There are a great many methods of personnel evaluation. The most popular are assessment center, testing, questionnaires, interviews, cross-sectional sociometric evaluation.
Important
The assessment center is currently considered the most in-depth evaluation method. It allows for a comprehensive study of a person's potential and their suitability for the position's requirements. This method is not used to identify functional skills.
To see the potential, assess the employee's fit for the current (or planned) position, analyze their typical behavior – this is the goal of the 'assessment center'. Before starting such a study, priority behavioral qualities for the company are determined, after which key competencies are developed for each position, which the evaluators use as guidelines.
Ideally, the most complete picture could be obtained by observing an employee's work for at least two months. This is difficult to achieve in practice, so one has to settle for a different scheme.
Within the assessment center, selected or invited experts conduct testing, individual interviews, and may also offer a series of cases and business games adapted to a specific company. The latter component is considered the most significant. A group of employees is given a task to discuss a complex (but standard) business situation and analyze possible behavior options. Through exercises simulating various situations, the presence or absence of required competencies in the subjects is revealed.
Typical exercises that a successful recruitment agency provides are speaking as a manager, talking to a difficult client, conversing with a subordinate. At different stages, participants are given scores, from which conclusions are drawn.
Summing up...
The method of cross-sectional sociometric evaluation (PSE) – also called '360 degrees' – is based on collecting information about a specialist's behavior in real situations. Data is obtained from several sources: from the manager, subordinates, clients, and colleagues who constantly interact with them. These people are often asked not just to give an assessment, but to explain their position with examples.
The subject themselves also has a voice – they may be asked to evaluate their own qualities and behavior in work situations. If experts find deviations from reality in their self-assessment, they will be offered to adjust their self-perception. In the end, evaluators have qualitative and quantitative information representing the employee's business qualities and their differences from colleagues.
The results of PSE are similar to those of an assessment center, but cross-sectional evaluation is simpler and does not require additional procedures. Overall, this method is cheaper than the previous one.
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