AC Design & Delivery
A virtual assessment centre designed for the role you need to fill
Virtual assessment centre design and delivery
I design and deliver virtual assessment centres for organisations, from job analysis and assessor training to individual reports and feedback. Exercises and scoring criteria reflect the requirements of your target role, giving you a clear, documented basis for your selection decision.
Bespoke exercises. Trained assessors. Virtual delivery, individual reports and feedback.
[email protected]Job-relevant exercises · Documented assessments · Personal responsibility for design and delivery
A new appointment needs a sound basis for the decision.
You may be appointing a manager, recruiting graduates, management trainees or apprentices, or creating a selection process for a new role. Perhaps you already have an assessment centre whose underlying design no longer reflects current requirements.
What matters is which requirements are relevant to the role, which situations make them observable and how observations lead to a documented assessment.
- Which capabilities must be present on entry?
- Which tasks make relevant behaviour observable?
- How can different assessors apply a shared standard?
- How can results inform a reasoned selection decision?
A new assessment centre brings these questions together in a process designed for your specific hiring needs.
When a bespoke assessment centre is the right choice
This service is for organisations that want to:
- introduce an assessment centre for the first time,
- develop a dedicated process for a new target role,
- systematically select managers, graduates, management trainees or apprentices,
- fundamentally replace an outdated process,
- use an appropriate assessment centre for a single appointment or recurring recruitment.
Assessment centres for management and leadership selection
A first-time team leader and a head of department face different demands. I therefore define the requirements for the specific role and level together with you. For a first leadership role, this often means setting priorities for a team, delegating, addressing underperformance and giving clear feedback. At senior level, the focus shifts towards aligning stakeholders across functions, balancing short-term targets with longer-term goals and driving change in the face of resistance.
I identify these requirements through your existing documents, interviews with people who know the role well and concrete situations that distinguish effective from ineffective performance. The most critical situations form the basis of the exercises. Each requirement is assessed using defined behavioural indicators across more than one exercise.
Assessment centres for graduate and management trainee recruitment
Graduate and management trainee programmes are designed to develop people. The assessment should therefore focus on what applicants need from day one, rather than skills the programme is intended to build.
Depending on the programme, entry requirements may include structuring an unfamiliar problem with incomplete information, gaining the cooperation of more experienced colleagues without formal authority, presenting results clearly and adjusting an approach in response to feedback. Budget responsibility, team leadership and deep functional expertise typically develop during the programme. I therefore include them in the assessment only where they are required on entry.
I design exercises around realistic situations from your programme, using a context that requires no insider knowledge. This gives applicants from different backgrounds a comparable starting point.
Assessment centre design: exercises and scoring criteria for your target role
The materials are developed for the agreed target role and aligned with one another.
- Job requirements
- Exercises
- Assessments
- Selection decision
- Job requirements profile and clearly defined competencies with behavioural examples
- Competency–exercise matrix and session plan
- Newly developed exercises with materials for participants and those delivering the assessment
- Observation and rating sheets with scales and behavioural anchors
- Rules for combining assessments and deriving a recommendation
- Assessor training materials and role briefings
- Report template and feedback conversation guide
One possible format is a half-day individual assessment centre with an interview, role play and case study. The appropriate exercises and session structure depend on the requirements and your context.
The materials remain available for your use.
You receive the complete materials in an editable format for ongoing internal use and adaptation for the agreed target role. You can deliver future assessments independently with appropriately qualified assessors and role players and suitable organisation.
How research and professional standards inform your assessment
An evidence-based approach to assessment centre design
Design decisions are informed by relevant research, professional standards and the requirements of your target role. Exercises, behavioural indicators and scoring rules are documented, and assessors practise applying the agreed criteria.
Job analysis
Role documentation and different perspectives inform what the assessment centre should assess.
Relevant tasks
Exercises allow observation of behaviour that matters for the target role.
Shared scoring criteria
Behavioural anchors, rating scales and training specific to the process support assessment.
Considered assessment conditions
Clear instructions, appropriate conditions and individual adjustments agreed in advance are taken into account.
Documented results
Reports explain the evidence behind assessments and acknowledge uncertainty.
Establishing predictive validity within your organisation requires a separate empirical study.
How your virtual assessment centre is designed and delivered
An agreed project timeline
We agree the timeline to the first assessment at the start of the project. It depends on the development scope and the availability of your internal contributors.
Agree the brief and scope
We agree the target role, selection purpose, format, contributors and organisational responsibilities. For your virtual assessment centre, we also clarify the video conferencing environment, access to digital materials and technical requirements. You receive an individual proposal and an agreed project plan.
Establish the job requirements
I review existing documentation and conduct structured conversations with decision-makers and people who know the role well. Brief individual weighting and joint discussion bring the findings together into a job requirements profile. Existing leadership frameworks are reviewed and made specific to the target role.
Develop exercises and scoring criteria
The requirements inform new exercises, behavioural anchors, rating sheets and decision rules. We discuss the design; the materials are reviewed for their technical quality and adjusted where needed.
Prepare assessors and role players
Assessors receive training on the specific process and practise applying the scoring criteria. Role players are briefed on their role and the intended responses. Preparation takes place remotely and covers the workflow and collaboration in the virtual format.
Deliver the virtual assessment centre
I lead the agreed assessment sessions, facilitate the process and contribute to behavioural observation and assessment. Additional qualified assessors and role players contribute according to the agreed staffing.
Explain the results and hand over the materials
Every participant receives a detailed individual report and a feedback conversation, regardless of the selection outcome. You receive a reasoned assessment against the target role and the complete assessment materials. The final hiring decision remains with your organisation.
Virtual delivery: facilitation, observation and collaboration
Virtual assessment centre delivery
I lead the agreed assessment sessions, facilitate the process and contribute to behavioural observation and assessment. Additional assessors and role players are agreed and prepared in advance. Your internal team can participate, with external support arranged where needed and available.
You receive individual reports with competency assessments, behavioural evidence and a reasoned assessment against the target role. Each participant receives feedback, regardless of the selection outcome. The final hiring decision remains with your organisation.
You provide access to the relevant contacts and take responsibility for participant communications, scheduling and the agreed technical infrastructure. We agree the video conferencing environment, material access and technical responsibilities in advance.
Internal assessors and role players are planned and prepared together. Where additional external assessors are needed, network partners may contribute subject to availability. Staffing and costs are agreed in advance.
Virtual individual and group formats are possible. Scope, session structure and staffing are defined for the project. Design-only projects are also available on request.
What determines the cost of assessment centre design and delivery
The effort required depends in particular on the target role, the existing job requirements information, the scope of the exercises, the format and the number of participants.
You receive a concrete estimate for development, training and the agreed assessment sessions. Fees are based on the actual work carried out. Any foreseeable overrun or extension to the scope is discussed with you early, before additional work begins.
Development and training are itemised separately from the effort for each virtual assessment session. Costs for agreed network partners are included in the proposal.
Included in the standard project
- Job analysis and bespoke assessment centre design
- Complete observation, scoring and delivery materials
- Process-specific assessor training and role briefings
- Professional leadership of the agreed assessment sessions
- Detailed individual reports and feedback for every participant
- Editable materials for the agreed internal use
Agreed separately
- additional target roles, languages or assessment sessions
- additional organisational support
- separate piloting or empirical evaluation
Pilot and investigate further where needed
Piloting
A separate trial with test participants can be used to explore the exercises, workflow, observability and assessability before regular use, followed by appropriate adjustments.
Evaluation
After delivery, we can investigate specific questions about the quality of the process. The questions, available data and feasibility determine the scope and approach. Investigating predictive validity requires suitable subsequent performance data and sufficient cases.
Further assessment sessions
The developed process can be used again for future appointments. Delivery and any necessary adaptations are agreed separately.
Your contact: Michel Gehrke
Through MG Assessment & Development, I support organisations in making informed selection and development decisions. I personally develop your virtual assessment centre and take professional responsibility for its delivery.
I hold a B.Sc. in Wirtschaftspsychologie from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and an M.Sc. in Work and Organizational Psychology from Maastricht University.
I first gained practical experience in assessment centres nine years ago. For the past five years, I have worked on the design, organisation, delivery and development of assessment processes.
- Design, organisation, delivery and development of assessment and development centres, from SMEs to DAX-listed companies, including programmes for trainees and managers
- Recurring independent responsibility for assessment in German- and English-language projects
- Preparation of individual assessment reports and delivery of feedback conversations
- Work at Kienbaum, an HR and management consultancy, contributing to selection processes and the development of assessment materials
Frequently asked questions about virtual assessment centres
Can you design an assessment centre around our existing competency framework?
Yes. Existing role descriptions and competency or leadership frameworks provide a starting point. We review and make them specific to the target role. If no framework exists, we establish the requirements together.
Are the assessment centre exercises developed specifically for our roles?
Yes. The exercise content is developed specifically for the agreed target role. Established working and document templates may support development.
Can we commission assessment centre design without delivery?
Yes. The standard project also includes training and delivery. Design-only projects are available on request; the handover and preparation required are agreed accordingly.
Who facilitates and assesses the virtual sessions?
I take professional responsibility for the process, facilitate the sessions and contribute to behavioural observation and assessment. Additional assessors and role players are planned in advance. Internal contributors may be joined by agreed network partners, subject to availability.
Can our internal team run the assessment centre afterwards?
You receive complete, editable materials for ongoing internal use and adaptation for the agreed target role. Independent delivery requires appropriately qualified assessors and role players and suitable organisation. Sharing or commercialising the materials with third parties is agreed separately.
Does every participant receive a report and feedback?
Yes. Every participant receives a detailed individual report and a feedback conversation, regardless of the selection outcome.
What determines the cost and project timeline?
Once the scope is clarified, you receive an individual proposal with a concrete effort estimate. Fees are based on the actual work carried out. We agree the timeline together and discuss foreseeable changes in effort early.
Are piloting and validation included?
Reviewing the materials for their technical quality is part of development. A separate pilot with test participants and empirical evaluation can be agreed additionally. Predictive validity within your organisation is not claimed without an appropriate study.
Let’s discuss your virtual assessment centre.
In an initial conversation with no obligation, we clarify your target role, hiring needs and an appropriate project scope.
Tell me which role you need to fill, whether an assessment process already exists and when you would like the first assessment to take place.
[email protected]