ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the various ways that Assessment Centers (ACs) have been used to inform talent management strategies, and provided evidence specifically associated with these uses. The available criterion-related validity evidence provides strong support for the use of ACs in traditional personnel management settings, such as hiring and promotion settings. The evidence for the construct-related validity of various facets of performance shows that ACs can be useful for pinpointing the strengths and developmental needs among individuals, often to serve more strategic and targeted forms of talent management. The majority of research over the past 30 years has emphasized the construct validity of AC ratings and, as a component of construct validity, the criterion-related validity of ACs in predicting individual performance. Far more research is needed addressing the use of ACs in broader talent management and change initiative, such as succession planning, both dimension- and task-based approaches to development, and ACs to foster unit-level change.
