Over on Amberjeck, they introduced four key questions from Martin Kavanagh, Head of Assessment, to help you evaluate whether your early careers assessment process is working effectively. But what practical steps can you take to ensure a positive outcome?
Here are five essential tips to guide your assessment design.
Tip 1: Establish a Robust Design Process
We have distilled best-practice guidance from various professional bodies into an eight-stage design cycle. Omitting any of these stages can lead to inefficiencies and challenges in your candidate pipeline:
- Scoping: Define the objectives, scope, and success criteria before you begin designing.
- Research: Engage with diverse stakeholders, including business leaders, HRBPs, hiring managers, and previous role incumbents, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the roles being assessed.
- Storyboarding & Concept Sign-Off: Share findings and creative concepts with stakeholders for alignment before finalising assessment methods.
- Assessment Design: Integrate multiple review points to refine the design collaboratively.
- Validation Trial & Feedback: Test materials with subject matter experts and previous role incumbents to ensure effectiveness and fairness.
- Finalising Design: Conduct user acceptance testing to ensure compatibility across devices, accessibility tools, and security firewalls.
- Training & Rollout: Implement the assessments with regular review points to monitor performance and fairness.
- Continuous Improvement: Use data insights and stakeholder feedback to refine the assessment process over time.
Tip 2: Incorporate Diverse Perspectives in the Design Process
Diversity of thought is crucial in designing effective assessment processes. A range of perspectives helps eliminate bias and ensure a fairer experience for all candidates.
At Fusion, we apply a ‘Do, Check, Review’ methodology:
Do: The assessment is designed by an expert with deep knowledge of the role.
Check: A peer reviews the design against best-practice standards.
Review: A Chartered Occupational Psychologist provides final oversight.
By incorporating diverse viewpoints throughout the design cycle, you enhance the fairness and inclusivity of your assessments.
Tip 3: Implement an Objective Review Structure
Assessments should be guided by agreed-upon criteria to ensure candidates are evaluated consistently. Similarly, assessment design should follow a structured review process.
At Fusion, we use key indicators to ensure assessment centre activities are fair and do not disadvantage any group. Examples include:
Negative Indicators:
- Overcomplicated language that inadvertently tests verbal reasoning skills rather than job-related competencies.
- Use of jargon or colloquial phrases that may favour specific demographics.
- A design and review process managed by a homogenous group.
- Exercises that inadvertently advantage individuals with certain privileges unrelated to job performance.
- Non-compliance with neurodiversity standards or accessibility requirements.
Positive Indicators:
- Use of clear, plain English to ensure fair evaluation.
- Elimination of unnecessary jargon or cultural references.
- A diverse team involved in the design and review process.
- Measurement of potential rather than experience-based advantages.
- Representation of a diverse workforce in assessment materials.
- Accessibility features such as alternative formats for video content.
We encourage organisations to develop their own set of review criteria to uphold high assessment standards, ensuring that processes align with their diversity and inclusion goals.
Tip 4: Seek External Expertise When Necessary
Even experienced assessment designers may not be specialists in all areas, such as accessibility. Recognising when to bring in external expertise can enhance the quality and fairness of your assessments.
At Fusion, we collaborated with organisational psychologist Nancy Doyle and her team to ensure our assessment model aligns with best practices in neurodiversity. Engaging with subject matter experts can help validate your approach and ensure compliance with accessibility standards.
Several organisations also offer third-party evaluations and certifications for accessibility compliance, an option worth exploring.
Tip 5: Use Data to Identify and Address Issues
Even with a rigorous design process, challenges can still arise. If issues emerge during trials or in live data, take a systematic approach:
- Form a hypothesis about potential causes.
- Examine assessment data to identify patterns.
- Consult academic literature and industry best practices.
Continuous improvement should be data-driven. Reviewing assessment outcomes regularly ensures alignment with best practices and enhances the effectiveness of your selection process.
