Assessment centre
Group exercise practice
Role cards, a discussion task, and what assessors actually observe.
Example brief
Agree how the money available is shared between the five proposals, and rank the proposals from first to last priority. For each proposal give the amount (which may be zero) and any condition attached to it.
Brief
You sit on the Grants Committee of Hartwell Vale Community Lender, a not-for-profit lender that makes small loans and also runs an annual money-help grant fund for the valley. The committee meets today to decide how this year's fund is shared out.
Five local organisations have applied. Between them they have asked for £220,000, but the fund is £120,000. Partial awards are allowed. An applicant can be given the full amount asked for, a smaller amount, or nothing.
- Prepare
- 10 minutes
- Discuss
- 30 minutes
- Group
- 4 to 5 people
Role cards, a brief, a timer and the assessors' scoring guide, so you can run a practice group with friends and score it the way assessors are told to.
Practise this format
Need extra time or a different format? Every timed practice has 1.25x and 1.5x options. See reasonable adjustments.
About this test
A group exercise puts you with other candidates to discuss a task and reach a decision, while assessors watch. They are not scoring who speaks most. They observe behaviour, record it, classify it against the competencies and evaluate it.
Not every firm uses one. Some publish a line-up without it, and others pair it with an interview. The firm pages show the stated line-up. Our guide has role cards and a task you can run with friends, plus a plain list of what assessors score.
What we know about this format
Each point carries a badge showing where it comes from. Where only candidates have reported something, the badge says so.
What do the confidence badges mean?
- Vendor-published Stated in the test publisher's own document or practice site.
- Academic From peer-reviewed research.
- Official employer Stated on the employer's own page.
- Near-official Near-official: an employer-run practice portal, or a vendor or employer-quoted press release naming the employer.
- Candidate-reported Reported by candidates. Treat as likely but unconfirmed.
- Third-party From prep sites, press or forums. Not confirmed by the employer or publisher.
- Academic
The BPS standard has assessors Observe, Record, Classify and Evaluate. Ratings across exercises use one anchored scale and are combined arithmetically.
- Official employer
Bank of England virtual centre: one group exercise and one interview.
- Official employer
NatWest virtual centre: a full day with, as examples, a group discussion, an interactive role play and an interview. Lloyds' centre includes a group exercise, a one-to-one interview and individual assessments on pre-work.
Source · Lloyds: https://www.lloydsbankinggrouptalent.com/our-opportunities/graduates/graduates-application-process/
- Official employer
Deloitte: a topic discussion with an assessor and a skills and motivation interview. No group exercise is listed.
- Academic
Exercise-specific ratings tend to dominate competency ratings.
Group exercise kit
- Third-party
Group exercises typically give 10 to 15 minutes of reading and 30 to 45 minutes of discussion. Kvanta kits are shorter (5 to 10 and 25 to 30) so a group can finish in one sitting.
- Near-official
Some group exercises assign roles and some do not. More often the group is leaderless.
Source · University of York careers service; Salford and AssessmentDay say the same.
- Near-official
The assessor standard asks for a competency by exercise matrix and for each criterion to be assessed by at least two methods, ideally two exercises.
Source · British Psychological Society, Design and Delivery of Assessment Centres (2015), clause 4.15.
- Near-official
The same rating scale is used for every exercise, with descriptive anchors on at least two points.
Source · Clauses 4.30 and 4.31.
- Near-official
Ratings are combined by arithmetic, not by consensus discussion, whenever the centre supports selection decisions.
Source · Clause 7.4 and note 7.4.1.1.
- Official employer
Deloitte UK's final stage is a topic discussion with an assessor plus a skills and motivation interview. No group exercise is listed.
Source · The absence is inferred from the page.
- Official employer
The Bank of England's assessment centre consists of one group exercise and one interview.
- Official employer
Goldman Sachs campus hiring typically involves between two and five interviews, depending on the division.
Source · Global campus page, not UK specific.
- Academic
International guidelines exist for running assessment centres fairly.
Source · Rupp et al., 2015.
- Academic
Assessor ratings tend to vary by exercise at least as much as by competency, which is why Kvanta treats each exercise as fresh.
Source · Lievens and Conway, 2001: dimension and exercise variance were about equal.
Questions people ask
What do assessors score in a group exercise?
They look for specific behaviours linked to the firm's competencies, such as building on others' ideas, bringing in quieter members, using evidence and moving the group to a decision.
Do I need to take the lead?
No. Taking charge is not scored for its own sake. Quality of contribution and working with others count.
Which firms use a group exercise?
The Bank of England, NatWest and Lloyds list one. Deloitte lists a topic discussion with an assessor and no group exercise. Standard Chartered says its centres may include group exercises depending on role and market. See the firm pages.
What if the group is difficult?
Assessors watch how you respond. Stay calm, keep to the task, and credit others' good points.
Can I practise alone?
Our guide has role cards and a task you can run with friends. The video practice also helps with speaking clearly in a short time.
Is this a real firm's exercise?
No. All tasks and role cards are original.
Where this appears in firm processes
- Lloyds Banking Group Official employer
- Standard Chartered Official employer
- Bank of England Official employer
- BDO UK Official employer
- BlackRock Official employer
- Grant Thornton UK Official employer
- Legal & General (L&G) Official employer
- M&G Official employer
- Rothschild & Co Official employer
- RSM UK Official employer
- Schroders Official employer
See all firm pages. Check your own invitation, because processes change each cycle.
Independent practice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any test publisher or employer.
Practice builds familiarity. Assessment centres vary a lot between firms, and assessors score against criteria we cannot see, so treat this as rehearsal, not prediction.
Use Kvanta to practise and learn. In a live assessment, do not use AI tools, notes or another person unless the employer says you may. Read our approach to integrity.