With companies increasing their focus on the “human side of competitiveness,” greater attention is being given to employee selection than ever before. Even though many companies are laying off substantial portions of their workforces, employee selection is a vital part of HRM. In Chapter 5 you will learn about the many principles and procedures involved in employee selection.

Because of the importance of reliability and validity in selection procedures, these concepts are discussed early in the chapter. Following these basic concepts is a section on sources of information about job candidates, except for testing and interviewing. This chapter concludes with a discussion of what is involved in reaching a selection decision.

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.

Obtaining Reliable and Valid Information

There are various types of reliability.  Reliability is defined as follows:  the degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over time and alternative measures.

Validity is defined as the degree to which a test or selection procedure measures a person’s attributes.

Criterion-Related Validity   Test scores, interviewer ratings, and so on are correlated with production records, supervisory ratings, training outcomes, and other measures of success. It is often easiest to think of the criteria as being some variation of quantity and quality.

Content Validity   Content validity is assumed to exist when a selection instrument measures a representative sample of knowledge and skills needed to perform a particular job.   Content validity is established from the opinions of subject-matter experts rather than by correlation methods. Most often, these decisions are based on information taken from job analysis.   The military forces have made considerable use of content validity in the development of job knowledge tests. A team of experienced individuals in the same job develops an outline that covers the essential knowledge that one should have to be able to perform in that job. The same approach is used in developing licensing tests for professionals (e.g., physicians, architects, and accountants).

Construct Validity   Construct validity is the extent to which a selection tool measures a theoretical construct or trait. For example, a mechanical comprehension test consists of a wide variety of tasks that are assumed to measure the construct of mechanical comprehension. To use it in employment situations, one has to show that the test measures the construct and that the construct or trait is related to satisfactory job performance.   Construct validity has not been used extensively in employment situations but may be used in the future.

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

Application Forms   It is quite common for employers to use application forms that are in violation of FEP legislation. The HR manager should check all application forms periodically.   Application-form data are useful and are also valuable as a basis for further exploration into an applicant’s background.

Online Application   Many organizations provide online applications. Approximately 71 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adapted their web sites to accept job applications.   This practice speeds up the application process and allows organizations to track applicants, combine information, and disseminate possible leads to managers more quickly.

Biographical Information Blanks   After being validated, biographical information blanks (BIBs) are usually scored like tests. Weights are assigned to an applicant’s responses according to how much a response to a particular item relates to job success (the criterion).  During World War II, a BIB was administered to candidates for aircrew positions in the Army Air Forces. Experience in skiing and in riding a motorcycle was found to be predictive of success in learning to pilot an aircraft. Small bits of information like this can add up when a BIB with a large number of items, each having some degree of validity, is used.

Background Investigations   Virtually all employers conduct background checks on applicants to verify information supplied by the applicants. Falsification of a college degree is widespread. Even hospital administrators have been known to hire “physicians” with fake degrees.

1.   Checking References—The mail and the telephone are used to check references. Telephone checks provide for maximum candor. Inadequate reference checking is one of the major causes of high turnover, employee theft, and white-collar crime. Employers should use all available methods, but they should be consistent and not discriminate by treating applicants differently.

2.   Requiring Signed Requests for References—It is advisable to have applicants fill out forms permitting information to be solicited from reference sources. It is imperative to observe privacy laws (state) and federal law, where it applies.

3.   Using Credit Reports—Note special requirements when an investigative consumer report is used. Also note requirements when regular credit reports are used.

Polygraph Tests   While several states have had laws regulating the use of the polygraph, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 prohibits most private employers from using a lie detector for pre-hire screening and random testing. Only 6 percent of firms in the general population currently use lie detector tests.

Honesty and Integrity Tests   In response to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, employers have increased their use of paper-and-pencil tests to assess a person’s honesty and integrity. Research reveals that these are valid for predicting job performance, as well as theft, disciplinary problems, and absenteeism. Nevertheless, such tests should be used cautiously and with other sources of information about the candidates.

Graphology   Some employers use handwriting analysis to make employment decisions. Traditionally, it has been more popular in Europe than in the United States.  Graphology use is now spreading throughout the United States.  Use of graphology is still not supported by formal and rigorous validation. Therefore, academicians and scientists view it with considerable skepticism.

Medical Examinations  About one-half of the employers reporting to a BNA survey indicated that they give pre-employment medical examinations.

Drug Testing   A growing number of employers use drug tests to screen applicants. Urinalysis is the preferred form of test. More sophisticated tests are used to validate positive findings from urine tests.  Since passage of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, applicants and employees of federal contractors, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Transportation are subject to drug testing.

EMPLOYMENT TESTS

While the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 resulted in problems for employers with testing and a decline in the use of employment tests, there has been a return to using them. Employers have learned how to develop programs that avoid unfair discrimination.

Nature of Employment Tests   An employment test is an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior that is used to gauge a person’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) in relation to that of other individuals. Even though tests are constructed and must meet the standards of reliability and validity, it is the responsibility of the HR staff to conduct validation studies.

Classification of Employment Tests  Tests can be classified, generally, as either aptitude (measuring a person’s capacity to learn or acquire new skills) or achievement (measuring what a person currently knows and can do).

THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW

Traditionally, the interview has played a very important role in the selection process. Researchers, however, have their doubts about its value. A recent proposal is that the focus should be on differences among interviewers rather than on the validity of the interview as a method, since some interviewers are more valid than others in their evaluation of applicants.

The Nondirective Interview  The nondirective interview allows maximum freedom to the interviewee to determine the course of the interview.  This type of interview is particularly useful in bringing out any information, attitudes, and feelings that may otherwise be concealed or not allowed to surface.  This method is often used in at least one interview conducted with candidates for high-level positions.

The Structured Interview   In response to EEO requirements and a concern for maximizing the validity of interviews, the structured interview uses a standard set of questions (based on job analysis) and an established set of answers for rating applicants.

The Situational Interview  The situational interview is similar to a structured interview, but it gives applicants a hypothetical situation and asks them how they would deal with it. As with the structured interview, there are pre-established benchmark answers for rating applicant responses.

The Behavioral Description Interview  The behavioral description interview (BDI) is similar to a situational interview in that it focuses on real work incidents. However, in this case, the applicant is asked about what he or she actually did in a given situation (e.g., “Tell me about the last time you dealt with an irate customer.”). Use of the BDI assumes that past performance is the best predictor of future performance. In addition, the behavioral description interview is more effective than the situational interview for hiring higher-level positions such as general managers and executives.

The Panel Interview  In the panel interview, the candidate meets with three to five interviewers who take turns asking questions. These panelists then pool their observations to reach a consensus decision.

The Computer Interview   Some companies have begun using computers to ask a preliminary set of multiple-choice questions. The computer does not make an evaluation per se, but it can summarize responses, itemize contradictory responses, point out potentially problematic responses, and generate a list of questions that an interview might address. Most organizations still use the computer interview to supplement conventional interviewing methods.

Video Interviews  Companies such as AT&T, Dell Computer, Shell Oil, and Nike are using videoconference technologies to evaluate job candidates. Video interviews are faster, more flexible, and less costly than face-to-face interviews. They also allow higher-quality decisions than other interviewing forms.

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

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.

Assignment 4

Due Wednesday, Mar. 8:

Read Chapters 5 and 6 in the textbook.  Answer the essay questions listed below.  Total length of the combined answers should be 2-3 pages.  Apply the principles and concepts from the assigned reading in answering the questions.

(From Chapter 5)

(1) Identify and explain the five primary types of employment tests. 

(2)Compare and contrast the following four interview approaches:  nondirective interview, structured interview, situational interview, and behavioral description interview. 

(From Chapter 6)

(3) Explain the systems approach to training. 

(4) Explain the P.R.O.P.E.R. method of on-the-job training.

Be sure to include your name, class number, and assignment number on your completed work.  Answers to questions can be in handwriting or typed in Microsoft Word.  Completed assignments can be e-mailed to me or placed in one of my mail boxes.  More options for submitting work to me appears on the syllabus for this course.