Assessment Centre Exercises
Use our off-the-shelf or bespoke assessment and development exercises to evaluate strengths and development needs in action and reach the right decisions about recruitment, promotion and succession.
Our assessments build rich, penetrating and precise insights through activities that are engaging, distinctive, and thought-provoking for participants.
Off-the-Shelf Assessment Centre Exercises
Odyssey Assessments
Our off-the-shelf assessment and development centre exercises have been designed using the Odyssey assessment-design principles.
Odyssey exercises are based on realistic business scenarios, which work to evoke a range of human emotions and motivations. These may include: challenge, passion, humour, success, surprise and learning.
Engage, Challenge & Entertain
participants and observers
Performance and Potential
demonstrated in response to real-life business challenges
Simple and Elegant
materials avoid needless complexity
How does it work?
Step 1: Choose your case study

NWP
(Junior - Senior level roles)
Context:
A community-based PR project aimed at the regeneration of a run-down area.
• Great for roles requiring strong communicating & influencing skills

CYPHERTECH
(Junior - mid level roles)
Context:
Taking a new product to market
• Great for non-management functions inc. sales, marketing & customer service

CVM
(Junior - Senior level roles)
Context:
The acquisition and re-launch of a retail chain
• Great for roles requiring a strong strategic & innovative approach.

MIRAMAR
(Junior - Senior level roles)
Context:
Developing a leadership initiative to reinvigorate an established institution.
• Great for roles requiring a strong strategic & innovative approach
Step 2: Choose your exercises
Analysis Exercises:
Group Exercises:
Role Play Exercises:
Other Exercises:
Competencies measured
Your choice of Odyssey exercises should be guided by the success criteria that your assessment process is built around. Different exercises assess different competencies, so using a combination of exercises will enable you to tap into those skills essential for your role and organisation.
We can advise which Odyssey activities will work best for your competency framework, leadership behaviours, potential model, or values, or you can choose for yourself.
Odyssey is designed to assess 12 core competencies critical to success in the workplace:
ANALYSIS
Ability to identify and extract key information from reference materials; evaluating information to make links between issues and form logical arguments.
COMMERICAL AWARENESS
Demonstrates an understanding of the commercial aspects of the organisation and a clear understanding of the environment in which the organisation operates.
COMMUNICATING & INFLUENCE
Ability to convey complex ideas succinctly and give reasoned arguments to persuade others around to their point of view.
CREATIVITY & INNOVATION
Looks beyond existing procedures and processes to offer novel solutions and imaginative thinking. Identifies the need for innovation as a key priority for the organisation.
CUSTOMER AWARENESS
Adopts a positive attitude towards building strong customer relations; considers the customers’ perspective when reaching decisions and forming strategy.
DEVELOPING OTHERS
Effectively uses probes and open ended questions to fully understand the individual and their needs; offers tangible support and helps produce development plan
DRIVE
Demonstrates a preparedness to throw themselves into the demands of the task. Takes personal responsibility for moving things forward and getting things done.
LEADING CHANGE
Identifies the need for organisational change. Makes connections between suggestions and the strategic priorities of the organisation.
LEADING OTHERS
Ability to work collaboratively with others and support direct reports. Ability to empower others and coach them to perform at their best.
PLANNING & TIME MANAGEMENT
Ability to plan and organise work and activities; prioritising work appropriately so to meet wider organisational objectives.
WORKING TOGETHER
Demonstrates a willingness to work openly and co-operatively with others, be part of a team and work together to achieve common goals.
STRATEGIC FOCUS
Considers the practical implications of introducing new ideas, making clear, reasoned arguments based on the business case. Keeps strategic priorities at forefront of plan.
FAQs
- Odyssey utilises focused timescales that require full participation from respondents and also provides a range of different scenarios (and levels of challenge) that can be matched to your requirements.
- No observed aspects of our assessment centre exercises last more than 30 minutes.
- Engaging exercise content and clear guidance notes means assessors stay more engaged with the process throughout.
- A structured approach to collecting key information throughout the assessment centre.
- By utilising debrief interviews and the additional development planning materials available.
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Full use is made of the information gathered throughout the assessment centre, with a focus on supporting the participant’s development.
- Exercises can be bought individually.
- Discounts available for volume orders.
- No licence fees.
- Odyssey assessment centre exercises come with high face validity and clear instructions to make it as easy for assessors as possible.
- Optional debrief interviews and an emphasis within the scenarios on creating a positive outcome, such as a PR project, product launch, leadership initiative, etc.
- Competency definitions benchmarked against some of the most widely used private and public sector frameworks.
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Assessment criteria that work with your company’s success factors. Competency headings can also be adapted if required.
- The Odyssey approach can be applied to create bespoke exercises that meet your unique needs. Meaning better informed decisions, increased face validity and engagement with no repeat costs.
- Our assessment centre exercises are designed to draw out real behaviours using a variety of formats, e.g. individual, group, presentation, written, etc.
- This gives you the opportunity to observe key behaviours central to predicting performance in your job role - a richer source of data than just using an interview.
Bespoke Assessment Centre Development
Bespoke assessment centre exercises built for you:
Having assessment centre exercises developed specifically for your recruitment or development greatly enhances the performance, impact, and validity of your assessments.
We have developed a specialism in the design of bespoke assessment exercises by developing activities for a diverse range of roles across different sectors.
Our bespoke assessments have enabled our clients to:

Find the Right People
exercises based on their unique competencies, success factors or development model
Communicate the Right Messages
materials that reflect the employer brand and reality of the role
Create Positive Perceptions
with participants, observers, and assessment stakeholders
Time to take your assessment centres digital?
Do you still use traditional paper-based assessment centre exercises?
If so, then it might be time to consider bringing your assessment centres into the 21st century...
eVal is our award winning digital assessment centre platform. Administered through an engaging ipad interface, eVal Digital Assessment Centres benefits both candidates and assessors by eliminating paper from the assessment process, saving you valuable time and resource, meaning you can focus on the tasks that really matter.