1 © KAISEN CONSULTING LTD Development Centres How can you make them work for your firm? Robert Myatt Kaisen Consulting

1 © KAISEN CONSULTING LTD

Development CentresHow can you make them work for your firm?

Robert Myatt

Kaisen Consulting


Accountancy firm ran Management Development Centres for 170 high-potential managers:

Annual turnover 42% lower

2.7% increase in sales per attendee

(Naish & Birdi, 2001)

Partners in a management consultancy rated higher on EI competencies generated $1.2 million (139%) more profit (Boyatzis, 1999)

Development centres in an engineering consultancy resulted in 81% increase in retention of high potentials

Why do you want to run development centres?


wKaisen Consulting

Improving the quality of leadership in organisations at all levels

Highly individualised assessment and development

Expert business psychologists

Leadership assessment

Leadership coaching

Leadership development


Development centre outputs

Succession plans: who has potential for what?

Retention of talent

Target development support

Develop skills

Career support

Release potential: address performance ‘blocks’


What can go wrong?

“They told us it was a development centre.

We walked into the room and there were eight people with clipboards sitting in the corners, making notes on what whatever we said or did.

All I got at the end was a report telling me things like “her performance on the case study exercise would have benefited from taking a wider perspective on the business problem.”


Example development centreAssessment day:

Interview360 analysis

PsychometricsBusiness thinking assessment

Development planning

Assessment report

Development activities

After development centre


Example development centre

Exercise

Assessor Feedback

Exercise

Development Input

Repeated for skill areas:

Client managementCommercial thinking

Coaching


Development centre options

Assessment

Focus

Development

Internal

Facilitation

External

Short-term Long-term

Time frame

Confidential ‘On file’

Access to info


Focus: Assessment vs Development

Assessment Development

Drives judgements Drives skills development

Robust, objective data ‘Observations’

Information used by organisation and individual

Information used by individual

Development support after the event

Development during the event


Facilitation: Internal vs External

Internal External

Clear ‘business relevance’ Need to ensure ‘face validity’

Heavy involvement of internal stakeholders (e.g. Partners)

Need to manage stakeholder expectations

Input from experience Input from expertise

Time commitment Budget commitment


Time frame: Short-term vs Long-term

Short-term External

Assesses readiness for ‘step up’ Assesses ‘headroom’

Drives promotion decisions Drives career planning

Can be exercise-based Need for psychological assessment

Rapid uplift of pre-identified skills

Identification of individual development needs


Access to info: Confidential vs ‘On file’

Confidential ‘On file’

Line manager involvement ‘encouraged’

Line manager involvement ‘built in’

Helps the individual make decisions

Helps the organisation make decisions

Ensures openness Risk of ‘impression management’

Less need for reassurance on confidentiality

Need for clear communication about access to information


Sharing best practice

Small group discussions

Which of the development centre options will work for your Firm?


Measuring business impact

‘Happy sheet’

Skills uplift e.g. pre/post 360

Retention

Speed of promotion

Performance improvement:

Billing

Business development

Employee survey


Conclusions

Development centres can be highly beneficial to individuals and organisations

Success depends on clarity of:

Outputs

Design

Communication

Documents

1 © KAISEN CONSULTING LTD Development Centres How can you make them work for your firm? Robert Myatt Kaisen Consulting