2021 ACSG VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ABSTRACT BOOKLET

2021 ACSG Conference – 15 to 19 March 2021

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2021 ACSG VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

ABSTRACT BOOKLET


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Assessment Centres: Turning Theory into Practice and Promising Beginnings

With thanks to our Sponsors & Exhibitors

Abstract Selection Process

The submission format, review process and the acceptance of abstracts were handled by the

ACSG committee.

All abstracts submitted were subjected to a blind peer review process. The reviewers were

Anne Buckett, George Coetzee, Eugene de Bruin, Martin Kleinmann, Petrus Nel, Sandra

Schlebusch, Marius Stander and George Thornton.

ABSA Sponsorship Amount

BTS Conference Technology, Exhibition Space

Evalex Whova App, Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

JvR Psychometrics Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

LEMASA Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

Pinsight Gifts for Presenters, Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

Psytech Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

SHL Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

Yellow Seed Exhibition Space & Exhibitor’s Corner

UP Sponsorship Amount

Network Partners

Knowledge Resources

SAGEA

SIOPSA

SABPP


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Contents

Page Number

ACSG information 3

List of acronyms used 4

Programme 5

AC Academy training module abstracts 8 – 9

Pre-conference workshop abstracts 11 – 13

Conference abstracts 14 – 39

Presenters 40 – 58

Alphabetical presenters’ index 59

ACSG Committee (2017 – 2021)

Chairman Jaco de Jager

Treasurer Petrus Nel

Carl Herman

Stacy Isaacs

Sandra Schlebusch

Support & Compliance Manager Judith Williamson

ACSG Honorary Members

Anne Buckett

George Coetzee

Eugene de Bruin

Hennie Kriek

Deon Meiring (IM)

Sandra Schlebusch

Herman Spangenberg

Past Chairpersons

1981 – 1984 Hermann Spangenberg (SBW)

1985 – 1985 Albert van der Merwe (Sasol)

1986 – 1987 Hermann Spangenberg (SBW)

1988 – 1995 George Coetzee (Naspers)

1996 – 2001 Hennie Kriek (SHL)

2002 – 2003 Willie Marais (Old Mutual)

2004 – 2005 Charmaine Swanevelder (SHL)

2006 – 2007 Deon Meiring (SAPS)

2008 – 2009 Anne Buckett (Precision HR)

2010 – 2011 Sandra Schlebusch (LEMASA)

2012 – 2013 Lydia Cillié-Schmidt (The Talent Hub)

2014 – 2015 David Bischof (Deloitte)

2016 – 2017 Petrus Nel (University of the Free State)

2018 – 2021 Jaco de Jager (TTS-Talent)

Mobile: +27 (0)83 304 6068 | Fax: +27 (0)86 548 5674 |Email: [email protected] | Website: www.acsg.co.za

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.acsg.co.za/


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yms AC Assessment Centre(s) SABPP South African Board for People Practices

AC/DC Assessment and Development Centre(s) SARS South African Revenue Services

ACSG SA Assessment Centre Study Group NPC SIOPSA Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa

ASSA Assessment Standards South Africa SIOP Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology

AI Artificial Intelligence SJT Situational Judgement Test

DC Development Centre(s) SSA State Security Agency

DAC Development Assessment Centre TAT Trait Activation Theory

HPCSA Health Professions Council of South Africa UCT University of Cape Town

IACCP International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology UJ University of Johannesburg

I/O Industrial and Organisational (Psychology) UP University of Pretoria

IPM Institute for People Management UNISA University of South Africa

IR Industrial Revolution US University of Stellenbosch

NWU North West University UWC University of Western Cape

SA South Africa VR Virtual Reality

https://sagea.org.za/


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AC Academy Training Workshops Pre-Conference Workshops

Monday, 15th and Tuesday, 16th March 2021 Wednesday, 17th March 2021

08:00 – 17:00 Module 1: Introduction to Behaviour Observation During an Assessment Centre (Observer 101)

Christine de Wet (LEMASA, South Africa) 08:00 – 12:30

Promoting ethical excellence in the design and operation of Assessment Centres Henriëtte van den Berg (Private Practitioner, South Africa)

08:00 – 17:00

Module 2: The Design and Development of an Assessment Centre (Designing Centres 101) – Practical Only *

Sandra Schlebusch (LEMASA, South Africa) 13:00 – 17:30

Introduction to Development Centres

Petrus Nel (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)

Practical Only * Only the practical part of Module 2: The Design and Development of an

Assessment Centre will be presented during the 2021 ACSG conference at a reduced rate of R3 300.00 (excl VAT). It is recommended to complete the theoretical part of Module 2 (eLearning) before booking to attend the practical session. The theoretical part of Module 2: The Design and Development of an Assessment Centre is available on TalentLMS as eLearning course at R5 500.00 (excl VAT), students R1 500.00 (excl VAT).

14:00 – 18:30

New Approaches in the Definition, Assessment and Development of Business Acumen and Strategy Execution: Critical Capabilities for Organizational Success as Seen Through the Lens of Organizations’ X Factors

Sandra Hartog and Lynn Collins (BTS, USA)

https://acsg.co.za/purpose-academy


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Conference Day One

Thursday, 18th March 2021

08:30 – 09:00 Official Welcome and Opening of the 41st Annual ACSG Conference - Jaco de Jager (Chairman: ACSG, South Africa)

09:00 – 10:00 Plenary Session – Practical Benefits from Psychological and Decision-making Theories - George Thornton (Colorado State University, USA)

TRANSITION

10:15 – 11:15 Artificial Intelligence: Implications for

the Assessment Centre Method

Hennie Kriek & Kim Dowdeswell

Towards leadership effectiveness: the role of individual leadership competencies and constraints through the lens of the Bounded

Leadership Model

Anna Baczyńska, Andrzej Kozmiński, Pawel Korzyński & Ilona Skoczeń

Exhibitor’s Corner

TRANSITION

11:30 – 12:30

Do the principles of ORCE (observe, record, classify & evaluate) still apply when scoring digital and virtual simulation exercises?

Danie Oosthuizen

IGNITE SESSION

Tripartite Model to achieve AC Competence: A Stakeholder Perspective

Petrus Nel & Sandra Schlebusch


12:30 – 13:30 LUNCH - Towards Stillness, Starfish and O’Donohue’s Beautiful Landscape of the Mind - Inette Taylor (Private Practitioner, South Africa)

13:30 – 14:30

The AC Assessor Crisis: Is Artificial Intelligence eliminating the role of the Assessor in the AC method?

Pieter Bronkhorst

IGNITE SESSION

Tripartite Model to achieve AC Competence: A Stakeholder Perspective Petrus Nel & Sandra Schlebusch


TRANSITION

14:45 – 15:45

Assessment Standards South Africa (ASSA) – Moving towards an online Assessment Certification Process

David Bischof & Marie de Beer

Adaptability: Definition, Assessment, and Development

George Thornton


TRANSITION

16:00 – 17:00 International Keynote Address - Decoding the High Potential Mystery: A New Model for Talent Assessment - Sandra Hartog (BTS, USA)

17:00 – 17:15 Closing Day One – Jaco de Jager (Chairman: ACSG, South Africa)


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Conference Day Two

Friday, 19th March 2021

08:00 – 08:30 Welcome to Day Two - Jaco de Jager (Chairman: ACSG, South Africa)

08:30 – 09:30 Local Keynote Address – Entrepreneurship Education is a Human Right - Yogavelli (Yogi) Nambiar (Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, South Africa)

09:30 – 10:00 ACSG Annual General Meeting - Jaco de Jager (Chairman: ACSG, South Africa)

TRANSITION

10:15 – 11:15 Psychological Portrait of an Entrepreneur

Svetlana Simonenko

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) Driven Leadership Framework

Pieter Bronkhorst


TRANSITION

11:30 – 12:30 Moving ACs Online: Lessons from Global Implementations

Martin Lanik

An intervention study to investigate diagnostic assessment centres as an avenue to improve the self-efficacy of

university graduates Melissa White, Jürgen Becker & Marieta du Plessis


12:30 – 13:30 LUNCH

13:30 – 14:30 Plenary Session – Leadership in the Face of Covid-19: Glaring Fault Lines and Ethical Dilemmas - Derick de Jongh (University of Pretoria, South Africa)

TRANSITION

14:45 – 15:45

Red Table: A candid conversation – the design of virtual assessment centres in our new reality

Discussion Leader Stacy Isaacs

Case Study: Building AC Methodology in the Organisation’s DNA

Jeremy Francis


TRANSITION

16:00 – 17:00 AC Ethics: In the Eye of the Beholder

Linda Fourie, Sandra Schlebusch & Raeanne Naidoo

Identifying internal talent and driving succession planning in a non-profit mutual assurance organisation

David Bischof & Vandana Varan


17:00 – 17:30 Closing Day Two – Jaco de Jager (Chairman: ACSG, South Africa)


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Module 1: Introduction to Behaviour Observation during an Assessment Centre

Track: AC Academy Training Workshop

Presenter: Christine de Wet (LEMASA, South Africa)

When: Monday, 15 and Tuesday, 16 March 2021 from 08:00 – 17:00

Purpose

Part of the reliability and validity of an Assessment Centre depends on using competent observers – people who have proven their competence in Observing behaviour, Noting behaviour, Classifying behaviour and Evaluating behaviour (ONCE). However, these are skills that need to be learned and continuously practised to ensure competence.

The purpose of Observer 101 is to introduce the potential observer to ONCE and to lay the foundation for eventually becoming a competent observer.

Course Outcomes

We follow a behavioural approach to assessing behaviour displayed during simulations by centre participants. Observer 101 will therefore focus on training potential observers on ONCE. At the end of the course, the delegates will have an understanding how to:

• Accurately identify behaviour

• Correctly Observing behaviour during an interactive simulation

• Accurately Noting behaviour during an interactive simulation

• Objectively Classifying behaviour according to focal constructs; and

• Fairly Evaluating behaviour according to norms.

• Being knowledgeable about ethics when Observing, Noting, Classifying and Evaluating behaviour

Target Groups

• IO Psychologists

• Psychometrists

• People working in Human Resources or Training and Development

• Anyone with a solid background in Human Behaviour


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Module 2: The Design and Development of an Assessment Centre

Track: AC Academy Training Workshop

Presenter: Sandra Schlebusch (LEMASA, South Africa)

When: Monday, 15 and Tuesday, 16 March 2021 from 08:00 – 17:00

Purpose

The purpose of Designing and Developing Assessment Centres is to lay the foundation for delegates to design an AC that will meet the important research components required for AC validity. In addition, practitioners will have a solid platform to support practical initiatives with their clients.

Although a short training programme is not enough to ensure competence, the aim of this training programme is to transfer sufficient skill so that, with practice, the delegates are on the road to competence.

Course Outcomes

• Being able to build a business case for an AC

• Being able to identify competencies and simulations for use during the AC

• Being able to compile an AC Blueprint that can be followed for AC development

• Knowing how to involve the appropriate stakeholders during the design of the AC

• Having a basic understanding of designing simulations and simulation documentation

• Being able to design the simulation sequence during the AC

• Knowing how to compile an AC Administration Manual and AC Technical Manual

• Being able to deliver a fully functional AC ready for implementation

• Being able to design and develop an AC with ethics in mind


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This module is presented in two parts

Part 1 - Theory which is presented in an asynchronous, eLearning format and takes approximately 25 hours to complete. Part 1 is a pre-requisite to attending Part 2.

Part 2 – Practical which is about putting the theory into practice and designing an Assessment Centre that meets the need of a fictitious client.

Target Groups

Participants attending Designing Centres 101 should at least have attended an Assessment Centre and have a basic understanding of what an Assessment Centre entails.

• IO Psychologists

• Psychometrists

• People working in Human Resources or Training and Development

• SETA registered assessors

• Anyone with a solid background in Human Behaviour

https://acsg.co.za/purpose-academy


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Promoting Ethical Excellence in the Design and Operation of Assessment Centres

Track: Workshop

Presenter: Henriëtte van den Berg (Private Practitioner, South Africa)

When: Wednesday, 17 March 2021 from 08:00 – 12:30

The ethical dilemmas involved in psychological assessment in general and assessment centres in particular, are plenty. The complexity of psychological assessment is one of the high-risk psychological practice areas that require advanced ethical competencies and a systematic decision-making process, especially now that COVID restrictions require a more frequent reliance on online assessment processes. The potential harm that can be done with unreliable and invalid assessment methods requires a high level of understanding of risk-mitigating measures that protect the interests of clients and practitioners. This workshop aims to increase awareness of ethical dilemmas and equip participants with strategies to improve the quality of ethical decision-making. Participants will identify the main ethical challenges encountered in their assessment centres and will be introduced to a stepwise decision-making process, including regulatory frameworks to consider in the decision-making process. A matrix of four norm systems will be applied to case studies involving multiple methods of assessment.

This will be followed by a risk assessment model of their assessment practices with a specific focus on how different assessment processes potentially violate clients' integrity and autonomy, the potential risk-benefit ratio of these practices and considerations to ensure administrative justice in the assessment process. Examples will be discussed of how these risks can be eliminated or controlled in designing, implementing, and evaluating assessment tasks. Small groups will use the risk assessment feedback to apply a five-step ethical decision-making process to enable practitioners to identify and apply alternative solutions to the ethical dilemmas that they frequently encounter in their practices. A resource kit of guideline documents will be shared with participants to develop their own context-specific ethics resource kit.

https://www.sabpp.co.za/


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Introduction to Development Centres

Track: Workshop

Presenter: Petrus Nel (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)


Assessment Centres (ACs) can be used for two purposes: assessment and development. Most people are familiar with using ACs for selection purposes; only some will use ACs for development purposes. The objective of the workshop is to open up the possibility of using an AC for developmental purposes.

Development interventions can be expensive. In addition, line managers are hesitant to send their subordinates for training if they do not see the results of the training in the work environment. Employees themselves are also reluctant to attend training since it does not address development needs as perceived by them. Therefore, chances are that training and development interventions may not be successful. Development Assessment Centres (DACs) may positively impact this situation.

The purpose of a (DAC) is to identify the participant’s current areas of strength and current areas needing further development so that future development can be aligned with real needs, and to train delegates on the AC focal constructs while at the centre. When development interventions are truly needs-driven the organisation can include these interventions as part of its Workplace Skills Plan and eventually claim some of the levies back. When DAC participants buy into their individual development needs, they will probably be more committed to address these particular needs. The subsequent training and development interventions will therefore be more effective.

This workshop introduces DACs and how to successfully implement a DAC within an organisation so that the organisation can reap the benefits of needs-driven training and development interventions.

During the workshop theoretical input will be delivered along with practical hints. The differences between an Assessment Centre used for selection purposes and an Assessment Centre used for developmental purposes, as well as the different variations of a DAC, will be discussed. After attending the workshop, the delegates will be able to implement a DAC effectively within their organisation.

http://www.kr.co.za/CatalogueRetrieve.aspx?ProductID=12537380&A=SearchResult&SearchID=17028379&ObjectID=12537380&ObjectType=27


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New Approaches in the Definition, Assessment and Development of Business Acumen and Strategy Execution: Critical Capabilities for Organisational Success as Seen Through the Lens of Organisations’ X Factors

Track: Workshop

Presenter: Sandra Hartog & Lynn Collins (BTS, USA)


Developing talent management strategies that support and drive business strategy is the key to execution as people are the fulcrum on which the success of strategy rests. I/O psychologists have worked for decades on strategic approaches to talent management yet have often left a gap in addressing strategic talent approaches to execute business strategy. One of the areas where this becomes particularly problematic is in the assessment and development of individuals charged with executing their organisation’s business strategy. This will be a workshop on an innovative approach to defining and assessing business acumen and strategy execution and the application of these definitions and assessments for the benefit of the individual and the organisation. Attendees will participate in an immersive learning experience where they will actually engage in an abbreviated assessment and learning centre specifically designed to assess business and people acumen, and strategy alignment and execution. Leveraging a business simulation, participants will explore first-hand approaches to the assessment and development of these capabilities. We will also review a series of data collected from a wide range of business acumen assessment and development centres that demonstrate the efficacy of this approach for insight and application at the individual and organisational levels. An additional benefit to this workshop is the examination of a virtual approach to a development centre that does not sacrifice any of the best practices or inherent value embedded in traditional onsite centres. There will be 1 hour of prework for all workshop participants. Participants will need steady internet and a computer for the workshop. A tablet or phone is not acceptable.


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Practical Benefits from Psychological and Decision-making Theories

Track: Plenary Session

Presenter: George Thornton (Colorado State University, USA)

When: Thursday, 18 March 2021 from 09:00 – 10:00

“There is nothing so practical as a good theory.”

“The best way to understand something is to try to change it.”

Kurt Lewin

The first quote shows the relevance of theory to practice. The second quote shows the relevance of practice to theory. They provide a frame for this presentation and the entire conference theme “Turning Theory Into Practice and Promising Beginnings.”

This presentation will describe how several theories from social perception, psychometrics, and interpersonal judgment help us design, implement, and evaluate the assessment centre method. Various benefits from using theory will be cited. For example, when there is no prior practice or research has been done, theory guides us. Examples from theories will be given and shown how they are useful. For example, Interactionist Theory informs us that behaviour is a function of the interaction of characteristics of both the person and situation. This provides guidance for competencies to assess and exercise design.

Then the presentation will point out how theories are relevant to subsequent presentations at this conference. For example, presentations by Baczynska, Simonenka, Hartog and others deal with competencies being assessed. Taxonomies of Competencies provide guidance of what we know and do not know about human capabilities, and which ones are amenable to change in a developmental AC. Other examples include presentations by Oosthuizen and Bronkhorst which deal with the processes of ORCE. For these, the Realistic Accuracy Model and the Frame of Reference Model articulate principles of participant behaviour, assessor skills, and how to design exercises to provide optimal assessments.

The presenter will end with examples of how theories can guide AC practitioners and scholars in how to launch truly promising beginnings. Time for Q/A will be provided.


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Artificial Intelligence: Implications for the Assessment Centre Method

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Kim Dowdeswell & Hennie Kriek (TTS-Talent, South Africa)


Organisations’ digital-enabled responses to COVID’s unprecedented disruptions have highlighted again the fundamental role technology can play in enabling organisations’ continuity and performance. Artificial intelligence (AI), one of the latest evolving technologies to impact talent management and the field of IO Psychology, is no exception to this, and similar to previous technological advancements in the talent space, the adoption and use of AI-enabled applications brings its own challenges and opportunities.

This presentation 1) reflects on the current state of play of AI and machine learning applications within the context of talent management practices, 2) shares emerging local and international research findings concerning the use of AI in people measurement, and 3) explores potential applications of AI within the assessment centre (AC) method, highlighting critical considerations for AC practitioners.

To open the session, a grounding will be given to different applications of AI in talent management practices, with a specific focus on how AI is currently being used within the context of personnel assessment and selection decisions. While many organisations have responded to economic hardships brought on by COVID by placing temporary freezes on hiring, the substantial job losses of 2020 suggest that recruiters may expect a massive influx of candidates once hiring resumes. In such a scenario, we believe the inclusion of AI-enabled applications will go a long way to supporting recruiters in managing increased volumes in a fair, efficient, and effective manner.

At the heart of the AC method is the observation of participants’ behaviour by multiple assessors and subsequent evaluation against predefined competency requirements (Schlebusch & Roodt, 2008). However, Kuncel (2020) shared findings that the validity of decision-making improves as more optimal weightings are consistently assigned algorithmically when integrating information, rather than relying on human judgement to process each integration subjectively. Herein lies the crux of the utility offered to AC practitioners by the AI-enabled evaluation of competencies: the scalable, objective and consistent measurement of participants’ demonstrated behaviours for final review and decision-making by AC practitioners.

In support of these arguments, we will share empirical data concerning the use of AI in the measurement of competencies in an international setting, examining both convergent validity and adverse impact and bias considerations. Additionally, in what we believe is a first in the South African context, we will share results from an investigation into the level of agreement between AI-scored and human-scored interview ratings for a sample of South African applicants, as completed by a pool of 20 experienced South African IO psychologists and interns.

The presentation will close with a reflection on the local and international research findings as well as on the implications and possible applications of AI to streamline and enhance current practices within the assessment centre method. As with the adoption of all new technologies, we believe it is important for AC practitioners to be involved and guide AI-enabled applications to ensure effective, efficient and fair practices ensue. Key takeaways for AC practitioners will be insight into current research concerning the use of AI in competency measurement and points to consider when encountering or considering the adoption of AI-enabled applications in practice.


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Towards leadership effectiveness: the role of individual leadership competencies and constraints through the lens of the Bounded Leadership Model

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Anna Baczyńska, Andrzej Kozmiński, Paweł Korzyński, Ilona Skoczeń (Kozminski University, Poland)


The main purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that tested the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness, with constrains as a mediating variable, as well as the application in Assessment and Development Centres.

The Challenge: AC practitioners are at times requested to select employees with leadership potential for organisations. AC practitioners may also assist those with leadership potential in developing leadership competencies to reach their full potential as future leaders. AC practitioners are therefore in a unique position to assist organisations in identifying and developing the leadership competencies of individuals that are crucial for leadership effectiveness.

Background: Leadership competencies, as potential factors influencing leadership effectiveness, have been studied by many scholars (Amagoh, 2009, Kragt and Guenter, 2018). The previous work of Kozminski (2015) focused on qualitative interviews with recognisable Polish leaders representing politics, business, culture, religion, sport, or local authorities. They included two former presidents, one prime minister, cardinal of the Catholic Church, CEOs of important institutions. Leaders were asked to provide descriptions of situations and leadership behaviour patterns. Their responses were coded, analysed, and then classified into five categories of competencies. Based on these findings, we have identified five leadership competences that might be important in terms of leadership effectiveness: anticipatory competencies, visionary competencies, value-creating competencies, mobilisation competencies, and self-reflecting competencies.

Anticipatory competencies relate to the ability to look ahead to intercept the future circumstances and conditions influencing the leadership process. Anticipatory competencies help leaders create appropriate conditions for implementing change (Nadler and Tushman, 1990), facilitating the introduction of innovative solutions (Ramos, 2013), and supporting the process of building a competitive advantage (Kandampully and Duddy, 1999).

Visionary competencies of a leader translate into the ability to create future visions for oneself and one’s followers, making them sufficiently distant and attractive to mobilise followers to act. Westley and Mintzberg (1989) emphasise that these competencies require the creation of a certain idea that will be communicated to employees in a manner that will inspire them to undertake specific actions aimed at putting this idea into practice. Visionary competencies boost leaders’ impact on employees’ satisfaction (Cheema et al., 2015) and their bond with the organisation (Dvir et al., 2004).

Value-creating competencies are related to the ability to propose norms, values, and patterns of behaviour to ensure an effective impact of the leader on his/her followers. Recent research showed that these skills can help lead organisations with somewhat limited resources. Thus, the leader often has to decide how to divide the resources to achieve the goal that was set. Smith et al. (2016) argue that leaders with value-creating competencies can increase the pool of resources through a variety of alliances and cooperation with individuals who share similar values.

Mobilisation competencies refer to the leader’s ability to generate an extraordinary degree of commitment among followers—to the point of personal sacrifice—for the benefit of the organisation.


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In the literature, these competencies are often identified in the sector of education (Clark, 2013), health (Giles, 2010), or politics (Rucht, 2012). In commercial organisations, these competencies are also important, as they are related to employee performance (Bruch and Vogel, 2011).

Self-reflecting competencies are associated with the leader’s ability to analyse and learn from successes and failures. Reflecting on oneself is strongly emphasised in the theory of authentic leadership popularised by (George, 2007). According to his concept, authentic leaders analyse their life experiences and, by doing so, get to know themselves. Sparrowe (2005) adds that leaders engage in specific dialogue with themselves, which enables them to become authentic.

This Study collected data directly from leaders via self-reports and from their employees who provided other-informant data. The total sample included 242 leaders in top managerial positions. In total, six hypotheses were formed which related to the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness and the role of constraints. Hypotheses were tested by analysing several regression models (H1-H5) and mediation effects (H6). Moreover, internal consistency and construct validity were assessed by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha and assessing the intercorrelations between study variables.

Results: The study’s results demonstrate that leaders’ competencies are positively related to leadership effectiveness. We also found an indirect effect of leadership competencies on effectiveness via constrains, with two types of competencies that were the strongest predictors in the mediation models which were tested. Moreover, leaders’ self-reports, when compared to employees’ reports, assess themselves significantly higher on self-reflection competencies and effectiveness but lower on the visionary and mobilisation competencies. Overall, it can be concluded that the scales included in the Bounded Leadership Model (BLM) have satisfactory reliability and validity indicators.

Implications: The research examined the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness with constraints as a mediator. Moreover, it introduces the BLM which takes a broader view on leadership and includes variables that seem to play an important role in leaders’ adjustment and success.

The study examined leadership competencies and effectiveness from various perspectives by applying a multi-rater approach, therefore providing a more intriguing and compounded mechanism of leadership. These findings can be applied in Assessment (AC) and Development Centres (DCs) to support and enhance existing organisational programmes aimed at developing leadership competencies. Ultimately, the results from the BLM, together with AC and DCs could improve leadership effectiveness and address leadership constraints.

https://jvrafricagroup.co.za/


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Do the Principles of ORCE (observe, record, classify and evaluate) Still Apply When Scoring Digital and Virtual Simulation Exercises?

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Danie Oosthuizen (TTS-Talent, South Africa)


While Assessment Centres have crossed the Rubicon into the virtual space quite a number of years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled a rapid and dramatic acceleration of the transition to remotely administered assessments. Many practitioners who until recently preferred the tried-and-tested traditional AC approach, are now forced to do things differently. This new milieu offers opportunities and challenges and provides fertile ground for learning from successes and failures. This presentation focuses specifically on how these new developments apply to the scoring of simulation exercises using digital platforms.

The principle of ORCE scoring when assessing behaviours on simulation exercises has been applied and taught to assessment practitioners throughout the world. This principled is described in detail in the South Africa AC Guidelines (5th Edition) and it is widely applied when simulation exercises are scored, and candidate ratings assigned. This process also forms the basis for many AC reliability and validity studies.

However, the impact technology has had on the field of people assessments needs to be considered. In the last few years, we have seen more and more digital simulation exercises becoming available. Technology is not only used to present the AC exercises in a virtual fashion, but almost all such exercises have a digital scoring format that practitioners can use.

Such rating formats are often highly structured and prescribed and includes tick box-type interfaces and lists of actions a candidate can display which are linked to a particular competency. The role of the traditional assessor of human behaviour has now changed to that of individual who may merely scores pre-determine actions by indicating within a scoring matrix if the particular action has been taken or not. Based on the number of actions indicated as demonstrated, a score is then calculated. It therefore has the potential of becoming a very mechanical process of scoring a simulation and training of assessors is focused on how to use the system to score the simulation. Very little freedom is allowed for the assessor to apply judgement (i.e. using ORCE principles) of the behaviours demonstrated.

In this presentation various examples of digital scoring of a simulation exercise will be highlighted and discussed. The benefits and costs of a highly mechanical approach to simulation scoring will be discussed and compared against those of the ORCE process. Suggestions will be offered on how these two methods of simulation scoring might be merged, with specific reference to the use of artificial intelligence as an alternative or adjunct.


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IGNITE – Tripartite Model to Achieve AC Competence: A Stakeholder Perspective

Track: Presentation

Coordinators: Petrus Nel (University of Johannesburg, South Africa) & Sandra Schlebusch (LEMASA, South Africa)

Presenters: Jürgen Becker (University of Western Cape), Thinus Delport (University of the Free State), Zoelfah Hardien (Allan Gray Orbis Foundation), Stacy Isaacs (ABSA), Karolina Laba (University of Johannesburg), Karel Stanz (University Pretoria) and Gail Wrogeman (University of Johannesburg)


Assessment Centres (ACs) can be used for two purposes: assessment and development. Most people are familiar with using ACs for selection purposes; Background and Introduction: Our knowledge and competence, as AC practitioners and scientists, are based on three key components: theory, research, and practice. No single component is more important than the other. They complement each other, requiring integration for successful ACs and competent practitioners and researchers. All three components are required in order for existing AC knowledge to be shared and validated, as well as the creation of new AC knowledge.

The question can therefore be asked: who should take responsibility for these three components? Within the South Africa context, there are three stakeholders that are jointly responsible for these three components: universities, organisations, and the ACSG. It is the view of this session that no single stakeholder has a monopoly on each of the three components. However, it is likely that the stakeholders may have different strengths when it comes to each of the three components. Each of the three stakeholders have a role to play.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities: Emphasising their strengths, universities are in a good position to assist emerging AC practitioners and scientists with laying the theoretical foundation (i.e. sharing AC knowledge). It is also likely that universities are in an excellent position to validate existing AC knowledge, but also test the accuracy of new AC knowledge (i.e. knowledge creation) through rigorous research Universities should also capitalise on available opportunities to share their research expertise with other stakeholder groups (e.g. students, organisations, practitioners). However, universities may not always be in a position to provide emerging practitioners and scientists with extensive exposure to the practice of ACs.

Organisations are able to expose emerging practitioners and scientists (including academics) to the practice of ACs – a unique strength. As such, they are able to demonstrate the limits of existing theory and practice of ACs, while implementing novel solutions to such organisational challenges. It is therefore likely that organisations contribute to both new knowledge being created in terms of practice, but also in terms of developing new theory that supports practice. However, organisations may not always be in a position to empirically test the efficacy of such new approaches.

The ACSG has access to all three the components of AC knowledge. Through the AC Academy, both theory and practice are shared with emerging practitioners and scientists. In addition, the annual conference provides a platform for both organisations and researchers to share their latest findings and practices. Organisations should capitalise on available opportunities to share their expertise in terms of practice with those stakeholder groups (e.g. students, interns, researchers) who require exposure to this component of AC competence.


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It is therefore proposed that the ACSG acts as a bridge between universities, emerging practitioners, and organisations. As a non-profit organisation, the mission of the ACSG is to establish and transfer “competence to AC practitioners to design, implement, and research ACs according to best practice and ethical guidelines that support Talent Management objectives in organisations. This is done through presenting various training interventions”.

More specifically, the ACSG can connect universities with organisations to facilitate the following: researchers testing new ACs adhering to good scientific principles; providing much-needed practical exposure to students and researchers regarding AC practice; sharing new knowledge based on scientific principles and good practice.

It should be noted that in this tripartite relationship, no single stakeholder is more important than the other, with objectives being of equal value. It is therefore important to note that all three stakeholders are important components in developing AC competence and knowledge.

Purpose of the Session: The purpose of this IGNITE-session is to allow representatives from universities and organisations to share their efforts in the development of AC competence. One of the session’s discussants will facilitate the integration of the presentations with recommendations for closer collaboration among the three stakeholder groups.

https://www.lemasa.co.za/welcome-lemasa


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Towards Stillness, Starfish and O’Donohue’s Beautiful Landscape of the Mind


Presenter: Inette Taylor (Private Practitioner, South Africa)


In times of emotional and social turbulence such as the current pandemic, many people seek and practice wisdoms by spiritual leaders to restore within them a sense of hope, calm and inner strength. The fourteenth German theologian and Mystic Meister Eckhart (1260 – 1328) reminds us that there is a place in the soul that neither time, nor space, nor no created thing can touch. These words are quoted by Irish priest, poet and philosopher John O’Donohue (1956 – 2008) to remind us that there is a place in the soul were no one has ever been wounded. In her presentation Inette draws from these wisdoms which she links to advances in neuroscience, breathing based on the polyvagal theory by Stephen Porges (b. 1945), and a combination of deep relaxation techniques. She will share useful relaxation techniques that help create alpha rhythms, open focus, and states popularly referred to as mindfulness, which promote positive neuroplasticity. Through positive neuroplasticity the brain is able to regenerate itself, like some starfish regenerate lost limbs. This presentation involves theory as well as a practical deep relaxation exercise.

https://www.evalex.com/


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The Assessment Centre Assessor Crisis: Is Artificial Intelligence Eliminating the Role of the Assessor in the Assessment Centre Method

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Pieter Bronkhorst (Evalex, South Africa)


The AC method has been with us as a talent assessment solution for the best part of the past 70 years. During this time, it has established itself as undeniably effective in predicting job performance and potential. The method is still alive and well and has defined its position within the broader assessment process most often consisting of Psychometrics (Abilities, Personality and so forth) and AC simulations. The AC method as a leadership development instrument is almost unrivalled. It fits in well as a tool to develop leadership behaviour, living alongside academic programs focusing on developing cognitive frameworks in the form of business and leadership theories.

Having said the above, the AC method has shown only incremental progress rather than seismic shifts in how it is managed. As a result, the time involved in running them, demands in engaging multiple assessors, doing the exercises, resultant assessor interpretations, reporting and feedback is slightly out of sync with modern business realities requiring shorter assessment time and easy to set up and complete assessment sessions.

The cloud based virtual assessment centres available today have addressed most of these issues in some way or another. But they have not dealt with assessor quality (bias, fatigue, inter-rater reliability) to the extent that we can sleep peacefully. The issues of cost of process and assessor predictive validity remain concerns.

In addressing these dilemmas, the researcher has developed an AI driven neurological network to ostensibly replace the assessor in reading through and interpreting text-based AC simulations.

The question is now asked, how does the AI scored simulation compare to the assessor scored simulation in terms of predictive validity.

What will be presented are the research outcomes of a project, where 160 candidates undertook the virtual assessment centre consisting of 5 case studies, resulting in the candidates having to deal with 20 organisational and business issues and challenges.

The assessment results or protocols were interpreted by experience I/O Psychologists as well as the AI engine or “black-box”.

The findings are extremely insightful in providing guidance for the future development of ACs but even more critical, the challenge to the role of assessors in the AC method.


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Designing an Entrepreneurial Assessment Centre: Experiences from this Journey

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Carl Herman & Landi Mashiloane (Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, South Africa)


Background: The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation (AGOF) invests in the education and development of individuals with entrepreneurial potential within Southern Africa. The aim of the Fellowship Programme is to help university students prepare for life as a high-impact, responsible entrepreneur. Applicants must be in Grade 12 or 1st year university and have a 70% overall academic average. Once applicants are successful, they are on boarded as Candidate Fellows. AGOF follows a multi-hurdle selection process of which an assessment centre is the last hurdle. In 2019 AGOF introduced a new Entrepreneurial Success Profile on which to base their selection, as well as further development of the candidate fellows. This required that a new assessment centre, assessing the new competencies encompassed in the Success Profile, had to be designed.

The Unique Challenges: There were three unique challenges:

1. The ethos of the programme is to identify “people who take a wild idea, root it in a strategy and grow it into a game changer”. The challenge was therefore to design an assessment centre that personifies this ethos.

2. The target audience that would attend the assessment centre being between 17 and 19 years of age. The challenge was therefore to design an assessment centre that would be appropriate for this age group.

3. The assessment centre should not discriminate against students from South Africa’s quantile 1, 2 and 3 schools (schools in lower income environments, receiving government funding). The challenge was therefore to design an assessment centre that assessed entrepreneurial potential irrespective of educational background.

In short, applying typical graduate selection approaches would not completely address these unique challenges.

The Approach: AGOF decided to:

• Compile a multi-disciplinary design team consisting of an assessment centre specialist, an industrial psychologist, an educational psychologist, a generational specialist (a specialist in working with people from different generations), a subject matter expert (an entrepreneur), as well as a subject matter expert working with the candidate fellows once on the programme.

• Implement a governance process that consisted of multiple approval committees.

• Follow the methodology set-out in the AC Design Model (Schlebusch & Roodt, 2020).

The Development Process and Results: The 9-month process resulted in a unique, immersive experience for the selection camp candidates that consists of selection simulations, educational experiences, as well as fun activities. This presentation will share the journey that the Design Team embarked upon, the critical decisions along the way, the lessons learnt and how the unique challenges were resolved.


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Assessment Standards South Africa – Moving Towards an Online Assessment Centre Process

Track: Presentation

Presenter: David Bischof (Evalex, South Africa) & Marié de Beer (M&M Initiatives, South Africa)


An urgent need for a test certification process has arisen over the past few years, given the revised HPCSA mandate to focus on the classification and not the certification of tests. This led to the formation of Assessment Standards South Africa (ASSA).

ASSA is an independent non-regulatory external assessments evaluation ‘body’ working collaboratively with the support of the Department of Labour and the HPCSA to assist in implementing a robust, best practice and technology enabled process. The process will focus on the quality review of voluntarily submitted people assessment instruments and tests.

It is envisaged that ASSA will look at the broad spectrum of instruments that are used in South Africa and will not be limited to psychological tests only. In cases where an instrument meets the criteria for test classification as a psychological test, the applicants will be informed accordingly about submitting the test for classification to the HPCSA as per the statutory requirements.

ASSA will focus on:

• Providing a minimum standard focus in South Africa for all activities in relation tests and testing.

• Maintaining a website and online platform to provide information for best practice, results of test reviews and access to information about tests and testing

• Manage and disseminate information on standards relating to tests and testing. This includes information on qualifications in test use, tests reviews, test registration and the publishing and dissemination of advisory statements, in addition to guidelines and other literature on standards for the construction, use and availability of tests.

With the finalisation of an ASSA developed online Assessment Certification website and process, this presentation will provide the assessment community with an update on the current legislation with regards to assessments, as well as ASSA processes, the website and our envisaged way forward.

https://www.assa.co.za/


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Adaptability: Definition, Assessment and Development

Track: Presentation

Presenter: George Thornton (Colorado State University, USA)


This presentation will summarize the insights in a white paper prepared by a global group of consultants, scholars, and HR specialists after a year-long study of the theory, research, and practice of the assessment center method related to the competency of Adaptability.

Adaptability is important for leaders, managers, technical specialists, and staff at all organizational levels. It has been on lists of assessment center dimensions, leadership competencies, and managerial attributes for decades. Its importance became heightened with globalization in business affairs. And then in 2020 Adaptability became even more critical in the crises created by the Covid19 pandemic.

Adaptability is the ability to

• recognize that challenges have changed in the volatile, uncertain, chaotic, or ambiguous (VUCA) environment,

• modify one’s own reactive and active behaviours to initiate actions that have positive effects, and

• encourage and prepare organizations, employees, and others to make behavioural changes.

It includes positive assertive behaviours, overt negative behaviours, and failure to take action.

Adaptability can be assessed by observation of multiple behaviours in multiple diverse behavioural simulations of organizational challenges. Changes in behaviour in at least two simulations must be observed: they may be presented either serially or in parallel.

In light of the complexity of this competency, it is helpful to have other methods and other sources of assessment, including tests, interviews, and questionnaires to provide valuable insights in each individual’s Adaptability.

Adaptability can be developed by using some variation of the Developmental Assessment Center Method. One variant is the Coaching Development Center. These approaches involve

• An orientation to provide the individual a cognitive understanding of the competencies being developed.

• The individual demonstrates behaviour in multiple simulations.

• The individual receives feedback from trained assessors/coaches.

• The learner then demonstrates behaviour a second time with the same or similar challenges.

These behavioural development methods can be augmented by feedback about personality test results, 360 degree feedback tools, and in-depth background interviews.

Reality Test!! Change in a complex competency such as Adaptability is not easy. While short term interventions may not lead to change in deep personality traits, the Global AC Villagers are confident adults can make changes in overt adaptive behaviours.


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Decoding the High Potential Mystery: A New Model for Talent Assessment


Presenter: Sandra Hartog (BTS, USA)


The identification and development of high potentials is more important now than ever before. With the recent combination of influences of the global pandemic, economic recession, and social unrest in many countries, organisations are experiencing increased pressure to identify their high potentials, determine where to place their “best bets” at different levels of the organisation, and to accelerate their development. The feeling is that there is no longer time to “slowly develop in role” and that there is an acceleration of the need to identify the right people and get them up to speed faster than ever before. In large part this is due to the acknowledgement that the world of work and the expectations of what it takes to be successful in this evolving world has changed. During this presentation, I will discuss some of the research on high potential identification and development conducted by the Cultivating Leaders Center of Excellence and APG, a subsidiary of BTS and discuss how that research led my colleagues and me to a new 5 factor model for defining and identifying high potentials, customisation by an organisation’s unique X Factor. I will also discuss several use cases for a customised and experiential approach to the assessment of high potentials at different levels in the organisation.

https://www.bts.com/


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Entrepreneurial Education: A Human Right


Presenter: Yogavelli (Yogi) Nambiar (Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, South Africa)

When: Friday, 19 March 2021 from 18:30 – 09:30

The volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the world has long been captured in the VUCA-concept and yet, little has changed by way of how we educate young people. Socio-economic and environmental challenges have risen to untenable levels and still, we are finding that the youth are ill-equipped to think through and address these problems. Digital disruptions are being spoken of simultaneously but has remained the opportunity haven of the elite.

The case for entrepreneurship education to be democratised is made in order to ensure that future generations of adults have a more entrepreneurial lens on the world. This will enable them to be more responsive and solutions driven.

The talk will also unpack the entrepreneurial competency framework that was developed from research done by the University of Pretoria and the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation on 1200 South African entrepreneurs. The study sought to uncover the mental attributes and capabilities that the entrepreneurs exhibited. The findings provide insight into the 14 key competencies that these entrepreneurs share, and how these can be used by assessment centres to identify and continually evaluate entrepreneurial potential in young people.

This study provides the basis for a more structured view on entrepreneurship education in the primary and higher education sectors; and the talk encourages that it is embedded into various other sectors and industries.

https://www.pinsight.com/


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Psychological Portrait of an Entrepreneur

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Svetlana Simonenko (Detech Group, Russian Federation)


The Challenge: AC practitioners are at times requested to select employees with an entrepreneurial mind-set for organisations. In addition, AC practitioners are also requested to assist start-up businesses to select the management team that will support the business founder and often the founder wants people like him / her (e.g. like-minded people) in the team.

Among the factors which are typically considered the most common reasons for the failure of a start-up, is the ineffective management team. Financial miscalculations and errors in the business models, unsuccessful marketing, ignoring customer needs, etc. are indicative of typical human error, and not simply an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances. Here, the founder of the business is always a key figure as his personality and ambitions determine to a large extent how the business will develop, who will be at the helm and what decisions will be implemented. Although literature indicates what the competence of an entrepreneur should be, we wanted to empirically determine the psychological profile of the founder of a business – the entrepreneur.

This Study involved 68 successful entrepreneurs operating in different regions of Russia and in various business areas. The businesses had annual turnovers from $1,5 million to over $1,5 billion and experienced constant annual business growth not less than 10%. All the entrepreneurs completed the DEEP psychological questionnaire, which consists of 272 questions and describes an individual’s personality in 33 basic scales.

We calculated the average for each scale and obtained an average profile of the group of entrepreneurs, which was benchmarked against market averages. The results are presented in stens (standard 10-point scale, where 5.5 is the average).

The psychological profile of an entrepreneur differs significantly from the average statistical profile. This profile contains traits with both high and low scores, indicating that entrepreneurs have bright, outstanding personalities. The following personality features are significantly higher than the market average:

Intuition (7.09), Originality (6.67), Optimism (6.56), Foresight (6.56), Ostentation (6.51), Dominance (6.53), Decisiveness (6.49), Flexibility (6.42), Competitiveness (6.37), Self-esteem (6.16), Proactive approach (6.35), and Independence (6.3).

Traits that differ from the statistical average (lower than the average):

Law-abiding nature (2.95), Pedanticism (3.63), Structured approach (3.83), Conservatism (4.21), Diplomacy (4.37), Compassion (4.47), Commitment (4.53), Control of emotions (4.67), Integrity (4.79) Altruism (4.91), Curiosity (4.91).

Discussion: Just looking at the list of these traits, even without a detail description of each, we begin to understand why just a small part of people is successful as entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs who participated in the study gave us feedback that the results do reflect their situation in terms of individual characteristics, approach to running business and related issues. This research shows us that such people have striking features which enable them to succeed, but which may at the same time be the reason for failure if they are not counterbalanced by a strong team.


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This psychological profile provides us with an understanding of the problems experienced by business founders most of the time, and also shows that these problems are an inevitable product of their personality traits. Attempts to attract people with an entrepreneurial mindset to large organisations will not be successful, as the regulated environment required by any big business to survive, is a significant constraint for an entrepreneur. In turn, entrepreneurs should make sure that people capable of streamlining processes and ensuring the sustainability of a company, join their expanding business.

Result Application for the AC Practitioner: The AC Practitioner can use the results in three ways:

The first obvious application is when the AC Practitioner needs to design an AC to select Entrepreneurs. Based on the personality portrait of an entrepreneur, an AC can be designed to elicit visible behaviours linked to the various personality preferences.

The second application is when AC Practitioners are requested to select people with an “entrepreneurial mindset” for appointment in organisations with established structures, processes and procedures (hierarchical structure and bureaucratic ways of work). Our research shows that people with “entrepreneurial mindsets” will probably not last as employees in such organisations as it will be a “square peg in a round hole” – the whole environment might not allow the entrepreneur to live-out their strengths. It would then be advised that as part of the analysis prior to designing the AC, an analysis of the organisational culture be done to obtain an indication whether the culture would nurture entrepreneurial mind-sets.

The third application lies in AC Practitioners being approached by the founder of an organisation with the request to select the person second-in charge, or perhaps the whole management team. The challenge here is to not select people with a similar profile as the founder, but to select people that will complement the founder’s entrepreneurial mind-set.

https://www.shl.com/


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An Artificial Intelligence (AI) Driven Leadership Framework

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Pieter Bronkhorst (Evalex, South Africa)


As we as humans moved through the three main periods of business management, as characterised by the three industrial revolutions and entering the fourth, leadership and management competency and style requirement shifted to deal with the challenges of that particular period.

The 20th century in particular saw a successive wave of new theories on how best to lead a business in terms of competence requirements and leadership style. Each stage brought about a seismic shift in behavioural requirements from leaders in order to be successful.

The leadership frameworks that have emerged over the past 100 years ranged on a scale from a few scientifically designed research processes to determine the competence framework on one extreme to casual and ad hoc expression of frameworks based on ad hoc observation.

The quality and integrity of the leadership frameworks we have encountered thus far vary greatly and unfortunately too many are based on casual observations of leader behaviour and basing theory on these observations.

We have studies based on the life and times (style of the behaviour) of the behemoths of industry, initially the Ford’s and Carnegie’s of early 20th century to the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Jeff Besos and others of the same ilk, the “great man theory” to studies analysing the behaviours of a defined sample of leaders, to big corporates forming focus groups usually facilitated by consultants who sit in a boardroom and devise a theoretical idea of the competencies that leaders in those institutions need to manage it into the future.

The current situation that we face is that most of the competency frameworks that we use, on the basis of which we build our assessment centres, are largely centred on the three broad methodologies suggested above.

But leadership behaviour and requirements evolve and the competencies that ensured success in a previous age may not be effective in the current or future ages.

We sense another seismic shift that would necessitate a fresh approach of what leadership is. For a moment, let us ignore what we know about leadership and travel to new realms in order to discover what the moment we live in now and the future we are moving into would require.

In addressing the above dilemma and researching the leadership behaviour that truly leads to success, the speaker utilised Artificial Intelligence to observe and define the required competencies. Deploying AI to discover and define a modern framework for success heralds a seismic shift in the way we view leadership and how we design and run assessment centres.

To date, the application of AI to the field of the assessment of human talent has been in two areas. During the employment interview, translating candidate responses to a standard set of questions into a definition of personality traits. The second to “scrape” social media posts to derive a personality profile.


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Both of the above-mentioned approaches have advantages and limitations. One obvious limitation for the AC practitioner is that both use historical information to derive their conclusions. What I answered to a question in the interview and what I chose to post on social media. They both lack the observation of actual behaviour and competence in real time.

To date, very little research can be found in the application of AI to the observation of actual behaviour in dealing with a simulated organisational, business or work problem and translating that into competencies.

The researcher has applied AI to this field, using the actual responses of 15,000 leaders to 32 simulated business issues to discover, the competencies leaders engage in fashioning a response to an issue. So instead of a theoretical departure point of defining a set of competencies then advancing to observe and measure them, the researcher started at the empirical end with an open mind, asking what competencies a leader would recruit to deal with an issue.

In the analysis of 32 million words 46 themes emerged. Through an iterative process of researching their relationship with positive career outcomes, reformulating them, followed by another exercise in regression analysis, they were reformulated and whittled down to 28 competencies.

These 28 themes of behaviour or competencies provides us with a framework of modern leadership. The thesis is that this set of competencies is the cornerstone of what a leader needs to have to accelerate potential and career outcomes. There may be other competence requirements, but without these foundational ones, career progress will be limited.

The researcher will present the framework during the conference as well as the path that was followed to develop it.

In summary, this is the outcome and an example of what can be achieved when applying Artificial Intelligence to the AC method.

https://www.evalex.com/


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Moving Assessment Centres Online: Lessons from Global Implementations

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Martin Lanik (Pinsight, USA)


Calling 2020 an unusual year is an understatement. Just two months into the Covid-19 pandemic, 83 million people had their in-person events cancelled (Coundriet, 2020), and social distancing and government lockdowns forced 42 percent of the U.S. labour force into remote work (Wong, 2020). By July, more than 300 companies went bankrupt in the U.S. alone. Those that survived had to quickly adapt to the “new normal” and move their offerings online.

In the world of assessment centres (ACs), many practitioners and consultancies rushed through a digital transformation of their business. They had to get creative and abandon their traditional way of work. Some threw together a “sticks and duct tape” version of a virtual AC, combing online psychometrics with Google docs and a Skype role play. Others adopted an end-to-end technology platform and transitioned their AC exercises to it. In this session, we will discuss the lessons learned from multiple global implementations of an end-to-end AC technology platform. We will focus on two areas: (1) design and operations, and (2) reliability and validity of the online AC. Since many of these projects and data collection efforts are still in progress, we can only share preliminary results and observations at the time of writing this abstract.

Design and operations: It is unlikely that you will be able to move your exercises online exactly as they are. Depending on the platform, the AC exercises will need to follow a particular format and you may find that some exercises (like the leaderless group discussion) are very difficult to administer in an online environment. Most virtual ACs follow the day-in-the-life model and so require that the exercises are linked under the same scenario. Additionally, it is very difficult to make quick, in-time adjustments to the process when participants and assessors are geographically dispersed, and so the virtual AC has to be well designed and bullet-proof from the get-go.

The administrative burden of ACs is high and technology can certainly help to reduce it – technology can manage assessors’ schedules, let delegates self-schedule, and administer the entire centre without a pile of papers and binders. Additional cost-savings include travel and lodging for participants, assessors, and administrators; facilities cost; and decreased number of assessor hours per participant with streamlined assessor processes (like integration discussions and report writing).

At the same time, technology makes the AC globally scalable, capable of reaching more delegates, at more times, and in wider geographic locations. With technology, the AC no longer has to be an event that delegates have to wait for, it can be a service offered on a daily basis.

Once you implement technology, it changes the quality of experience for assessors. They go from in-person interactions with participants at a nice location to sitting alone in their offices and rating pre-recorded videos; from attending a two-day off-site event a few times per year to blocking off hours in their calendar and automatically receiving role-play and scoring appointments. That is a very different experience from what your consultants are used to as assessors.


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For consultancies, the question of assessors has far bigger implications as it directly touches their business model. There is certainly great value in the expertise of senior consultants – their ability to integrate assessment results and interpret them from the perspective of the clients’ context. Many consultancies do elect to use their own consultants as assessors also in the online model to preserve the core value they provide for their clients.

Reliability and Validity: Although data collection efforts are still in progress at the time of writing this abstract, we can share some preliminary analyses. We see satisfactory (.76) inter-rater reliabilities across the various online AC projects. We also found that the online AC scores are related to important criterion variables, such as job performance (.44), career advancement (.44), employee engagement (.35), turnover intentions (- .29), and staff retention (.28). These preliminary findings give us initial confidence in quality of online ACs.


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An Intervention Study to Investigate Diagnostic Assessment Centres as an Avenue to Improve the Self-efficacy of University Graduates

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Melissa White, Jürgen Becker & Marieta du Plessis (University of the Western Cape, South Africa)


This study investigated a diagnostic assessment centre as a method to improve the generalised self-efficacy of university graduates. This research was motivated by the various challenges graduates face in order to successfully transition into the world of work. To reach employability, graduates face high unemployment rates, inequality, a slow growing economy, high employer expectations, and a skills mismatch, all of which impacts their self-efficacy, performance and motivation levels. The sample population for this research included Industrial Psychology graduates at a select university in the Western Cape, South Africa (n=17). A quasi-experimental methodology was implemented where an intervention group (n=7) and a control group (n=10) were taken through a diagnostic assessment centre approach. Framed as a hybrid model of assessment and development centres, the diagnostic assessment centre has the dual purpose of providing constructive feedback to participants whilst also providing an assessment of competencies. The primary research objective was to identify whether the generalised self-efficacy of graduates can be positively affected by a diagnostic assessment centre approach in the short-term and long-term. To determine the short-term effects of self-efficacy, the intervention group was taken through a pre-test questionnaire (i.e. self-efficacy questionnaire), an in-basket assessment, and a competency-based interview, followed by a post-test questionnaire (i.e. self-efficacy questionnaire). Similarly, the control group was tasked to complete the pre-test questionnaire (i.e. self-efficacy questionnaire) on the same day as the intervention group. Thereafter, the long-term effect was tested by tasking both intervention and control groups to complete a post-test questionnaire (i.e. self-efficacy) three months after the initial intervention. The results of the intervention indicated that a diagnostic assessment centre approach has a positive impact on self-efficacy levels over the short and medium term. Results from the study emphasises the importance of self- efficacy in graduate employability since it is a generic competency that universally impacts workplace performance and employability. The findings of this study provide a basis for future research into the further development of graduate self-efficacy and the potential benefits for first time job seekers.

https://www.tts-talent.com/


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Leadership in the Face of Covid-19: Glaring Fault Lines and Ethical Dilemmas


Presenter: Derick de Jongh (University of Pretoria, South Africa)


The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the concept of leadership let alone examples thereof under unprecedented scrutiny. The most pressing question being asked today "Leadership for what"? There are more than enough attempts by individual leaders, businesses and governments across the globe that have tried to answer this question in the face of a global pandemic. Contrary to what the intention of these attempts might have been, many of them dismally failing in really answering this fundamental question. This points towards a complete lack of understanding the ultimate outcome of leadership i.e. "leadership for what?"

Covid-19 is a defining moment in history where a fundamental shift is needed in re-thinking for whom and for what leadership is required. Never was it so crucial to weather the storm of multiple leadership crises as it is today. The eye of the leadership storm being personal interests and ideology.

This presentation will attempt to unpack precisely how personal interests and ideology stand in the way of answering this fundamental leadership question and overcoming the leadership crisis the world is facing today. These fault lines are in desperate need of reparation if we want to be prepared to weather any future leadership storms that lie ahead.

https://www.up.ac.za/


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Red Table: A Candid Conversation – The Design of Virtual Assessment Centres in Our New Reality

Track: Discussion

Convenor: Stacy Isaacs (ABSA, South Africa)

Participants: Mia Bunn (VitaTalent, South Africa) Tracey Stetka (Joint Prosperity, South Africa ) Shelleny Govender-Dhooma (Reckitt Bentckiser, South Africa ) Ziyaad Yusuf Khan (Standard Bank South Africa)


COVID-19 has affected many things in our lives over the past year, and corporate norms are no different.

One of the biggest business impacts would certainly have to be that more companies adopted a flexible working policy, diminishing the need for employees to come into the office. With social distancing restrictions been implemented to help flatten the Covid-19 infection curve, face to face recruitment – including that of conducting assessment centres as part of the selection process, needed to be quickly relooked. The constant talk of 4IR and adopting to the virtual space, especially in the world of assessments, quickly changed from all talk to all action.

Connecting remotely and video conferencing has been morphed into the go-to for assessments, the new norm now used to observe behaviours. This does uncover some obvious challenges; however, video conferencing and communication tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Skype have now replaced the traditional face-to-face meetings and daily conversations – ultimately resulting in the assessment centre designer’s greatest asset.

New aspects which have never needed to be considered before, namely office/desk space, IT bandwidth and connection speeds, were top of mind for many as this new journey started to unfold.

The objective of this presentation is to share lessons learnt from converting in-person ACs to on-line experiences in a short time. The format of the session is a Red Table discussion. This will allow the perspectives of three different assessment centres designers and their perspectives regarding the centres held during the Covid-19 pandemic which will cover a wide variety of ‘how-why-when questions’

The Red Table discussion will take on a question-and-answer format, allowing each practitioner to share their experiences unique to the 2020 AC approach. We will look at differences, similarities and importantly tips and lessons learnt.

https://www.absa.co.za/personal/


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Case Study: Building Assessment Centre Methodology in the Organisation’s DNA

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Jeremy Francis (Beyond Consulting, Trinidad and Tobago)


Since I presented at the ACSG conference in 2019, it has been exceedingly difficult to implement Assessment Centres in my region, as in many cases, major inputs are either missing, outdated or inaccurate. These included Competency Frameworks, Job Descriptions, Job Analyses etc.

For many, the Assessment Centre process was excellent PR, but failed to deliver the right person in the right job, leading to some spectacular failures. In late 2019, I shifted my focus to treating with the underlying issues that would guarantee the success of such interventions- namely embedding the development, understanding and application of competency frameworks into an organisation’s DNA, to ensure that these interventions delivered the right result.

To do this, I applied the AC Design Model, and utilised the ACADEMIES framework (McKinsey) to a project to build the HR capacity of an organisation. The main aim is to utilise Assessment and Development Centres for the long-term development of staff.

Over the period of the last 12 months, I have worked with the management team in devising this competency-based system, several aspects of which ‘went live’ in January 2021. The aim is to share not only the process of setting up the competency-based system, but also to look at the rollout of several aspects of the project.

The aim of this presentation is to outline the process used and share on some of the difficulties- and successes, of the project, which is ongoing.

https://www.psytech.co.za/


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Assessment Centre Ethics: In the Eye of the Beholder

Track: Presentation

Presenter: Linda Fourie (University of Johannesburg, South Africa), Sandra Schlebusch (LEMASA, South Africa) & Raeanne Naidoo (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)


Recent years have witnessed an emerging body of research on candidate reactions to selection processes. These reactions reflect how candidates perceive and respond to selection tools and processes, and feelings of anxiety, motivation, belief in tests, self-efficacy, as well as fairness and justice are at stake (Ryan & Ployhard, 2000). The study that we will report was unique within the AC field of interest globally, by relating AC participants’ reactions, through interpretation, directly to ethics. Although other studies have focused on AC participants’ reactions to ACs (Anderson & Goltsi, 2006; Dewberry & Jackson, 2016; Fletcher, 1991; Fletcher, Lovatt, & Baldy, 1997), and on participants’ reactions to selection processes in general (McCarthy, Bauer, Truxillo, Anderson, Costa, & Ahmed, 2017; McCarthy, Van Idekinge, Lievens, Kung, Sinar, & Campion, 2013; Ployhardt, Bennett, & Ryan, 1999; Ployhardt & Ryan, 1998; Ryan & Ployhardt, 2000), only a few of these studies related the participants’ reactions to aspects that could impact ethical considerations directly.

This current study’s objective was to identify potential ethical challenges in ACs in South Africa, from a participant’s perspective. The study was aimed at gathering rich and authentic data from the participants regarding their live experiences in ACs. Although the AC participants in the current study did not necessarily express their AC experience in terms of ethics, their articulated experience could be related to the principles, values and standards of ethics in ACs, as have been captured in the AC Code of Ethics (ACSG, 2018).

Data were gathered from purposively selected AC participants in similar selection ACs (n=157), using three semi-structured, qualitative surveys over a period of two years. Conventional content analysis was used to identify possible ethical challenges in ACs, from the perspective of the AC participants. Many ethical challenges were identified - seven major and 26 supportive subthemes which will be shared during this presentation.

It is positioned that AC participants’ expressed experience can no longer be ignored when it should rather serve as a signal to the AC practitioner to investigate further what can, and should, be improved regarding the specific AC. This is equally important if it is recognised that participants’ positive experiences are of great value because they will probably result in them giving a higher rating to their experience of the entire selection process (Crispin, n.d.). Of even greater importance may be the suggestions of McCarthy et al. (2013) that candidates’ reflections of their assessment experience may influence both their assessment scores and their future job performance.

It is suggested that a progressive line of thinking is followed in the design and implementation of an AC, to enhance ethics. It is recommended that a broad theoretical framework for ethics be embraced, an evidence-based scientific framework be incorporated, the applicable regulatory framework in the specific country be complied with, the available best practice guidelines be followed, and finally, the requirements of available codes of ethics (such as the AC Code of Ethics, ACSG, 2018) be aspired to.


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Identifying Internal Talent and Driving Succession Planning in a non-profit Mutual Assurance Organisation

Track: Presentation

Presenter: David Bischof (Evalex, South Africa) & Vandana Naran (Rand Mutual Assurance, South Africa)


Founded on 1 June 1894, The Rand Mutual Assurance Company Limited (RMA) is a non-profit mutual assurance organisation which is owned by its policy holders. RMA operates in terms of section 30 of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 130 of 1993 as amended, under license from the Minister of Labour. The RMA Group also operates under both short and long-term insurance licences issued by the Financial Services Board (FSB).

Objective: In 2020, RMA embarked on an organisational redesign project which included the realignment of the company’s 5 – 10 year strategy. With the roll-out of the organisational re-design as well as the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the recruitment environment, the growth of internal talent from within the business has become more imperative in order to meet strategic objectives and ensure sustainability of the new structure. Accordingly, during 2019 and early 2020, RMA embarked on a Talent Management and Succession Planning exercise to identify and develop its internal talent through the use of objective criteria. Given the nature of the Covid environment, the entire succession planning process needed to take place virtually.

Theoretical Foundation and Methodology Used: RMA has a total staff compliment of 403 permanent employees, 278 of whom were included in the talent mapping exercise. The talent mapping exercise focused primarily on existing employees who formed part of Patterson bands C, D and E. These 278 employees have been with RMA for more than 1 year, had completed psychometric assessments and had final performance scores. The 9-box grid was adopted as the talent mapping tool for this exercise.

RMA used an integrated and online assessment methodology which included the use of psychometric assessments for lower levels and a combination of psychometrics and leadership simulations for the senior levels for internal incumbents. Following the assessment process, talent mapping was provided to RMA in order to assist in the plotting of individuals to a 9-box grid using both the assessment data as a measure of future potential to grow into larger leadership roles as well as final individual performance scores.

As a part of the process, employees received development feedback on their individual assessment results through an interactive online digital development portal which allowed them to create a development plan, which was then used by the business to assist with internal development.

Results, Implications and Conclusion: The entire talent mapping and succession planning process took place online and integrated talent information was used by RMA to identify and to fast-track talent, and also to develop individuals based on assessment results.

The use of objective assessment and performance criteria to map talent on the 9-box grid, enhanced the credibility of the talent review process and provided business with a sound basis from which to make decisions about talent. This resulted in the promotion of 9 individuals into more senior roles within the new structure and the facilitation of career discussions with talent to raise awareness about their strengths and development areas.


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Presenters

Anna Baczyńska is assistant professor at Kozminski University in Poland. She is an expert in human resource management and is a practitioner with 18 years’ experience in work and cooperation with varied companies. Anna has worked in managerial roles in Orange, T.P.S.A. and as senior consultant where she conducted consultancy projects in personnel management for MAKRO, PKO BP, ABB, TP S.A, Orange, PZU S.A., SONY Poland, NASK, Idea 25, Getin Noble Bank, Skoda, ROCHE, Rzeczpospolita and many others. She is an expert in diagnosis of managerial competencies and designs and carries out Assessment and Development Centre and career path processes.

Anna is the author of competency tests and varied diagnostic tools for business. Her publications include: Baczynska A, Thornton G. C. (2017) Relationships of analytical, practical, and emotional intelligence with behavioural dimensions of performance of top managers. International Journal of Selection and Assessment. 25:171–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa. 1217. Baczynska A., Korzyński P, (2017) Leadership competencies. Management and Business Administration. Central Europe; 25(2):6-22

Jürgen Becker specialises in the building of structural and mathematical models that can be applied to diagnose and inform human capital, structural, and financial solutions in the workplace. Personnel selection as a broad discipline and Assessment Centres in particular, forms part of prof. Jürgen Becker’s research focus areas. In his capacity as senior statistician at the Statistical Consultancy Services of the University of Johannesburg, he has steadily contributed to the scientific investigation of sample-based approaches in personnel selection and development. Jürgen’s current research interests include the use of sample-based assessment to inform unsecured lending risk and the physiological impact of sample-based assessment on applicants. He regularly publishes academic articles in international journals and act as reviewer for a number of peer reviewed journals including Business Dynamics, European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, European Journal of Psychological Assessment and Journal of Managerial Psychology. Dr. Jürgen Becker is currently employed as associate professor at the Department of Industrial Psychology at the University of the Western Cape and lectures at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB).

https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.%201217


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David Bischof is currently a Director for Assessments Standards South Africa (ASSA) as well as Chairperson for People Assessments in Industry (PAI), an interest group of the Society of Industrial and Organisational Psychology of SA (SIOPSA). David is also a Director: Business Development at Organisational and Management Technology (OMT) and a previous Senior Manager of the Assessment Centre at Deloitte Consulting (Pty) Ltd He holds a Master’s degree in Research Psychology (cum laude) and is registered as both a Research Psychologist and a Psychometrist – Independent/Private Practice with the HPCSA.

As chairperson for ASSA and for PAI – David focuses on ensuring that testing exists in the South African context as value adding, ethical and fair practice. David specialises in psychometrics as well as leadership assessments and talent interventions. development as well as high level local and international project management of Assessment Centres used.

David is also past chairperson for the Assessment Centre Study Group (ACSG). David has presented on numerous occasions at the ACSG and SIOPSA conference on best practice assessment and talent management approaches as well as global human capital trends.

Pieter Bronkhorst is a registered I/O Psychologist, holds a PhD (UCT) and is the founder of Organisation and Management

Technologies (OMT), Evalex Talent Solutions and Odyssey Talent Management. He has developed numerous psychological

tests in the domains of cognition, personality, styles, values and interests. In addition, he has developed the Evalex Business

Simulation, a cloud based virtual Assessment Centre as well as a system for assessing technical competencies. Pieter has

also published a book titled “The Architecture of High Performance Companies”. Evalex and OMT are in the business of

building high performance teams and companies and Pieter has been involved in more than 30 corporate turn-around and

growth cases.


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Lynn Collins is Head of Selection Solutions and Chief Scientist for the BTS Assessment Practice. For over 30 years, Lynn has helped companies address a variety of organisational issues in talent management. Her work in large scale selection processes, high tech leadership assessment for manager development, and blended leadership development that combines interactive learning, virtual “day in the life” simulations, role playing, and coach feedback, has received awards from IPAAC and Brandon Hall.

Lynn authored numerous presentations at SIOP, NJOD and National Academy of Sciences. Lynn also co-authored a chapter on Assessment Centres for the Handbook for Adult Learning (2011/2020) and was part of the Task Force responsible for the revision and ratification of the Guidelines and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations published in the Journal of Management.

Lynn is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Metropolitan New York Association of Applied Psychologists.

Marié de Beer completed a BA full-time (majors Mathematics and Psychology) and honours degrees (part-time) in Psychology and Mathematics respectively at the University of Pretoria. Her Masters’ and Doctorate degrees in Psychology were both completed part-time at Unisa.

Her career started in 1982 working as a high school teacher (Mathematics) at St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria. Thereafter she worked as a researcher/programmer at the Atomic Energy Corporation for a period of five years. During this time, she completed her honours degree in psychology with the required practical work to register as a psychometrist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

For the following seven years she worked as a researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council, where she was involved in the development and standardisation of psychological tests and she obtained extensive testing experience – from both the development and the research as well as the practical use side. She completed her Masters’ Degree in Research Psychology and registered as a Research Psychologist with the HPCSA. She was a lecturer at Unisa for 21 years where she lectured from undergraduate to doctorate level – mostly in Psychological Assessment and Research. She retired from Unisa in 2015 and works full-time for M&M Initiatives doing psychological test development and related research. She is Professor Emeritus at Unisa’s Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology


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Derick de Jongh is Director of the Albert Luthuli Leadership Institute at the University of Pretoria. His academic qualifications are: BCom; BCom (Honours), MCom (majoring in Industrial Psychology), DCom Marketing & Communication Management. He is the founder of numerous leadership institutes, member of various committees including the King III Commission, Sub-committee on Sustainable Development, Member of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) / United Nations Environment Programme, Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) technical writing team on environmental indicators to just list a few of the committees. He co-authored a book that was published in 2012 called: Courageous Conversations. In this book we interviewed a group of South African CEOs on responsible leadership. He has also published in peer-reviewed journals in the field of Corporate Citizenship / Corporate Social Responsibility / Sustainable Development.

Christine de Wet completed her BA Honours in Industrial Psychology at UNISA and is a Registered Psychometrist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. She is also a certified Consciousness Coach and holds a certificate in Interior Decorating. She reads and travels extensively discovering other countries and their cultures.

Christine has significant experience in Human Resource activities with a special interest in recruitment and selection, and training and development during her 20-year career at a local government. Christine, while in full-time employment, was also responsible for the planning, development, control and implementation of climate studies and attitude surveys. She developed and facilitated training programmes to satisfy the needs of both employees and the organisation, determined management development needs and implemented various interventions in organisational development. She was also involved with job analysis.

From 2002 Christine became involved in Development Assessment Centres as a facilitator during the Centre itself. Her involvement in Development Assessment Centres also includes the facilitation of feedback discussions after the Development Centres. During these discussions with participants and their managers, personal development plans, based on the Centre results and work life requirements, are compiled. In addition, Christine conducts follow-up discussions to facilitate the tracking of development progress. She is also a regular mentor to facilitators in-training.


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Marthinus Delport is a lecturer and industrial psychologist at the University of the Free State. He has experience in both the corporate sector as well as in consultation. More recently he has moved into the academic space to complete his PhD and build his career as a academic. Marthinus is currently lecturing research methodology, career psychology and advance assessment with interests in the field of positive psychology constructs such as work life integration, emotional intelligence and recovery experiences.

Kim Dowdeswell is a registered industrial/organisational psychologist, expert talent advisor and senior research analyst with 18 years of experience in the talent assessment and advisory field.

She has wide-ranging experience consulting to organisations in South Africa and Africa, empowering executives to make better people decisions using data-driven insights and quantifying the return on talent initiatives through evidence-based business outcomes. She is particularly interested in the use of psychological and other similar assessment in the South African context, upholding best practice in assessment in a global economy, and building inclusive and fair working environments.

Kim’s multi-disciplinary experience gained both locally and internationally encompasses research and development specialising in psychometric assessment and instrument design and development. On the consulting side, she has worked in service development and enablement of professional services staff situated around the world and has held the role of principal psychologist upholding best practice principles in the science and practice of assessment in the workplace.

Kim has actively served the profession through her involvement with the Society for Industrial & Organisational Psychology of South Africa (SIOPSA) and as a reviewer for the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology. Her volunteering with SIOPSA has spanned over a decade and culminated in serving as the Society’s President for the 2014/2015 term. She is a regular presenter at both local and international conferences on various topics including trends and innovations in assessment, strategic talent management, and leadership.


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Marieta du Plessis is a registered Industrial Psychologist with more than 15 years of consulting and educational experience. She is driven by a passion to help individuals, teams and businesses grow. In this regard, she has dedicated her time to create healthy human resource and positive leadership practices in organisations, whether through consulting, coaching, assessment, research, or teaching. Marieta is currently involved in academia where she is appointed as Associate Professor in Industrial Psychology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and as Extraordinary Professor at the Optentia Research Unit of North-West University. She acts as reviewer for several journals, and she is a Section Editor for the SA Journal of Industrial Psychology.

Linda Fourie, PhD, started her career in human resources management and worked in all the areas of recruitment, selection, training and development, rewards and recognition as well as industrial relations. She qualified and registered as an industrial psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa in 1992 and consolidated her professional interest in personnel psychology, career psychology, organisational development, and psychometric testing. The use of ACs featured in most of these areas.

After spending 20 years in senior positions in local government she left for a lecturing position at the University of Johannesburg and joined the Department of People Management and Industrial Psychology. She lectured in the above-mentioned fields of expertise at undergraduate and postgraduate level and supervised many research studies, including studies related to ACs specifically.

During her time at the University she functioned in various managerial positions, including that of Subject Leader, Programme Leader, and Academic Leader for the professional programme for the training of psychometrists. She published numerous research papers in scientific journals and presented papers at local and international conferences.

Over time, ethics as a guarding principle in all human endeavours became more prominent. In line with this awareness, ethics was introduced in all the areas of teaching related to people management and industrial psychology. Dr Fourie found her niche in the fields of business and professional ethics, in line with the curriculum expectations of the Health Professions Council of South Africa. It is from this perspective that a question about ethics in the use of ACs would arise.

Linda is currently self-employed. She consults to businesses within her field of expertise and is a Research Associate of The Ethics Institute.


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Jeremy Francis is Founder/Managing Director of Beyond Consulting (since 2009) which is a consultancy in Assessment Centres, Competency Frameworks and Psychometrics. The main focus of the company is to use international benchmarks when providing training and services in the areas of Assessment/Development Centres, Competency Frameworks, Psychometric Assessments, Coaching and General HR consulting.

Jeremy currently holds a BSc in Psychology with Sociology (2000) and a Post Graduate Diploma, in Human Resource Management (2003), both at the University of the West Indies. He is trained in Psychometric Test Administration and Feedback- Level A & B (2007), British Psychological Society (Saville Wave).

He is also certified as an Assessment/Development Centre Assessor (2009, PSI/ILM), in Assessment/Development Centre Design and Management (2009, PSI/ILM), has a certificate in Coaching (2013, Centre for Coaching/ILM), Train the Trainer in Assessor Skills (2016, PSI) and is qualified to use the 16PF Psychometric Assessment (PSI, 2020). Currently pursuing a Level 5 Diploma in Learning and Development (2021, CIPD).

Jeremy has designed and managed Assessment and Development Centres for many senior roles for his clients and has assessed over 100 candidates for Recruitment and Development purposes at senior management and Executive levels. Additionally, he has arranged the training and certification of over 80 local HR practitioners as Assessment Centre Assessors in the past 10 years.

Author of three books, on Human Resources and Personal Development; The Adventures on an HR Manager (2014) ISBN-10: 1500857289; The HR Genie (2015) ISBN-10: 1517522021; How to Get and Stay Hired (2018) ISBN-10: 1985341441

Zoelfah Hardien-Marriday – is an Assessment and Development Specialist at Allan Gray Orbis Foundation.

As a registered Psychometrist she has more than 15 years’ experience working with evaluations, assessments, feedback coaching and related talent management environments; Zoelfah’s core focus is on the assessment and development strategy for high impact entrepreneurs, aligning and refining assessment tools, development methodologies and processes for the various programmes within the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation.


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Sandra Hartog, PhD, is currently a Partner Emeritus at BTS, Inc. responsible for advancing thought leadership in the areas of innovations in assessment, high potential identification, strategic succession planning, and the use of technology for assessment and development. In her previous role, Sandra was the Global Head of the Assessment Practice at BTS responsible for the development and expansion of the global assessment practice. Prior to BTS, Sandra was CEO of Fenestra, Inc., a leading provider of global talent management and technology solutions acquired by BTS in 2014. Sandra has over 30 years of experience as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies and other organisations. She has served as an international keynote speaker and presents at professional conferences on technology-enhanced assessment, high potential identification and assessment and development techniques. Additionally, Sandra has published in the popular press and peer reviewed publications and contributed a chapter to the 2011 SIOP Professional Practice Series on Technology-Enhanced Assessment of Talent, as well as co-authored a chapter on Assessment Centres for Adult Development for the Oxford Handbook of Lifelong Learning (2011/2020).

Sandra is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Metropolitan New York Association of Applied Psychologists.

Carl Herman’s current focus is on assessment and development strategy with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation for high impact entrepreneurs. He comes with experience in design and development of selection assessment tools and the creation of success profile methodologies. This work is grounded in rigorous validation research of assessment tools and processes linked to high impact entrepreneurship.

He also provides private consulting services to various organisations applying his experience across a wide range of Organisational Development and HR interventions. He recently ventured into the entrepreneurship space, as a partner and Head of Assessments in a start-up known as YouStudent, which is an online career assessment platform His skills range from strategy, people development, recruitment and selection, team building, personal leadership development and assessment design and development.


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Stacy Isaacs has an Honours Industrial Psychology qualification obtained at the University of Johannesburg in 2012. During 2015 she completed her six-month Psychometry internship through UJ and Absa and has been practicing as a registered Psychometrist since October 2016.

Stacy has a strong interest in Psychometry and the end-to-end design of assessment and development centres. From 2015 - 2018 she has been involved with the complete Graduate recruitment process which includes Assessment Centre. Currently she is responsible for overseeing the Assessment function within Absa. Her interest in technology and Assessment and Development Centres constantly keeps her researching ways to improve the typical approach and take Assessment Centres to the next level.

Hennie Kriek is a founding director and CEO of TTS-Top Talent Solutions. His most recent position was that of President of SHL USA, Canada and Latin America. Before that he was the founding member and Managing Director of SHL South Africa.

He was a full-time faculty member and Professor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University of South Africa from 1982 until 1994.

Hennie is currently the Chairman of the Association of Test Publishers (ATP of South Africa). He was Chairman of PAI (People Assessment in Industry) an interest group of SIOPSA, as well as the Assessment Centre Study Group of South Africa for a number of years. He also chaired a task force of SIOPSA that developed guidelines for the implementation and validation of fair personnel selection practices in 1991, 1998 and 2006.

He is an International Affiliate member of the American Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the International Test Commission (ITC) and the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP).

He was a visiting Professor at Colorado State University, 1989-1990, where he conducted post-doctoral studies on fairness, discrimination, EEO and affirmative action.

He published widely in the field of Human Resources and Personnel Psychology and presented scientific and practical papers at various international conferences. He still consults actively in the field of competency design, objective assessment, assessment centres, selection, personnel decisions and talent management and human resource development.


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Karolina Laba, PhD, is currently working at the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management. She has over 15 years of industry experience which includes working for the: Military Psychological Institute, SASOL, Emfuleni Local Municipality, KLM Empowered Human Solutions Specialists (Pty) Ltd, Adcorp and other organisations. Projects include utilising assessments for selection, development, and career counselling purposes; training and development; implementation of assessment centres; amongst others. Additionally, Karolina has published in local and international peer-reviewed journals and supervises research at the masters and doctoral level.

Fairness is Martin Lanik’s driving principle that is reflected in his life philosophy: the power and status that come with leadership roles should be awarded based on merit and not based on what people look like or where they come from. Martin has dedicated his career to creating solutions that help business leaders place the most capable people in leadership positions, where they can have the greatest positive impact on employees’ well-being, business performance, our communities, and the society at large. With a background in Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Martin leads research and innovation for Pinsight. By combining his scientific mind with straightforward practicality and a relentless bias for action, his teams build the best talent solutions for the leaders of today and tomorrow.


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Landi BD Mashiloane is the Fellowship Selection Manager at Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. He is responsible for managing

the selection process to ensure that grade 12 and 1st year students who demonstrate the highest potential in being future

entrepreneurs are identified, attracted, and eventually selected.

He has been a part of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation since June 2017. He possesses a wealth of experience from working

in the education space over the past 14 years, from selection through to the graduation of students with high potential.

Before joining the Foundation, he was Acting Head of Department for the Student Equity and Talent Management Unit

(SETMU) at the University of the Witwatersrand.

He completed his BCom (Internal Auditing and Management) and BCom honours in Business Management at the University

of the Witwatersrand. He is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy in Leadership in Emerging Economies with the

University of Johannesburg.

He was part of a team that published a paper in the South African Journal of Higher Education in 2015, named “Developing Equitable Selection Criteria for Talent Development Programmes in Inequitable Contexts.”

Raeanne Naidoo obtained a Master’s Degree in Industrial Psychology. Raeanne is currently a practicing Industrial Psychologist and Human Capital Consultant working for a NPO partnering with the Department of Basic Education. Raeanne is passionate about people processes and counselling.

Raeanne’s research within the field of ethics and assessment centres have aided her in framing her thinking surrounding modern issues in South Africa. She is passionate about fairness in the workplace and manages end to end recruitment. With her studies and her experience, she is able to run fair assessment centres for both selection and development.

Raeanne is registered with the HPCSA as an Intern Psychologist.


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Yogavelli Nambiar joined the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation in October 2017 as its Chief Executive Officer. Previously she was the Founding Director of the Entrepreneurship Development Academy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), the business school of the University of Pretoria, where she led the school’s entrepreneurship efforts. She started the Academy in 2014 to offer scholarship-based education and support to entrepreneurs of start-up, micro and small enterprises who were previously marginalised or underserved, leading to it being commended by Cabinet and receiving other awards. During this time, she taught on the Social Entrepreneurship Programme on business models that can be used to create social change.

Prior to that she was Country Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative and a Founder-Director of the Enterprise Development Council of South Africa. Currently, she is a non-executive Director of E2 Investments; a Trustee of READ Educational Trust and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO). She also sits on the Womanomics Africa™ Advisory Council, a pan-African entity seeking to promote and progress women entrepreneurship on the continent.

Previously, Yogi had founded and run two businesses: an experiential travel company that operated in South Africa and

India; and a social development advisory company, which counted among its clients the UN’s ILO, Tiger Brands, the National

Youth Development Agency and GIBS. Before entering the entrepreneurship world, Yogi worked in the women’s human

rights and disabilities sectors in India for seven years, for which she was featured in the 2014 book “Inspired” by Jennifer

Renton. She has an MBA from GIBS and degrees in Development Studies and in Community and Health Psychology from

UNISA.

Vandana Varan is an OD Consultant at Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) where she focuses on analysing, diagnosing, designing, developing, project managing and delivering organisational development initiatives and services by providing strategic and tactical OD consulting support in areas pertaining to talent, succession and career management as well as job evaluation. Vandana began her professional career at Smollan as a Strategic HR Projects Officer and continued to gain experience within the Talent Management as well as Learning and Development space as a Talent and Performance Management Specialist and then a Learning and Development Project Manager respectively. Vandana holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Psychology and is registered as an Industrial Psychologist (Independent Practice) with the HPCSA.


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Petrus Nel, PhD, has been in the higher education sector for the past 19 years. He is the co-editor of four books in the field of Industrial Psychology and People Management. He has published before and regularly presents papers at both national and international conferences. His areas of expertise are mainly psychometrics, applied psychological and performance assessment and personnel psychology. Petrus is currently interested in the influence of technology on employee well-being. He is registered as an industrial psychologist with the HPCSA. He holds a PhD from the University of Stellenbosch and a Master’s degree from the University of Pretoria.

Danie Oosthuizen is currently Head of Professional services at TTS and an IOP for many years. Prior to working at TTS, he spent ten years with SHL in the SA office and in a regional role. Over thirty years of experience has been gained in all aspects of Business re-engineering, continuous improvement, organisational management, management of change, management training, negotiation skills, personnel selection and evaluation, all aspects of assessment centres, leadership development, succession planning, formulate and implement policy and procedures, and team building. He has extensive experienced in consulting to top management and taking responsibility for organisational development and training, selection and placement, change management programmes and Business Re-engineering processes and projects. Danie is a skilled facilitator and has supported numerous executive teams improving their effectiveness through team sensitisation workshops and the facilitation of work sessions.

Danie assists and supports TTS clients with services such Competency design and job profiling, implementation of Assessment processes and practices, facilitating of Assessment and Development centres, conducting career interviews and assessments, proving feedback to line managers and candidates and presenting training on the TTS products.


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Sandra Schlebusch’ years of work experience encompasses the domain of people development – from selecting, to developing, and to nurturing talent. She has worked both full-time and as a consultant in large corporations, as well as state-owned and smaller enterprises, where she designed and implemented coaching and mentoring, leadership development, as well as succession development processes.

Sandra’s specialisation is assessment centres, and she specifically uses simulations as part of her design, development, and implementation of numerous assessment centres, both for selection and for developmental purposes. Her unique area of work is coaching development centres – these incorporate coaching with the rigour of assessment centres. She is both an experienced assessor and coach, having worked with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds across the world.

Sandra is past Chairman of the ACSG and an honorary member. She co-established the AC Academy in 2012 with the aim of educating potential assessment centre users. She received an award of Recognition for Continuous Contribution to the field of Assessment Centres in South Africa for the year 2007 from the ACSG.

She has published the following books: Assessment Centres: Unlocking People Potential (1st and 2nd Edition), as well as a couple of peer reviewed articles on this subject in scientific journals. She also speaks on the topic of assessment centres at both national and international conferences.

Svetlana Simonenko, PhD, is founder and Managing Partner of the Detech Group and a member of the Government Expert Council of the Russian Federation.

In 2014 Svetlana was awarded by EY the title "Entrepreneur of the year" in "Consulting services" nomination.

Svetlana has extensive experience in human resources management and consulting since 1995.

She is co-author of Russian Assessment Center Guidelines (2013) and Russian Personnel Testing Guidelines (2015). She is a member of the taskforce on the development of International Assessment Center Guidelines (6th edition, USA, 2014).

Detech was established in 2004 to introduce international personnel assessment and development practices to Russia and CIS countries and has among its clients Organising Committee for Olympic Games in Sochi-2014 and Russia-2018 Organising Committee for Football World Cup.


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Karel Stanz is former Head of the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria and at the University of Johannesburg. He was on sabbatical in 2010 as a visiting professor at the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. During this time he also spent time at the University of Toronto and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He was on Sabbatical and a visiting Scholar at University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia during 2019. He completed the GIBS PAL programme in 2015. He has been seconded to act as the Director of Human Capital from 1 July 2013 to 30 April 2014 and is since November 2015 seconded to the VC’s office as the Project Coordinator Insourcing

Karel is a registered Industrial Psychologist and a Master HR Practitioner and teaches Talent Management on masters’ level. He has been able to attract and successfully supervised and co-supervised thirty masters and 12 doctoral students and authored/co-authored twenty four refereed articles published in accredited journals and more than forty refereed conference publications published nationally and internationally. He serves as Editor in Chief for the SA Journal of Human Resource Management. He also is a founding executive and serves on the executive committee of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM). He is Past President and Honorary Life Membership of Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology (SIOPSA). He served as Chair of the Higher Education Committee of the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) and was recently completed his term as Vice-Chair of the Board of the SABPP. He is a member of the various other professional boards and institutions.

Karel has also, apart from his academic obligations, been invited to co-chair the Industrial/Organisational/Work Psychology Division, as well as to serve on the extended Scientific Committee of the 30th International Congress of Psychology 2012. He was conference Chair for SAIMS 2016. He was also invited to serve as the South African Human Resources (HR) Ambassador on the Academy of Management ambassadors’ programme. He served on the International Advisory Board of the European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology Conference for 2015 (EAWOP2015). He previously served on the selection panel for Deloitte’s “Best Company to Work For”, was the lead academic partner for the “Tomorrow’s Leaders Convention (2008-2010)” and the Rising Stars Summit and Rising Stars Awards.


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Inette Taylor, PhD, runs a private practice in Johannesburg where she provides psychological services and engages in on-going learning in psychotherapy, psychological assessments, neurofeedback and coaching for private clients and organisational teams (industry and church organisations).

Qualifications

• BA, Hons and Masters’ degrees in Psychology

• PhD in Child Psychology and related disciplines (directed course). Her Doctoral thesis title is: The construct comparability of the NEO PI-R questionnaire for white and black employees.

• BA Visual Arts Degree

• BCIA Neurofeedback accreditation E6318.

• She has completed several certification courses in therapeutic and organisational psychology, coaching, neurofeedback and trauma intervention.

Work experience

During her 17-year career at the former National Institute for Personnel Research (1981-1997) she was trained amongst other in psychological/psychometric assessments, career counselling, systems and psychodynamic therapeutic interventions, training programme development, she ran the intern psychologist training programme for several years, and gained extensive experience working both in industry (hence being a full member of SIOPSA) and a private practice since 1997. Since 2016 she has been incorporating advances in Neuroscience in her therapeutic practice and became a BCIA accredited Neurofeedback practitioner in 2018.


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George C. Thornton III is Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. He earned his PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Purdue University in 1966. He is a Diplomate in Industrial Psychology with the American Board of Psychology and a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Purdue University, the Legacy Lifetime Award from the South African Assessment Centre Study Group, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Kingdom Assessment Centre User Group.

Dr Thornton specializes in validated human resource management assessment and development interventions, especially the assessment center method. He has developed, implemented, validated, researched, legally defended, and published on the assessment center method.

He is author of scores of publications in refereed journals. A partial list of books include: Assessment Centers and Managerial Performance (Academic Press, 1982, with William C. Byham), Assessment Centers in Human Resource Management (Addison Wesley, 1992), Assessment Centers in Human Resource Management (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006, with Deborah E. Rupp), Assessment Center Perspective for Talent Management Strategies (Routledge, 2015, with Deborah E. Rupp, & Brian J. Hoffman). In addition he is co-editor with Nigel Povah of Assessment Centres and Global Talent Management (Gower, 2011). He has also published Developing Organizational Simulations: A Guide for Practitioners and Students (Erlbaum, 2003, with Ross A. Mueller-Hanson) and Developing Organizational Simulations: A Guide for Practitioners, Students, and Researchers (2nd ed, 2017, Routledge, with Rose A. Mueller-Hanson & Deborah E. Rupp). Dr Thornton has taught at universities, made conference presentations, and consulted with organizations throughout the US, and in Canada, Germany, Belgium Switzerland, UK, Israel, South Africa, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, and China.


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Henriëtte van den Berg is a registered counselling psychologist in private practice. She specialises in trauma therapy, burnout interventions, career pathway mapping and mentoring of professionals towards career resilience and thriving. She completed her Master’s training at North West University and her PhD in Psychology at University of Free State (2001). Since registration as a counselling psychologist in 1986, she has worked in hospitals, university counselling centres and academia. She served as programme director for the Master’s Programme in Clinical and Counselling Psychology and as Director of the Postgraduate School (University of Free State). She presents at national and international conferences on various topics related to research development, supervising postgraduate students and mentoring of early career professionals. She presents ethics workshops for various health professionals for CPD purposes and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Ethics (Cum Laude) at Stellenbosch University in 2018. Apart from her practice, she also manages a mentoring programme for 60 young academics from University of Free State.

Melissa White is a Master’s graduate specialising in Industrial Organisational Psychology. Melissa’s work experience runs throughout the Finance, Arts, Education and Retail industries. She is currently employed at one of the biggest retailers in South Africa and Africa – Massmart, playing a dual role as a Project Manager in a companywide restructure and an Associate Experience Specialist in the Organisational Effectiveness department.


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Gail Wrogeman’s - core areas of specialisation include Systems thinking, systems and organisational development, executive and team coaching, Systems coaching, Supervision and development of consulting and coaching teams, cultural change and alignment consulting. Gail is an industrial and organisational psychologist, qualified coach and coach supervisor.

She completed her master’s in systems psychodynamic work, completed the Organisational Relationship Systems Coaching certification, various systems thinking related certifications, and is currently completing her PhD in Leadership and Teaming in Complexity.

She has more than 20 years’ experience across many industries – financial services, mining, consulting, public sector, education and social development. With her strong business focus she works well with long term change and development projects, using methodologies such as team coaching, group and executive coaching, leadership development, strategic thinking, mentoring and coaching for clients and for consulting team. Key successes have been in systems transformation and development of models and processes that guide these projects, development of impact assessment methodologies, supervision processes, a systems thinking accreditation.

She is currently the chair of SIOPSA’s interest group in coaching and consulting psychology.


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Alphabetical List of Presenters

Page(s) Page(s)

Anna Baczyńska 16, 40 Andrzej Kozmiński 16

Jürgen Becker 19, 34, 40 Hennie Kriek 15, 48

David Bischof 24, 39, 41 Karolina Laba 19, 49

Pieter Bronkhorst 22, 30, 41 Martin Lanik 32, 49

Mia Bunn 36 Landi Mashiloane 23, 50

Lynn Collins 13, 42 Raeanne Naidoo 38, 50

Marié de Beer 24, 42 Yogavelli Nambiar 27, 51

Derick de Jongh 35, 43 Vandana Naran 39, 51

Christine de Wet 8, 43 Petrus Nel 12, 19, 52

Thinus Delport 19, 44 Danie Oosthuizen 18, 52

Kim Dowdeswell 15, 44 Sandra Schlebusch 8, 19, 38, 53

Marieta du Plessis 34, 45 Svetlana Simonenko 28, 53

Shelleny Govender-Dhooma 36 Ilona Skoczeń 16

Linda Fourie 38, 45 Tracey Stetka 36

Jeremy Francis 37, 46 Karel Stanz 19, 54

Zoelfah Hardien-Marriday 19, 46 Inette Taylor 21, 55

Sandra Hartog 13, 26, 47 George Thornton 14, 25, 56

Carl Herman 23, 47 Henriëtte van den Berg 11, 57

Stacy Isaacs 19, 36, 48 Melissa White 34, 57

Ziyaad Yusuf Khan 36 Gail Wrogemann 19, 58

Pawel Korzyński 16


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2021 ACSG VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ABSTRACT BOOKLET

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