The Centre for Human Resource Development,XLRI- Xavier School of Management is all set to host the first-of-its-kind ‘International Blended Conference on Assessment Centre’ on December 9th – 10th, 2017at XLRI 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. The conference will have online sessions by many international speakers, while the paper presenters from Asian regions will be on campus at XLRI to make their presentations.
The focus of the conference is to show how Assessment, Diagnostic, and Development Centres represent proven and exciting interventions for human resources practitioners to maximize the benefits of such centres to their organizations and the people who work in them. The Conference is to be co-chaired by Prof. R.K. Premarajan, Chairperson, Centre for HRD, XLRI Jamshedpur and Dr. George Thornton III, Professor Emeritus,Colorado State University, USA.
Elaborating about the conference Prof. R.K. Premarajan said, “The assessment center method is used by organizations all over the world in both private and public sectors as a means to high 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 organizations to search for more accurate forms of assessing talent and supporting their development. Assessment Centers, Diagnostic Centers, and Developmental Assessment Centres are excellent ways applied in organizations to support these needs. It is in this context that we at XLRI hosting this Conference with the aim to provide a platform for experts, thought leaders and innovators in the field to present their ground-breaking research, new insights, and best practices that capture the current state and future direction of the assessment, diagnostic, and development center methods.”
Besides the plenary session on the Past, Present, and Future of Assessment Centres, there would be 5 themes around which paper presentations and discussions will be held, namely-
- Global standards for the Assessment Centre Method and its growth in Emerging Markets
- Advances in Assessment Centres in Selection Applications
- Contemporary Development in Building People Competencies using ACs
- Validity Issues in Assessment Centres
- Technology and Assessment Centres
Some of the eminent speakers at the conference include –Dr. Bill Byham, a Global pioneer in the field of Assessment Centres, and Dr George Thornton III, Professor Emeritus of Industrial Organizational Psychology at Colorado State University, 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 willshare their study results and experiences at the conference. Leading consulting organizations such as Accenture Consulting, Aon Hewitt, Deloitte Consulting, DDI, EY, WillisTowersWatsonand others would share the latest practices. Organizations such as Infosys, Wipro and others will share the unique applications of Assessment Centres in their Talent Management Practices.
Online Assessment companies such as Wheebox and others would share presentations and set up stalls during the two day conference. Besides the Conference, various Workshops on ‘Innovation in Assessment Centres’ as well as ‘Designing Assessment Centre Simulations’ would be held facilitated by Dr. George Thornton. Abstracts for paper presentation are being invited from Researchers and Practitioners. The Last date for submission of abstract is November 15th, 2017.
