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This blog breaks down the five essential elements of designing inclusive, authentic, and high-impact assessment centres for early talent. It explores how AC experiences shape employer brand perception, influence Gen Z decision-making, and directly affect your future talent pipeline and why getting them right is critical for fair, effective recruitment.
How assessment centres shape your employer brand
When it comes to graduate hiring, assessment centres (ACs) are often the first real moment where candidates experience what your company is about.
We spoke to Amy, our Early Talent Recruitment Lead, who has designed and delivered over 100 ACs across different sectors and organisations. She's seen what works, what falls flat, and how seemingly small decisions can either open doors or close them for talented candidates.
Negative experiences can damage employer brands significantly, particularly among Gen Z candidates who are vocal about sharing their experiences publicly. But well-designed, inclusive ACs can transform rejected candidates into brand advocates and build a reputation that attracts stronger talent pools in future recruitment cycles.
Here are the 5 things you need to consider when building your assessment centre:
1. Design for mutual evaluation, not one-way assessment
ACs are inherently two-way processes. While you evaluate candidates' competencies and cultural fit, they're simultaneously assessing whether your organisation aligns with their looking for in an employer.
The employees you choose to represent you send powerful signals about your broader organisational culture. Candidates from underrepresented backgrounds are statistically more likely to accept offers from organisations where they see people like themselves in positions of influence. If your industry struggles with diversity, the absence of diverse assessors at this stage can be a dealbreaker.
Consider involving employees at various career stages in your assessment process. Early Talent who have joined recently can provide the most credible perspective for candidates trying to envision their own trajectory. They can speak authentically about their early career experience in ways senior leaders sometimes can't.
2. Remove structural barriers to participation
Inclusive ACs require deliberate attention to accessibility and equity; addressing them demonstrates organisational values in practice.
For in-person assessment centres:
Financial accessibility: Reimbursing travel expenses or providing travel advances removes a substantial barrier for candidates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Asking someone to front £100+ in train fares creates inequity and may prevent talented candidates from attending.
Dress code clarity: Prevents unnecessary anxiety and expense. Vague guidance like "dress professionally" can be interpreted differently across socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, which may lead to candidates feeling the pressure to buy something new. Be specific about expectations, and genuinely consider whether formal business attire is necessary for your assessment activities, as the recruitment process shouldn't cost both time and money. From experience, candidates will perform best when they feel comfortable.
Religious and cultural needs: Provide dedicated quiet spaces for prayer or meditation between activities and schedule breaks that accommodate religious observance times. When planning the dates, consider all cultural observations so you aren’t limiting attendance.
Physical accessibility: Consider the accessibility of your venue, from the entrance to ease of movement throughout the building. Be transparent about what your space offers and the accommodations you can provide, both on assessment day and for ongoing employment.
Sensory needs are equally important. Harsh lighting, loud spaces, and overwhelming environments can disadvantage neurodiverse candidates. Providing clear information in advance about the office environment and what candidates can expect goes a long way toward creating an inclusive experience.
For virtual assessment centres:
Technology equity: Requiring specific software or platforms that aren't freely available creates barriers, assume candidates are using basic technology.
Home environment assumptions: Not all candidates have quiet, private spaces with no background noise, interruptions, or visible home environments, so they shouldn’t be analysed on this.
Digital fatigue: Build in adequate breaks during the day, as concentration and performance can decline significantly in extended video calls without breaks.
Communication clarity: Provide detailed schedules in advance, including who will contact candidates, when, and from what number. Withheld numbers are frequently ignored by younger demographics.
Critical across both formats: allow candidates to request reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, not only on application. Many candidates may become comfortable disclosing needs only after establishing trust with an organisation.
3. Maintain transparency about organisational capacity
Honesty about what your organisation can and can’t accommodate is both ethical and practical. If a candidate requires adjustments that you can’t provide in the role itself, not just during assessment, continuing the recruitment process benefits neither party.
When briefing assessors about candidate adjustments, share only what's operationally necessary for fair assessment. Over-disclosure of personal information breaches privacy and can introduce unconscious bias.
4. Ensure experiences reflect organisational reality
Authenticity in ACs matters for retention as well as attraction. If your day features impressive facilities, senior leader engagement, and extensive perks, employee network groups that don't reflect the actual graduate or apprentice experience, you're creating expectations you can’t meet. This can lead to poor retention and damage your reputation when employees share their experiences.
Assess candidates against the competencies, values, and behaviours that genuinely matter in the role and organisation. Avoid generic competency frameworks that don't connect to your specific context and culture.
5. Recognise the long-term brand implications
Poor experiences create ripple effects far beyond individual candidates. Students share experiences within universities, on social media, and on employer review platforms such as Glassdoor. A pattern of negative feedback about your assessment process can deter future applicants, particularly from demographics already underrepresented in your organisation.
Positive experiences create lasting goodwill. Candidates who don't receive offers but feel they were treated fairly, respectfully, and given an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities often remain engaged with your organisation. They may reapply for different roles, recommend you to peers, or become customers and advocates.
Inclusive ACs require intentional design, resource investment, and ongoing evaluation. They're not just about avoiding discrimination; they're about creating conditions where all candidates can perform at their best and make informed decisions about their careers.
The organisations that get this right build reputations as employers of choice, strengthen their talent pipelines, and create competitive advantage in increasingly tight labour markets.
We partner with organisations to design assessment centres that are fair, evidence-based, and that help you become an employer of choice.
Looking to strengthen your early talent strategy even further?
Explore these resources to support more inclusive, consistent, and high-impact hiring:
