Better Insight = Better Development.
A development centre uses similar exercises and the same rigour as an assessment centre, but for a different purpose. Nobody is competing for a job. The output is an evidence based picture of each person’s current strengths, where they may benefit from support, and the start of the process of accurately identifying development areas and potential solutions.
The purpose of an assessment centre is to choose between candidates.
The purpose of a development centre is to more fully understand the capability and behaviour of the people you already employ. The exercises and approach look very similar from the outside, but with a different focus.
There is no appointment or rejection decision at the end. All participants are engaged on the basis that they know the day is about helping and supporting them. That usually means they may behave more openly and honestly from the outset, providing clearer and richer evidence to work on. Feedback is not an enhanced courtesy service, it’s the core purpose of the entire exercise. The output is a detailed and enhanced development plan, not a hiring recommendation.
In simple terms:
If you are recruiting people, you want to look at an assessment centre.
If you are investing in employees, you want to look at a development centre.
And don’t try to do both at the same time - they are different.
We can design, develop and deliver the entire development centre, or provide the elements you need, working alongside your internal team. As an independent consultancy we are not tied to a single test publisher, so the design is built around your people rather than a product. The findings often feed straight into a wider development programme.
We help you to understand what you are actually looking for. Whether that is readiness to take on a bigger or higher level role now, or the potential to grow into one down the line.
Group exercises, in-tray and case study work, role plays and presentations, chosen or designed to stretch people at the right level. We can offer a bank of tested exercises and can develop new assessments as required.
We offer a large and diverse range of psychometric assessments including Belbin, DiSC, Psytech and SHL. Each selected and matched to suit the requirement. Providing attendees with objective, evidence based feedback that is practical and genuinely useful.
Individual feedback sessions, written reports, and a development plan each person can act on. Where it helps, we also provide a group level summary showing where capability is strong across the working population and where it may be light.
The underlying approach is the same for assessment or development centres: designing exercises to evaluate effectively against defined competencies, briefing assessors, facilitating the centre and consolidating the evidence. Our assessment centre page sets out how we do all of that in detail, and the same approach applies here.
Yes, and that is the whole point. In a development centre, direct feedback is the key deliverable rather than being a courtesy service. Every participant receives individual feedback, a detailed written report and, where psychometrics have been used, their own copy of those reports, in an appropriate version or format. The real value of a development centre is sharing the findings with attendees.
We would advise against using the output of a development centre as the sole means of determining a promotion decision. When participants think the day may decide on a promotion, they are much more likely to start thinking about and managing their approach, rather than showing you how they actually think and work. The result is that the quality of evidence can drop significantly. The findings can absolutely be used to inform better succession and promotion decision making. And if so, tell people honestly from the outset what the centre is for and how any findings will be used. If a selection decision is genuinely being made, we recommend positioning and running it as an assessment centre instead.
Most run over the course of one day, although a centre covering several competencies in depth could take a bit longer at two days. Feedback sessions usually follow a few days afterwards, not on the day itself. That gives assessors proper time to collate information, review and analyse this properly in order to give each participant the most effective feedback report. We can suggest the best format and approach once we know the group size, the roles involved, purpose and required outcomes.
Whether you want to assess your talent succession pipeline, identify potential candidates for a high-potential development programme, or simply understand what your people could be capable of with the right development, we can help.
Contact us for an exploratory discussion, always on a no obligation basis.