It seems foolish to invest in a robust and costly assessment process only to ignore the developmental benefits of the information. Yet this is what many organisations do when it comes to feedback from assessment centres.

Delivered effectively, assessment centres offer significant benefits. As an example, decision-making challenges often included in assessment centres provide far more objective information about a person's judgment under pressure, than anything that comes out of traditional interviews.

Most of the information gathered at assessment centres is focused on getting the right person for the job. Then it's filed. This development information could be used to support the manager and the candidate to settle in to the new role and form part of their first Personal Development Plan.

This is why savvy organisations are starting to use assessment centre data as the basis of focused coaching: to help newly appointed or promoted employees make an early impact. Working with a coach, the feedback derived from the assessment centre can help identify what experiences and projects would enable individuals to make the most of their talents and help them overcome weaknesses.