by Charles D. Hale

Over the years, the assessment center method of evaluating and selecting individuals to fill technical, supervisory, and management-level positions has proven to be highly successful in municipal police and fire departments. This fourth edition expands upon the concepts and principles presented in the previous editions and numerous chapters have been extensively edited and reformatted.

New sections have been presented on the critical EMS problem as well as Public Education Exercises. The chapter “Best Practices in Assessment Center Exercises” provides many new examples of how candidates can achieve superior performance in many different kinds of assessment exercises. The text continues to offer invaluable insight concerning the reliability, cost-effectiveness, and objective methods for the selection of candidates for higher appointments.

Included topics are the advantages of the assessment center; objections to assessment centers; typical and effective assessment exercises; center design and administration; selection and training of assessors; candidate evaluation, scoring, and feedback; preparing for an assessment center; best practices; greatest blunders; and ensuring candidate satisfaction with assessment methods. A substantial appendix offers many valuable resource tools: typical in-basket items; guidelines for scoring; group problem-solving exercises; tactical fire problem scenario; employee meeting exercise; citizen interview exercise; role-playing exercises; shift meeting exercise; community meeting exercise; room configurations, typical schedules; and candidate feedback questionnaires and forms.

This fourth edition continues to be the most authoritative source for assessment center management.