The Centre for Human Resource Development, XLRI-Xavier School of Management, is all set to host the International Blended Conference on Assessment Centre from December 9-10, at its campus in Jamshedpur.
The international conference will be a hybrid event combining the “live” in-person event at the XLRI campus and a “virtual” online component for remote attendees. It will have online sessions by many international speakers, while the paper presenters from Asian regions will be on campus to make their presentations.
The focus of the event is to show how assessment, diagnostic, and development centres represent proven and exciting interventions for human resources practitioners to maximise the benefits of such centres to their organisations and the people who work in them.
The conference is to be co-chaired by Prof RK Premarajan, Chairperson, Centre for HRD, XLRI Jamshedpur, and George Thornton III, Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University, USA.
Elaborating about the conference, Premarajan said, “The assessment centre method is used by organisations all over the world in both private and public sectors as a means to higher stakes in selection/promotion, diagnosis of developmental needs and actual skill development. In a changing corporate world, the main goal of the human resource management is to achieve competitive advantage by the strategic allocation of qualified personnel. Research demonstrates that there is no substitute for objectively and systematically measuring to what extent current and prospective staffs have the sets of competencies to perform effectively on the job. It is therefore increasingly imperative for organisations to search for more accurate forms of assessing talent and supporting their development. Assessment centres, diagnostic centres, and developmental assessment centres are excellent ways applied in organisations to support these needs.”
Besides the plenary session on the past, present, and future of assessment centres, there will be five themes around which paper presentations and discussions will be held:
o Global standards for the assessment centre method and its growth in emerging markets
o Advances in assessment centres in selection applications
o Contemporary development in building people competencies using ACs
o Validity issues in assessment centres
o Technology and assessment centres
Some of the eminent speakers at the conference include Bill Byham, a global pioneer in the field of assessment centres, and George Thornton III.
Other speakers include Mehmet Surmeli from Turkey, Anne Bucket and Sandra Schlebusch from South Africa, Svetlana Simonenka from Russia, Anna Baczynska from Poland, with Suzanne Tsacoumis, Martin Lanik, Josh Liff, Nathan Mondragon, Lynn Collins, and Sandra Hartog from USA.
Several researchers and practitioners from India will share their study results and experiences as well.
Leading consulting organisations such as Accenture Consulting, Aon Hewitt, Deloitte Consulting, DDI, EY and Willis Towers Watson will share the latest practices.
Companies such as Infosys and Wipro will share the unique applications of assessment centres in their talent management practices.
Online assessment companies such as Wheebox will share presentations and set up stalls.
Besides the conference, various workshops on innovation in assessment centres and designing assessment centre simulations will be held facilitated by Dr Thornton. Abstracts for paper presentation are being invited from researchers and practitioners. The last date for submission of abstract is November 15.
Details of the conference are available at: https://actmem.wixsite.com/2017