Employee Selection

Managing Human Resources

Bohlander Snell
14th edition
Copyright 2007 Thomson/South-Western. All rights reserved. PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook The University of West Alabama

Matching People and Jobs

Selection
The process of choosing individuals who have relevant qualifications to fill existing or projected job openings.

Selection Considerations
Person-job fit: job analysis identifies required individual competencies (KSAOs) for job success. Person-organization fit: the degree to which individuals are matched to the culture and values of the organization.

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Figure 61

The Goal of Selection: Maximize Hits

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Figure 62

Steps in the Selection Process

Hiring decision Medical exam/drug test Supervisor/team interview Preliminary selection in HR department Background investigation Employment testing (aptitude, achievement) Initial interview in HR department

Completion of application

Note: Steps may vary. An applicant may be rejected after any step in the process.

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The Selection Process

Obtaining Reliable and Valid Information
Reliability

The degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over time and alternative measures. Degree to which a test or selection procedure measures a persons attributes.

Validity

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Reliability as Stability over Time

HIGH RELIABILITY APPLICANT Smith Perez Riley Chan VERY LOW RELIABILITY APPLICANT Smith Perez Riley Chan TEST SCORE 90 65 110 80 TEST SCORE 90 65 110 80 RETEST SCORE 93 62 105 78 RETEST SCORE 72 88 67 111

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Reliability as Consistency (Interrater Reliability)

HIGH RELIABILITY
APPLICANT Smith Perez Riley Chan Rater #1 9 5 4 8 Rater #2 8 6 5 8 Rater #3 8 5 5 8

VERY LOW RELIABILITY APPLICANT Smith Perez Riley Chan Rater #1 9 5 4 8 Rater #2 5 9 2 4 Rater #3 6 4 7 2

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Approaches to Validation
Criterion-related Validity
The extent to which a selection tool predicts, or significantly correlates with, important elements of work behavior.

A high score indicates high job performance potential; a low score is predictive of low job performance.

Concurrent Validity
The extent to which test scores (or other predictor information) match criterion data obtained at about the same time from current employees.

High or low test scores for employees match their respective job performance.
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Approaches to Validation (contd)

Predictive Validity
The extent to which applicants test scores match criterion data obtained from those applicants/ employees after they have been on the job for some indefinite period.

A high or low test score at hiring predicts high or low job performance at a point in time after hiring.

Validity (or Correlation) Coefficient

A number ranging from 0.00, denoting a complete absence of relationship, to 1.00 and to -1.00, indicating a perfect positive and perfect negative relationship, respectively.
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Figure 63

Correlation Scatterplots

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Approaches to Validation
Cross-validation
Verifying the results obtained from a validation study by administering a test or test battery to a different sample (drawn from the same population).

Validity generalization
The extent to which validity coefficients can be generalized across situations.

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Approaches to Validation (contd)

Content validity
The extent to which a selection instrument, such as a test, adequately samples the knowledge and skills needed to perform a particular job.

Example: typing tests, drivers license examinations

Construct validity
The extent to which a selection tool measures a theoretical construct or trait. Are difficult to validate

Example: creative arts tests, honesty tests

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Sources of Information about Job Candidates

Application Forms Online Applications Biographical Information Blanks (BIB) Background Investigations Polygraph Tests Integrity and Honesty Tests Graphology Medical Examinations Employment Tests Interviews

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Figure 64

The Effectiveness of Selection Methods

In a survey of 201 HR executives, participants were asked which selection methods produce the best employees. The mean rating for nine methods on a 5-point scale (1 = not good, 3 = average, 5 = extremely good): Work samples 3.68 References/recommendations 3.49 Unstructured interviews 3.49 Structured interviews 3.42 Assessment centers 3.42 Specific aptitude tests 3.08 Personality tests 2.93 General cognitive ability tests 2.89 Biographical information blanks 2.84
Source: Source: David E. Terpstra, The Search for Effective Methods, HRFocus (May 1996). Copyright 2007 South-Western. All rights reserved. 614

Application Forms
Application date Educational background Experience Arrests and criminal convictions Country of citizenship References Disabilities
Weighted application blank (WAB)
The WAB involves the use of a common standardized employment application that is designed to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful employees.

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Online Applications
An Internet-based automated posting, application, and tracking process helps firms to more quickly fill positions by:
Attracting a broader and more diverse applicant pool Collecting and mining resumes with keyword searches to identify qualified candidates Conducting screening tests online Reducing recruiting costs significantly

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Biographical Information Blanks

Sample Questions:
At what age did you leave home? How large was the town/city in which you lived as a child? Did you ever build a model airplane that flew? Were sports a big part of your childhood? Do you play any musical instruments?

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Background Investigations
Checking References
Mail and telephone checks

Specific job-related information

Letters of reference Online computerized databases Privacy Act of 1974

Requires signed requests for reference letters and signed consent to background checks. Applies to both educational and private employers.

Failure to check references

Negligent hiring liabilities

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Background Investigations (contd)

Organizations using credit reports must:
1. Advise and receive written consent from applicants if a report will be requested. 2. Provide a written certification to the consumer reporting agency as to the purpose of the report. 3. Provide applicants a copy of the consumer report as well as a summary of their rights under the CCRRA. 4. Must provide an adverse-action notice a person if that person is not hired and contact information related to the reporting agency.

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Figure 63

Use of Pre-Employment Selection Tools by Fortune 1000 Companies*

*Tools that 212 security representatives at Fortune 1000 companies said their companies use consistently. Source: Top Security Threats and Management Issues Facing Corporate America, Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations, Inc. Copyright 2007 South-Western. All rights reserved. 620

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (1988)

Use of lie detectors is largely prohibited. Act requires qualified examiners. Act requires disclosure of information where used. Encouraged employers use of paper and pencil integrity and honesty tests.

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Figure 66

Integrity Test Question Examples

Note: The number of items in each category was 2, 8, 13, and 9 respectively. Source: Stephen Dwight and George Alliger, Reactions to Overt Integrity Test Items, Educational and Psychological Measurement 57, no. 6 (December 1977): 93748, copyright 1997 by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Sage Publications, Inc. Copyright 2007 South-Western. All rights reserved. 622

Background Investigations (contd)

Graphology
The use of a sample of an applicants handwriting to make an employment decision.

Medical Examinations
Given last as they can be costly. Ensure that the health of an applicant is adequate to meet the job requirements. Provides a baseline for subsequent examinations ADA requires all exams be job-related and conducted after an employment offer is made. Testing for illegal drugs is allowed.
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Drug Testing
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988
Testing for illegal drugs is required applicants and employees of federal contractors.

Questions about the efficacy of testing

Why spend large sums on testing when

testing for drugs doesnt appear to make the workplace safer or improve employee performance? few applicants actually test positive and alcohol abuse creates more problems in the workplace?

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Employment Tests
Employment Test
An objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior that is used to gauge a persons knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) in relation to other individuals. Pre-employment testing can lead to lawsuits.

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Classification of Employment Tests

Cognitive Ability Tests
Aptitude tests

Measures of a persons capacity to learn or acquire skills. Measures of what a person knows or can do right now.

Achievement tests

Personality and Interest Inventories

Big Five personality factors:

Extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience.

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Figure 67

Is That Your Final Answer? 1. What is the meaning of the word surreptitious? a. covert c. lively b. winding d. sweet 2. How is the noun clause used in the following sentence? I hope that I can learn this game. a. subject c. direct object b. predicate nominative d. object of the preposition

Verbal

Quantitative

3. Divide 50 by 0.5 and add 5. What is the result? a. 25 c. 95 b. 30 d. 105 4. What is the value of 1442? a. 12 c. 288 b. 72 d. 20736

Answers: 1a, 2c, 3d, 4d

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Figure 67

Is That Your Final Answer? (contd) 5. ______ is to boat as snow is to ______. a. Sail, ski c. Water, ski b. Water, winter d. Engine, water 6. Two women played 5 games of chess. Each woman won the same number of games, yet there were no ties. How can this be? a. There was a forfeit. c. They played different people. b. One player cheated. d. One game is still in progress.

Reasoning

Mechanical 7. If gear A and gear C are both turning counterclockwise,

what is happening to gear B? a. It is turning counterclockwise. b. It is turning clockwise. c. It remains stationary. d. The whole system will jam.
Answers: 5c, 6c, 7b
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Figure 68

CPI Personality Facets and Sample Items

Agreeableness
TrustI believe people are usually honest with me.

Conscientiousness
Attention to detailI like to complete every detail of tasks according to the work plans.

Extroversion
AdaptabilityFor me, change is exciting.

Neuroticism
Self-confidenceI am confident about my skills and abilities.

Openness to Experience
IndependenceI tend to work on projects alone, even if others volunteer to help me.
Source: Mark J. Schmit, Jenifer A. Kihm, and Chet Robie, Development of a Global Measure of Personality, Personnel Psychology 53, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 15393.

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Classification of Employment Tests (contd)

Physical Ability Tests
Must be related to the essential functions of the the job.

Job Knowledge Tests

An achievement test that measures a persons level of understanding about a particular job.

Work Sample Tests

Require the applicant to perform tasks that are actually a part of the work required on the job.

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The Employment Interview

Why the interview is so popular:
It is especially practical when there are only a small number of applicants. It serves other purposes, such as public relations Interviewers maintain great faith and confidence in their judgments.

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Interviewing Methods
Nondirective Interview
The applicant determines the course of the discussion, while the interviewer refrains from influencing the applicants remarks.

Structured Interview
An interview in which a set of standardized questions having an established set of answers is used.

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Interviewing Methods (contd)

Situational Interview
An interview in which an applicant is given a hypothetical incident and asked how he or she would respond to it.

Behavioral Description Interview (BDI)

An interview in which an applicant is asked questions about what he or she actually did in a given situation.

Panel Interview
An interview in which a board of interviewers questions and observes a single candidate.

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Interviewing Methods (contd)

Computer Interview
Using a computer program that requires candidates to answer a series of questions tailored to the job. Answers are compared either with an ideal profile or with profiles developed on the basis of other candidates responses.

Video interviews
Using video conference technologies to evaluate job candidates technical abilities, energy level, appearance, and the like before incurring the costs of a face-to-face meeting.

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Highlights in HRM 2

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Ground Rules for Employment Interviews

Establish an interview plan Establish and maintain rapport Be an active listener Pay attention to nonverbal cues Provide information freely Use questions effectively Separate facts from inferences Recognize biases and stereotypes Control the course of the interview Standardize the questions asked
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Diversity Management: Are Your Questions Legal

No questions are expressly forbidden.
Questions related to race, color, age, religion, sex, or national origin can be hazardous. Questions are acceptable if job-related, asked of everyone, and do not discriminate against a protected class (e.g., females). Consult EEOC and FEP information when constructing guidelines for interviewers.

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Figure 610

Can-Do and Will-Do Factors in Selection Decisions

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Reaching a Selection Decision

Selection Considerations:
Should individuals to be hired according to their highest potential or according to the needs of the organization? At what grade or wage level to start the individual? Should selection be for employee- job match, or should advancement potential be considered? Should those not qualified but qualifiable be considered? Should overqualified individuals be considered? What effect will a decision have on meeting affirmative action plans and diversity considerations?

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Selection Decision Strategies

Clinical Approach Clinical Approach Subjectivity Subjectivity

Statistical Approach Objectivity Statistical Approach Objectivity

Compensatory Model -- Average Compensatory Model Average Multiple Cutoff Model --Minimum Multiple Cutoff Model Minimum Multiple Hurdle Model- Sequential Multiple Hurdle Model- Sequential

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Selection Decision Models

Compensatory Model
Permits a high score in one area to make up for a low score in another area.

Multiple Cutoff Model

Requires an applicant to achieve a minimum level of proficiency on all selection dimensions.

Multiple Hurdle Model

Only applicants with sufficiently high scores at each selection stage go on to subsequent stages in the selection process.

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Selection Process (contd)

Selection Ratio
The number of applicants compared with the number of people to be hired.

Cutoff Score
The point in a distribution of scores above which a person is considered and below which a person is rejected.

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Figure 611

Test Score Scatterplot with Hypothetical Cutoffs

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Selection Process (contd)

Final Decision
Selection of applicant by departmental or immediate supervisor to fill vacancy. Notification of selection and job offer by the human resources department.

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The end

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