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All of our exercises and interview questions are customized for your department, based on your current job analysis. We create detailed and thorough exercises and questions that reveal meaningful differences among the candidates. We provide all materials, training, candidate orientation, administration, scoring, and results. For a minimal additional cost, we also provide extensive feedback reports to candidates to improve their performance on the job and in assessment centers in the future. We recommend an assessment center process that we describe in detail on the following pages. We also offer the option of using our written test (described above) prior to the assessment center.

We train the assessors in the appropriate Guidelines, as well as provide practical training on how to score the questions or exercises, the common errors in ratings and how to avoid them, and all other relevant issues. Our training is very thorough and includes actual practice of rating the exercises or questions. The assessor training is conducted the day before the assessment center.

According to the Guidelines and court cases which have interpreted them, an assessment center or oral board should have some very specific elements and characteristics. We follow the generally accepted and legally defensible practices shown below.

• Exercises and Questions should be based on the requirements of the job (ascertained through a job analysis), and representative of different important job functions.
• The rating system should be designed to reveal meaningful differences among candidates.
• The assessors / raters should be carefully and thoroughly trained and have practiced scoring the exercises.

Assessment Center Characteristics
• The assessment center should have multiple exercises that measure different job dimensions or skills through job simulation and live interaction.
• Candidate response modes to or in an exercise should be consistent with the way they would actually respond in the job. In other words, to test face-to-face supervisory skills, the candidate should interact face-to-face with others in a supervisory type situation.

Based on the above guidelines, we conduct interviews of your Subject Matter Experts to determine appropriate job related exercises, questions, or scenarios for your department. We customize each piece of the process to fit your department and reflect your needs.

We have included a table at the end of this document summarizing our assessment center process and addressing commonly asked questions about the assessment centers we create and conduct.

Law Enforcement Tactical Scenario
CWH creates realistic situational scenarios in which candidates must state the actions they would take to perform Incident Management functions. The candidates receive minimal information about the incident(s) prior to entering the exercise room and they must respond to new information and events as they occur. Depending upon the design and purpose of the exercise, the incidents can be relatively simple, requiring that the candidate apply appropriate SOPs, or extremely complex, requiring that the candidate balance competing demands and values and make difficult decisions.

We offer law enforcement tactical scenarios that include incidents such as a robbery, kidnapping, or murder; gang-related activities or crowd control and unrest; a hostage situation or terrorist attack; severe weather or natural disaster; and other situations depending upon the needs of your department and the responsibilities of the particular rank.

Role Play
This is one of the best tools for assessing interpersonal and supervisory skills. It allows the assessors opportunities to evaluate candidates in realistic situations. The Role Play exercise is effective because it can be designed to evaluate many of the KSAPs that are critical to the job, such as employee development, ethical challenges, and knowledge of department procedures.

During the role play exercise, the candidates are examined on a variety of important, job related dimensions including their ability to think and express ideas while under stress, their tact and interpersonal styles, their ability to effectively deal with the problems presented, their sensitivity to the complexities of their roles as supervisor or administrator, and similar important qualities.

In Basket
For this exercise, the candidates are required to go through an in basket filled with email messages, phone calls, memorandums, letters, overheard conversations, and other similar items relevant to the targeted position, and to take action on the materials in a prioritized manner.

The candidates then meet with the assessors to discuss their prioritizing strategy and their rationales for the actions which they have taken. This critical face-to-face interaction with the assessors also allows assessors to evaluate the candidates’ ability to defend and explain their decisions without becoming defensive or threatened.

The assessors evaluate the candidates' management and decision making styles and skills, their ability to effectively anticipate the often complex consequences of their decisions, their ability to recognize departmental needs, their ability to plan and prioritize, their ability to appropriately delegate responsibility, and other job related areas.

Oral Resume
In this exercise, candidates are expected to prepare a brief presentation concerning their career history and objectives. They are encouraged to graphically display this information, as well as present it orally to the assessors.

The self presentation provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate candidates' innovativeness, personal skills, speaking ability, preparation for their career and understanding of the job for which they are applying.

Oral Presentation
In this exercise, candidates are asked to prepare and present a detailed oral presentation to the assessors. This, like all of our exercises, is adjusted to the targeted position. An oral presentation for a Lieutenant who would be expected to conduct training, for example, might include the presentation of an actual class.

The assessors evaluate the candidates in terms of their oral communication skills, tact, spontaneity, familiarity with policy, problem solving skills, and related areas.

Structured Interview
In this exercise, candidates are asked to provide detailed and specific responses to questions posed by assessors about their previous experience and accomplishments, future goals, or relevant job knowledge. The questions may be situational “What if...” questions, or they may ask the candidate to explain actual situations in which he or she was involved.

This is an excellent exercise for providing in-depth understanding of a candidate’s accomplishments, mistakes, motivation, and philosophy. This also measures a candidate’s oral communication skills, judgment, effectiveness under stress, and other related skills.

Written Exercise
This exercise is intended to evaluate the candidates on their ability to communicate in written format. The exercise can be on any topic related to your department, or the specific position. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are also evaluated. In addition, this exercise allows evaluation of the candidate's ability to think through a problem which the department currently faces. This measures the ability to be well organized, creative, and practical, as well as the ability to write clearly.