Background & Purpose: Meritocracy is one of the fundamental objectives of human resource management, and achieving it requires the use of credible and effective tools for assessing human capital. In this regard, Assessment Centers have increasingly gained attention from policymakers and human resource specialists as a valid and scientific method for evaluating competencies, especially in the public sector. However, the expanding use of these centers, without sufficient attention to ethical considerations, has led to challenges regarding the accuracy, impartiality, and validity of their results. The purpose of this research is to design an ethical charter for assessment centers. Institutionalizing this ethical charter can enhance the integrity of assessment center processes, strengthen stakeholder trust, improve managerial decision-making, and ultimately lead to the realization of meritocracy.
Methodology: In this study, the initial themes of the ethical charter for competency assessment centers were identified through a comprehensive review of the literature. These themes were subsequently refined and validated using the Delphi method. Ultimately, the ethical charter for the competency assessment centers was developed based on these identified themes.
Findings: The main principles of the ethical charter for assessment centers include: respect for human dignity and rights of candidates and assessors; comprehensive, transparent, timely, accurate, and written notification; Adherence to information confidentiality, integrity, and the protection of the personal privacy of the candidates; design, validation, implementation, and documentation of assessment center processes; adherence to principles of accuracy, justice, truth, and meritocracy; clarification and removal of potential conflicts of interest; compliance with policies, laws, guidelines, and professional principles; employing specialized, trained, and ethically committed assessors; use of valid, up-to-date, diverse, relevant, and specialized practices; providing appropriate, accurate, comprehensive, and continuous feedback reports; avoiding judgment, bias, and ethical misinterpretations, as well as preventing profit-driven or exploitative perspectives; Fostering self-awareness and developing competencies; preserving intellectual property rights. Ethical considerations and policies aligned with these principles were established for assessment centers.
Conclusion: Continuous training on ethical codes for assessors and assessment center managers, selecting individuals committed to professional ethics, utilizing modern technologies and virtual assessment centers, and designing transparent mechanisms for reporting, feedback, and accountability can reduce human errors, prevent biases, increase transparency, and improve decision-making quality in assessment centers.