1. Part 4 Staffing Activities: Selection
Chapter 9:
External Selection II
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

2. Staffing Organizations Model
Mission
Goals and Objectives
Organization Strategy
HR and Staffing Strategy
Staffing Policies and Programs
Support Activities
Core Staffing Activities
Legal compliance
Recruitment: External, internal
Planning
Selection: Measurement, external, internal
Job analysis
Employment: Decision making, final match
Staffing System and Retention Management
9-2

3. External Selection II Outline
Substantive Assessment Methods
Personality Tests
Ability Tests
Job Knowledge Tests
Performance Tests and Work Samples
Situational Judgment Tests
Integrity Tests
Interest, Values, and Preference Inventories
Structured Interview
Choice of Substantive Assessment Methods
Discretionary Assessment Methods
Contingent Assessment Methods
Drug testing
Medical exams
Legal Issues
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
Selection Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Drug Testing

4. Discussion Questions for This Chapter
Describe the similarities and differences between personality tests and integrity tests. When is each warranted in the selection process?
How would you advise an organization considering adopting a cognitive ability test for selection?
Describe the structured interview. What are the characteristics of structured interviews that improve on the shortcomings of unstructured interviews?
What are the most common discretionary and contingent assessment methods? What are the similarities and differences between the use of these two methods?
How should organizations apply the general principles of the UGESP to practical selection decisions?

5. Ex. 8.3 Assessment Methods by Applicant Flow Stage
Substantive assessment methods
Determining who among the minimally qualified will likely be the best performers on the job
9-5

6. Overview of Personality Tests
Current role of personality tests e.g., role of Big Five
Describe behavioral, not emotional or cognitive traits
May capture up to 75% of an individual’s personality
Big Five factors (Personality Characteristics Inventory etc.)
Emotional stability-calm, optimistic, and well adjusted
Extraversion-sociable, assertive, active, upbeat, and talkative
Openness to experience-imaginative, attentive to inner feelings, have intellectual curiosity and independence of judgment
Agreeableness-altruistic, trusting, sympathetic, and cooperative
Conscientiousness-purposeful, determined, dependable, and attentive to detail
Roughly 50% of the variance in the Big Five traits appears to be inherited

7. Measures of Personality Tests
Surveys
Personal Characteristics Inventory (PCI)
NEO Personality Inventory
Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)
Administration options
Paper-and-pencil
Interviews
Online forms

8. Ex. 9.1 Sample Items from the Personal Characteristics Inventory
Conscientiousness
I can always be counted on to get the job done.
I am a very persistent worker.
I almost always plan things in advance of work.
Extraversion
Meeting new people is enjoyable to me.
I like to stir up excitement if things get boring.
I am a “take-charge” type of person.

9. Ex. 9.1 Sample Items from the Personal Characteristics Inventory
Agreeableness
I like to help others who are down on their luck.
I usually see the good side of people.
I forgive others easily.
Emotional Stability
I can become annoyed at people quite easily (reverse-scored).
At times I don’t care about much of anything (reverse-scored).
My feelings tend to be easily hurt (reverse-scored).
Openness to Experience
I like to work with difficult concepts and ideas.
I enjoy trying new and different things.
I tend to enjoy art, music, or literature.

10. Ex. 9.2 Implications of Big Five Personality Traits at Work

11. Criticisms of Personality Tests
Trivial validities
Correlations for any individual trait with job performance are typically low (around r=.23)
However, when all traits are used simultaneously, correlations are higher
Faking
Individuals answer in a dishonest way
However, tests still have some validity, and it may be that being able to “act” conscientiously may be related to real job performance
Negative applicant reactions
Applicants, in general, believe personality tests are less valid predictors of job performance

12. Overview of Ability Tests
Definition -- Measures that assess an individual’s capacity to function in a certain way
15 to 20% of organizations use ability tests in selection
Two types
Aptitude - Assess innate capacity to function
Achievement - Assess learned capacity to function

13. Overview of Ability Tests
Four classes of ability tests
Cognitive: perception, memory, reasoning, verbal, math, expression
Psychomotor: thought/body movement coordination
Physical: strength, endurance, movement quality
Sensory/perceptual: detection & recognition of stimuli

14. Evaluation of Cognitive Ability Tests
Validity approaches .50
Research findings
Among the most valid methods of selection
Often generalizes across organizations, job types, and types of applicants
Can produce large economic gains for organizations and provide major competitive advantage
Validity is particularly high for jobs of medium and high complexity but also exists for simple jobs
A simple explanation for validity: those with higher cognitive ability acquire and use greater knowledge

15. Limitations of Cognitive Ability Tests
Concern over adverse impact and fairness of tests
Equally accurate predictors of job performance for various racial & ethnic groups
Blacks and Hispanics score lower than whites
This gap is narrowing somewhat over time
Alternative presentation formats (e.g., verbal tests) decrease differences in scores dramatically while producing nearly equivalent scores
Applicants’ perceptions
Reactions to concrete vs. abstract test items

16. Other Types of Ability Tests
Psychomotor ability tests
Reaction time, arm-hand steadiness, control precision, and manual and digit dexterity
Physical abilities tests
Muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and movement quality
Sensory/perceptual abilities tests
Ability to detect and recognize environmental stimuli
Note: Increasingly, ability tests are being computer administered

17. Emotional Intelligence
The ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action
A review of 59 studies indicated that, overall, EI correlated moderately with job performance
Some critics argue that because EI is so closely related to intelligence and personality, once you control for these factors, EI has nothing unique to offer
Still not clear whether these tests are useful

18. Job Knowledge Tests Two types Evaluation
Assess knowledge of duties involved in a particular job (i.e., test the knowledge level)
Level of experience with, and knowledge about, critical job tasks and tools necessary to perform a job (i.e., test the amount of experience with the knowledge areas)
Evaluation
Validity can be as much as .45
Higher validities found for complex jobs

19. Performance Tests and Work Samples
Definition -- Assess actual performance (e.g., fix a car, teach a class, type a document)
Types of tests (should focus on relevant KSAOs)
Performance test vs. work sample (all or some)
Motor vs verbal work samples (action or thought)
High- vs. low-fidelity tests (level of realism)
Computer interaction performance tests vs. paper-and-pencil tests including simulations (e.g., The Manager’s Workshop)
All the above can have good validity (.50+) & acceptance

20. Situational Judgment Tests
Place applicants in hypothetical, job-related situations.
Applicants are then asked to choose a course of action from several alternatives
Capture the validity of work samples and cognitive ability tests in a way that is cheaper than work samples and that has less adverse impact than cognitive ability tests

21. Ex. 9.7: Example of Situational Judgment Test Item

22. Integrity Tests Two types (Exhibit 9.8)
Clear purpose / overt
Do you think most people would cheat if they thought they could get away with it?
Do you believe a person has a right to steal from an employer if he or she is unfairly treated?
Personality-based/veiled purpose
Would you rather go to a party than read a newspaper?
How often do you blush?
Scores appear to reflect conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability

23. Integrity Tests Validity can be useful
Clear purpose as high as .55 predicting bad behaviors
General purpose as high as .32 predicting bad behaviors
Can predict performance as well (as high as .30)
Why would these predict general performance?

24. Interest, Values, and Preference Inventories
Assess activities individuals prefer to do on & off the job; do not attempt to assess ability to do these
Not often used in selection
Can be useful for self-selection into job types
Types of tests
Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB)
Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI)
Evaluation
Unlikely to predict job performance directly
May help assess person-organization fit & subsequent job satisfaction, commitment & turnover

25. Discussion questions
Describe the similarities and differences between personality tests and integrity tests. When is each warranted in the selection process?
How would you advise an organization considering adopting a cognitive ability test for selection?

26. Typical Unstructured Interviews
Relatively unplanned and “quick and dirty”
Questions based on interviewer “hunches” or “pet questions” to assess applicants
Casual, open-ended, or subjective questions
Often contains obtuse questions
Often contains highly speculative questions
Interviewer often unprepared
More potential for discrimination and bias
Validity typically r=.20

27. Structured Interviews
Questions based on job analysis
Same questions asked of each candidate
Response to each question numerically evaluated
Detailed anchored rating scales used to score each response
Detailed notes taken, focusing on interviewees’ behaviors
Validity may be r=.30 or better
Surprisingly uncommon in organizations

28. Structured Interviews (continued)
Situational - Assess applicant’s ability to project his / her behaviors to future situations. Assumes the person’s goals/intentions will predict future behavior
Experience-based - Assess past behaviors that are linked to prospective job. Assumes past performance will predict future performance
Research is inconclusive regarding which type is best
Individual interviews usually more valid than panel interviews

29. Constructing a Structured Interview
Consult job requirements matrix
Develop the selection plan
Exh. 9.10: Partial Selection Plan for Job of Retail Store Sales Associate
Develop structured interview plan
Exh. 9.11: Structured Interview Questions, Benchmark Responses, Rating Scale, and Question Weights
Select and train interviewers
Evaluate effectiveness

30. Discussion questions
Describe the structured interview. What are the characteristics of structured interviews that improve on the shortcomings of unstructured interviews?

31. Selection for Team Environments
Types of teams
Problem-solving teams
Self-managed work teams
Cross-functional teams
Virtual teams
Establish steps for selection in team-based environments
Who should make the hiring decision?
Critical to ensure proper context is in place

32. Selection for Team Environments
INTERPERSONAL KSAs
Conflict-Resolution KSAs
Collaborative Problem-­Solving KSAs
Communication KSAs
SELF-MANAGEMENT KSAs
Goal-Setting and Performance­ Management KSAs
Planning and Task-Coordination KSAs

33. Discretionary Assessment Methods
Used to separate people who receive job offers from list of finalists (assumes each finalist is considered fully qualified for position)
Often very subjective, relying heavily on intuition of decision maker
Factors other than KSAOs are evaluated
Assess person/organization match
Assess motivation level
Assess people on relevant organizational citizenship behaviors
Should involve organization’s staffing philosophy regarding EEO/AA commitments

34. Contingent Assessment Methods
“We offer you this job contingent upon ….”
Contingent methods not always used
Depends on nature of job and legal mandates
Might involve confirmation of
Drug test results
Medical exam results

35. Drug Testing The average drug user
was 3.6 times more likely to be involved in an accident
received 3 times the average level of sick benefits
was 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim
missed 10 times as many work days as nonusers
31% of all fatal truck accidents were due to alcohol or drugs
Drug testing has decreased in recent years because so few people test positive

36. Ex. 9.16 Example of a Drug Testing Program

37. Features of an effective drug testing program
Emphasize drug testing in safety-­sensitive jobs
Use only reputable testing laboratories, and ensure that strict chain of custody is maintained.
Ask applicants for their consent, and inform them of test results
Use retesting to validate positive samples from the initial screening test
Ensure that proper procedures are followed to maintain the applicant’s right to privacy
Review the program and validate the results against relevant criteria (accidents, absenteeism, turnover, job performance); conduct a cost-benefit analysis

38. Medical Exams Identify potential health risks in job candidates
Must ensure medical exams are required only when a compelling reason exists
Ensures people with disabilities unrelated to job performance are not screened out
Use is strictly regulated by ADA to ensure disabilities not job related are not screened out
Usually lack validity as procedures vary by doctor
Not always job related
Often emphasize short- rather than long-term health
New job-related medical standards are specific, job related, and valid

39. Discussion questions
What are the most common discretionary and contingent assessment methods? What are the similarities and differences between the use of these two methods?

40. Legal Issues: Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP)
General principles
Technical standards
Documentation of impact and validity evidence
Definitions
Makes substantial demands of a staffing system
Ensures awareness of possibility of adverse impact in employment decisions
If adverse impact is found, mechanisms provided to cope with it

41. Legal Issues: ADA and Drug Testing
Selection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
General principles
Access to job application process
Reasonable accommodation to testing
Medical examinations
Drug testing
UGESP
Drug testing is permitted to detect illegal drug use and discipline/termination if found is OK

42. Medical Exams Identifies potential health risks in job candidates
Important to ensure medical exams are required only when a compelling reason exists
Ensures people with disabilities unrelated to job performance are not screened out
Use is strictly regulated by ADA
Lack validity as procedures vary by doctor
Not always job related
Often emphasizes short- rather than long-term health
New approach -- Job-related medical standards

43. Discussion questions
How should organizations apply the general principles of the UGESP to practical selection decisions?

44. Ethical Issues Issue 1 Issue 2
Do you think it’s ethical for employers to select applicants on the basis of questions such as, “Dislike loud music” and “Enjoy wild flights of fantasy,” even if the scales that such items measure have been shown to predict job performance? Explain.
Issue 2
Cognitive ability tests are one of the best predictors of job performance, yet they have substantial adverse impact against minorities. Do you think it’s fair to use such tests? Why or why not?