Assessment centers provide a confidential, safe environment for the analysis of job-related skills.
The Germans are given credit for developing assessment centers for military leaders. This is one of the first adaptations of assessment centers for elected officials. A typical Assessment Center for County Commissioners included 12 participants who complete eight simulation activities during a two day period. Trained assessors worked together to observe behaviors of each participant. The assessors collaborated to develop consensus ratings for each dimension and provided a narrative report describing the observed behaviors.