessment center method into its companies in 1956, it has been widely adopted by private and public organizations, and thus has become popular.
The assessment center method evaluates candidates' core competencies. At first it was used mainly during the employee selection process, then later in promotion and development as well. Therefore, applications of and research into the assessment center method can be found in various areas, such as personnel selection and succession planning, managing, career development and even organizational development. This is mainly because of the high validity of this method. A large number of organizations have increased benefit of human resources and improved their competitive advantages after implementing the assessment center method.
In the early days there were few enterprises in Taiwan that adopted the assessment center method, but there is a growing trend in recent years. It is still not widely used though, when compared with situations in other countries. Governmental departments are even more conservative in this regard, except for the Ministry of Examination, which has adopted panel interview of the assessment center method to improve the procedure of employment testing. Although a few other departments have noticed the existence of this method, they are still studying its feasibility, instead of putting it into practice, not to mention establishing civil service assessment or development centers. There is obviously much to do to improve the methods or techniques of personnel selection and development.
This study, combining theory and practice, investigates basic concepts of the assessment center method and the process of conducting simulation exercises, exemplified by sample cases. It further analyzes whether this method is suitable for governmental training institutes. In the end suggestions of planning and implementation are made for training organizations in general.
Keywords:assessment center, development center, simulation exercises, core competencies, validity, return on investment