Same people, different time: Assessment center validity and reliability in connection with dynamics of competency development

The article gives an overview of quantitative research into assessment centers (AC), special emphasis is placed on issues of predictive validity. It is contended that there is a gap in AC predictive validity studies, namely lack of consideration of the temporal aspect and scarcity of longitudinal projects. Empirical study involved 167 employees of large Russian companies who participated in ACs twice within a 6.5-year interval. Results are considered in two aspects: test-retest reliability of AC and dynamics of competency development. Stability of AC scores over the 6.5-year period was found to be 0.47. For comparison, testretest reliability of a general ability test within the same time interval was 0.63. Some peculiarities of competency development also came into light. In particular: competencies of managers develop in a faster pace than those of specialists; length of service in the previous position can have a negative long-term effect on competency development; number of trainings attended has a positive, yet moderate association with scores on some competencies.