Development centres

A Development Centre (an event, not a place) is probably the most thorough and objective way of helping an individual to determine their performance against the competencies required in their roles – or the role they aspire to. Often used as part of a Management Development Programme or a Talent Management initiative, they can also be used effectively in culture change or succession planning interventions. They use a variety of assessments and methodologies to assess objectively and fairly a candidate’s performance against clearly defined criteria.

Development Centres work best when there are clear competencies to measure against and robust feedback, development planning and associated development activities post-Centre. The major difference between this and an Assessment Centre is the purpose; Development Centres focus on what can be developed (and how) as opposed to merely making a selection decision.

The Psychological Manager can help with all aspects of this process. This may include:

• initial competency design
• internal assessor training
• sourcing of external assessors
• the design and running of the Centre
• integrating all the data from the Centre
• report-writing and individual feedback sessions
• individual and organisational development planning
• subsequent training and development intervention