Selection

Selection and Performance Hiring manager has ultimate responsibility for selection of employees Performance of company is directly correlated to employees hired and the competencies they bring to the job Employees who are not a good fit tend to make mistakes and/or leave often resulting in lost customers and money

Selection Systematic process of deciding which applicants to hire, promote or move to other jobs Prediction—selecting an applicant that can do the job or learn to do it well Internal selection is moving current employees into vacant positions

Person-Job Fit A good match between applicant’s KSAs and interests with those of the job Satisfied employees tend to be more productive A strong fit maximizes the benefits for employees and the organizations for which they work

Standards for Effective Selection Process Reliability—how well a selection measure yields consistent results over time and raters High inter-rater reliability—if raters use same questions and same scoring they should evaluate the interviewee similarly Validity—extent with which a selection method measures what it is supposed to measure (job-relatedness of the measure)

Rating Errors Bias—one’s personal views affect the decision making Candidate’s personal characteristics (attractiveness, age, and gender) affect the decision Contrast effect—evaluation is artificially inflated or deflated compared to another applicant Halo effect/devil’s horns effect—positive or negative characteristic of a job candidate affects the other attributes Impression management—applicant engages in behavior to falsely impress interviewer (self promotion, ingratiation)

Selection Methods Initial screening involves reviewing the information provided by applicants to decide which applicants are worthy of consideration Final screening is taking a more in-depth look at applicants, reviewing references, conducting background checks Applications and resumes reviewed to determine which applicants meet minimum job requirements (education, previous experience, etc.)

Guidelines for Application Questions Keep questions job related Ask questions about relevant past work experience, skills, abilities, education, goals and interests Don’t ask personal questions (Are you married? What year did you graduate from high school?)

Screening Interviews Calling applicant and conducting a short telephone interview Confirms person is still looking for a job Provides clues about person’s oral communication skills Final screening narrows down number of candidates to enable final selection

Employment Tests Aptitude tests measure basic talents or abilities Cognitive ability tests measure general intelligence like numeric fluency, general reasoning or verbal comprehension Physical ability tests measure endurance, strength or general fitness Achievement tests or competency tests measure applicant’s current knowledge or skill level

Employment Tests (cont’d) Work sample test requires applicant perform a sample of work representative of the job Knowledge tests measure applicant’s mastery of subject matter to do the job Personality inventories identify extent to which applicant possesses certain characteristics needed to be successful in job

When to Use Employment Tests Current selection process does not result in quality of employees desired Turnover or absenteeism is high Current selection methods do not meet professional or legal standards Productivity is low Errors made by employees could have safety, health, or financial consequences

Interviews Panel interview—several people interviewing applicant at the same time Unstructured interviews—interviewer will ask job-related questions but without defined format and uses different questions with different applicants Structured interview—more accurate means of comparing responses across applicants, same questions asked to all applicants Situational interview—interviewer poses hypothetical situations and asks how candidate would respond Behavioral interview—interviewer asks how candidate has handled a situation in the past

Other Screening Techniques Reference checks—potential employer can contact applicant’s references to verify information (applicants should sign release form granting permission) Background checks—verifying information provided during the application process or to obtain additional information (education, criminal check, credit reports)

Negligent Hiring Occurs when employer does not conduct a background check and employee commits a crime at work similar to one committed in the past Polygraph Protection Act made polygraphs illegal— replaced by honesty tests or integrity tests Fair Credit Reporting Act permits employers to collect credit information if applicant provides written authorization

Assessment Centers Put candidates through a series of simulations designed to assess their ability to perform aspects of job they are seeking (example: communication, decisiveness, delegation, planning, etc.) In-basket—candidates sort through and respond to letters, memos, reports within a specified time frame Leaderless group discussion—candidates are given a problem to solve Role plays—candidates play out job-related situations

Biodata Biographical data from applicants (hobbies, experiences in school, preferred supervisor) learned through questionnaire Information is compared to information from firm’s successful employees Must ensure questions are job related and attempt to verify information provided

Drug and Medical Tests Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires federal contractors to develop policies to ensure workers are drug free Drug testing has decreased in recent years due to cost Medical exams can only be required after an offer of employment has been made

Compensatory Approach to Selection Candidate could score low on one measure (written test) but do well on another (interview) One measure could offset another depending on how scores are “weighted” (measures that correlate with job success have more value) Scores are summed to come up with total score for applicant

Multiple-Hurdle and Multiple- Cutoff Approach Multiple-hurdle—applicants have to successfully pass each step (hurdle) to continue on in the selection process Multiple-cutoff—applicants have to reach a minimum score on each measure to remain in the running for a particular job

Factors Affecting Selection Practices Company’s strategy and core competencies required of all employees Low-cost strategy might focus on efficiency and productivity using simple application, short interview Differentiation might focus on customer service using role plays, situational interviews, etc. Larger companies use more formal and extensive selection process, smaller companies very informal, simplified process

Factors Affecting Selection Practices (cont’d) Person-Organization fit—how well a person fits within the broader organizational culture (values) Promotion-from-within policy—extent to which a company tends to promote current employees rather than look outside the organization Efforts to reduce bias and treat applicants in fair and consistent manner Labor market including skills of applicants and willingness of applicants to accept jobs Globalization and need to modify selection process for language differences

Technology and Selection Applications are completed at a computer kiosk Computer based personality or situational judgment questionnaire used for screening interview Applicants call in to respond to questions Reference and background checking may now be done by companies online

Globalization and Selection Hiring increasingly large numbers of international employees to work domestically Selecting internal candidates to send to other countries Hiring host-country nationals to work in host countries Hiring international employees to work for company abroad

Labor Market Abroad Parent-country nationals (PCNs)—sent from home office on international assignments to control how business is run abroad Host-country nationals (HCNs)—know the local culture, resources, less costly to employ Third-country nationals (TCNs)—foreign nationals who work in countries other than their home or parent company’s home countries

Privacy Concerns Selection methods like background checks, credit reports, drug tests should be used only when job related and less invasive alternatives are not available Rationale should be explained to applicants Reliability and validity should be established Think through what information is ethical and responsible to divulge to applicants

Procedures for Using Selection Measures Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures describe legal use of tests, recordkeeping procedures, etc.

Definition of an Applicant Employer is acting to fill a specific position Individual has followed the procedures described by the employer for applying for a job Individual has actually indicated interest in a specific position