I want to make the best choice for an internal role
Promote with confidence, make the transition work.
Development assessment: I help you decide on a promotion with full knowledge, with concrete ideas to prepare the transition into the role. If the person needs support afterwards, coaching takes over.
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Twenty minutes free · Confidential · French-speaking Switzerland (Lausanne, Fribourg), Bern or by video call
PHOTO 4 · LANDSCAPE 3:2
Job simulation: role play between two people, Victor observes and takes notes.
When a promotion deserves an outside perspective
I work on promotions and moves into management, executive and specialist roles.
The transition, seen from the inside
“One precise sentence on what the development assessment changed in a promotion decision.”
Development assessment
Before promoting.
Estimate the gap between what the person masters today and what the new role will demand.
The required level and the observed level, estimated separately
A debrief dimension by dimension, with three priorities at most
Depending on the question, validated psychometric inventories
Onboarding support
After the decision.
Up to nine sessions to turn what has been understood into observable changes.
Work on the real situations of the new role
An interim checkpoint with you on what becomes observable
Confidential sessions, which belong to the person
Unsure about the right format? Twenty minutes are enough to choose.
From scoping to debrief, in five steps
The assessment can take place at your premises, by video call or in a neutral and discreet room outside your walls, ideal for internal candidates.
- 1
Scope the role
I meet you and, depending on the case, someone who knows the job. We lay out the reality of the target role: the critical skills, the constraints, the tensions, what the person will encounter. Nothing is carried over from another process.
- 2
Build the exercises
With you, we build exercises drawn from real situations. The best predictor of future behavior remains a sample of that same behavior in the present.
- 3
Run the assessment
On the day you set, the internal candidates work through the exercises. They are observed by several trained people, using a shared rating grid: I am never the only one observing.
- 4
Hand over the summary
It reaches you no later than 24 hours after the assessment, with support suggestions to prepare the transition into the role.
- 5
Debrief
If needed, a final discussion with the people who decide: the reasoned recommendation, discussed together.
A summary to decide, and to prepare what comes next
For your decision: the gap between what the role demands and what the person masters today.
For the transition into the role: three support suggestions at most, written in the summary.
For the person assessed: feedback on their strengths and development areas, whether or not they are selected.
To go further: if support is useful, coaching takes over.
Timelines and fees
Summary within 24 hours after the assessment.
A flat fee depending on the role assessed:
Specialists, project leads and managers who supervise team members
Managers of managers, heads of unit and executive team members
The flat fee covers two people assessed, all inclusive. Each additional person adds one third of the flat fee. Fees provided on request, excluding VAT. First call free.
One point of contact, from start to finish
Victor Jaques · Psychologist FSP
I scope, run and report back myself.
MSc in Counseling and Career Psychology (UNIL, 2021)
MAS in Management, Human Resources and Careers (UNIFR, UNIGE, UNIL, UNINE, 2024)
CAS in Change Management (HEC Lausanne, 2026)
Questions about development assessment
What is a development assessment (development center)?
A development assessment, or development center, is aimed at a person already in a role. The approach is the same as for a recruitment assessment. Since the person is already known to the organization, the emphasis is more on support suggestions to succeed in the new role than on evaluating competencies in the strict sense. It thus informs a promotion or internal mobility decision.
What is the difference between recruitment assessment, development assessment and coaching?
They are three moments of the same decision.
Recruitment assessment takes place before hiring a person from outside the organization. It helps choose between finalists.
Development assessment (or development center) takes place before a promotion or an internal move. It estimates the gap between what a person already in a role masters today and what the new role will demand, with suggestions to support them.
Coaching takes place once the person is in the role. It is support over time, over six or nine sessions.
270° or 360° feedback is a tool in support of coaching.
When should I do a development assessment?
A development assessment is done when a promotion to a more exposed role is being considered and the organization wants to estimate the risks for the person and the organization before deciding. If the promotion has already been confirmed, coaching can be considered, without prior evaluation.
What is the difference between an assessment and a skills review (bilan de compétences)?
An assessment and a skills review differ by who they are for and by format. A skills review is carried out for the individual, who is its only recipient: it is used, among other things, to build a career plan. It takes place over several one-to-one sessions. An assessment is carried out for the organization that has to make a hiring or promotion decision. It takes place once, over half a day to a day. The person assessed also benefits: they gain from Victor Jaques’s perspective and can use it to develop.
How does a development assessment work?
A development assessment with Victor Jaques takes place in five steps:
- 1
Scope the role. Victor Jaques clarifies with the people concerned the reality of the target role: the critical skills, the constraints, the tensions.
- 2
Build the exercises. He designs them with them, from real situations of the role.
- 3
Run the assessment. On the day set with the organization, the internal candidates take the semi-structured psychological interview, based on validated psychometric inventories, then the exercises.
- 4
Hand over the summary. Within 24 hours, with support suggestions to prepare the transition into the role.
- 5
Debrief, if needed. Victor Jaques meets the people who decide to discuss the results.
The assessment can take place at the organization’s premises, by video call or in a neutral and discreet room outside its walls.
How long does a development assessment take?
The simulation takes half a day to a day, depending on the role and the number of exercises. It is preceded by a scoping of the role and the building of the exercises with subject-matter experts. The date is set with the organization and the person assessed. The summary reaches the organization within 24 hours after the assessment.
How is managerial potential assessed?
Managerial potential is assessed through a development assessment. The person is observed in simulations close to the target role, with a shared rating grid. These observations are combined with a semi-structured psychological interview, based on validated psychometric inventories. The summary describes the gap between the observed behaviors and those the role demands, and what can be worked on. It helps the organization decide on a promotion, and the person prepare for taking up the role. Finally, throughout the process, the feedback given to the person often reveals how they take it on board.
How much does a development assessment cost?
A development assessment is offered at a flat fee, on two levels depending on the role assessed: specialists, project leads and managers who supervise team members, or managers of managers, heads of unit and executive team members. The flat fee covers two people assessed for the same position, excluding VAT. Each additional person adds one third of the flat fee. The first call is free.
Where does Victor Jaques run development assessments, and in which language?
Victor Jaques is based in Fribourg and Lausanne. He works throughout French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Valais, Jura) and in Bern, in French, as well as in Zurich and German-speaking Switzerland, in English. Depending on the service, assessments, sessions and workshops take place at the organization’s premises, by video call or in a neutral room, which suits internal candidates.
Twenty minutes to clarify your needs, free of charge.
Fribourg · Lausanne · Bern · by video call wherever you are