Adapting assessment and development to the changing nature of work

Vic Hartley | Opinion Paper OP4 | Institute for Employment Studies | Feb 2007

If you've been on an assessment or development recently, or if you have commissioned consultancies to design one for you, you might be surprised to know that it was most likely based on a model that was designed in the early 1940s for the selection of military officers.

Nothing wrong with that in itself, but does the model still apply to today's working environment, in the way we work, communicate and interact with others? We believe it doesn't.

This paper highlights the inadequacies of traditional approaches and points to new procedures that meet today's needs, in this important aspect of talent management.

It also provides an example of where the proposed new approach has produced startling results which have provided high-quality assessment data at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches.