Secure a hire
A management role in an international organisation, an NGO or a foundation: fixed-term mandates, temporary teams, high mobility. An interview alone does not verify the ability to steer a project across cultures.
Assessment · in Geneva
Assessment in the canton of Geneva
Objectify a hiring, promotion or internal mobility decision in a canton where competition for qualified profiles is intense and teams are multicultural.
Working in the canton of Geneva
Geneva concentrates international organisations, private banks, commodity traders and a dense network of small and mid-sized firms. Teams are frequently multicultural: a Geneva-based manager often leads colleagues of many nationalities, with English as the meeting language and French as the language of daily work. That diversity makes personnel decisions harder to judge on a single interview — the unwritten rules differ from one culture to another.
Most common working languages in Geneva: French and English, sometimes German.
Assessment in Geneva: what we secure
Clarify a promotion or internal move
An internal promotion in a private bank, a professional firm or a trading house: strong performance in the current role does not guarantee the skills the next role requires, in particular running a team.
Build a development plan
A development plan for a small group of high potentials: identify what must be worked on first and link the assessment to a training programme or coaching.
Assessment Geneva: where we intervene
We work in the cities below and cover the whole canton of Geneva.
Assessment in other cantons
The same support, adapted to each canton's economic fabric.
Assessment Geneva: why choose SHR
An Assessment Geneva run by SHR serves a decision first: hiring, promotion, succession or a development plan. Every Assessment Geneva is built from the actual role, your culture and the local business context, not from a standard test battery.
Our Assessment Geneva combines a structured interview, role-close exercises and, where relevant, validated psychometric questionnaires, so each competency is observed from several angles and the conclusions of the Assessment Geneva are sturdier than a single interview.
Organisations that commission an Assessment Geneva receive a reasoned report, a debrief for the decision-maker and individual feedback for the person assessed. A well-run Assessment Geneva leaves something useful whatever the outcome.
The Assessment Geneva can take place on your premises, at a neutral local venue or partly online. To organise an Assessment Geneva, simply describe the role and timing and we will propose a suitable design.
How an SHR assessment works — Assessment Geneva
A serious assessment does not start with a test but with a question: which decision is it meant to inform? Hiring, promotion, succession and development reviews call for different exercises and different reports, so every design starts from the actual role.
- 01
Role definition
A conversation with leadership and HR to turn the role into four to six observable competencies, with examples of expected behaviour in your context rather than a generic framework.
- 02
Method selection
Structured interviews on real past situations, work-sample exercises close to the role (in-tray, difficult conversation, board presentation) and, where justified, validated psychometric questionnaires. Each competency is observed through at least two methods.
- 03
Assessment day
Candidates are told how the day runs and how results will be used. Observations are rated independently, then compared in an integration session to limit halo effects and first-impression bias.
- 04
Feedback
A written report and a debrief with the decision-maker, followed by individual feedback to the person assessed, who leaves with concrete development points whatever the decision.
What you receive
- A competency profile backed by observed behaviour, not impressions
- Strengths to build on and risks to watch in the first six months
- An explicit recommendation and its conditions
- A development plan ready for onboarding or coaching
What an assessment does not do
It does not predict the future with certainty and does not replace your judgement: it reduces uncertainty on specific competencies. Nor is it a way to justify a decision already taken — if that is the request, we will say so in the first conversation.
Standards we rely on
Our designs follow international guidelines on assessment centres and test use: role-based competencies, multiple methods, trained assessors and informed candidates. Recent research on predictive validity confirms that structured interviews and work-sample exercises are among the most reliable methods. Personal data is handled under Switzerland’s revised Federal Act on Data Protection, in force since 1 September 2023.
- International Taskforce on Assessment Center Guidelines (2015). Guidelines and ethical considerations for assessment center operations. Journal of Management, 41(4), 1244–1273.
- International Test Commission (2001). International Guidelines for Test Use. International Journal of Testing, 1(2), 93–114.
- Sackett, P. R., Zhang, C., Berry, C. M., & Lievens, F. (2022). Revisiting meta-analytic estimates of validity in personnel selection. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(11), 2040–2068.
Frequently asked questions — assessment in the canton of Geneva
Can an assessment in Geneva take place in English?
Yes. Interviews, simulations and the feedback session run in French, English or German, according to the team's working language. The written report can be produced in the language you need for the decision.
Do you work outside the city of Geneva?
Yes, across the canton: Carouge, Lancy, Vernier, Meyrin, Grand-Saconnex, Plan-les-Ouates and the communes on the right bank. Sessions take place at your premises, in our offices in Lancy or remotely.
How long does an assessment in Geneva take?
Half a day to a full day of observation depending on the level of responsibility, then analysis and feedback. The written report is delivered within about a week.
In which languages is an assessment run in Geneva?
In your team's working language: French and English, sometimes German are the most common in Geneva. Italian is available on request.
A personnel decision to objectify in the canton of Geneva?
Describe the situation in a few lines: we call you back to frame the request and propose a method suited to it.
SHR — Swiss Human Resources — Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy (Genève), Suisse · Monday–Friday, 8am–6pm.