SELECTING

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 Learning Objectives
‡ After you have read this chapter, you should be able to:
º Ñiagram the sequence of a typical selection process.
º Identify three types of selection tests and legal concerns about
their uses.
º Ñiscuss several types of selection interviews and some key
considerations in conducting these interviews.
º Explain how legal concerns affect background investigations of
applicants and use of medical examinations in the selection
process.
º Ñescribe the major issues to be considered when selecting
candidates for global assignments.

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 Selection and Placement

‡ Selection
º The process of choosing individuals with
qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization.
º Organizations need qualified employees to succeed.
 
 
 
 





 



‡ Placement
º Fitting a person to the right job.

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 · Employment Functions
‡ eceiving applications ‡ Exit interviewing
‡ Interviewing applicants departing employees
‡ Administering tests to ‡ Maintaining employee
applicants records and reports.
‡ Conducting background
investigations
‡ Arranging physical
examinations
‡ Placing and assigning
new employees
‡ Coordinating follow-up of
new employees

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 Placement

‡ Person-job Fit
º Matching the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of
people to the characteristics of jobs (tasks, duties and
responsibilities±TÑ s).
º Benefits of person-job fit
·igher employee performance
Lower turnover and absenteeism
‡ Person-organization Fit
º The congruence between individuals and
organizational factors.

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 Criteria, Predictors, and Job Performance
‡ Selection Criterion
º A characteristic that a person must have to do a job successfully

‡ Predictors
º The measurable or visible indicators of a selection criterion

‡ Validity
º The correlation between a predictor and job performance

‡ eliability
º The extent to which a predictor repeatedly produces the same
results, over time

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 Combining Predictors

‡ Multiple ·urdles
º Establishing a minimum cutoff (level of performance)
for each predictor, and requiring that each applicant
must score at least the minimum on each predictor to
be considered for hiring.

‡ Compensatory Approach
º Scores on all predictors are added together, allowing
a higher score on one predictor to offset a lower score
on another predictor.

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 The Selection Process

‡ Legal Concerns in the Selection Process

º Equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and
regulations
Non-discriminatory job-related selection practices
º Who is an applicant?
The employer must have taken steps to fill a particular job.
The individual must follow the application procedure.
The individual must have expressed interest in a particular
position.
º Applicant Flow Ñocumentation
Employers must collect data on the race, sex, and other
demographics of applicants to fulfill EEO reporting
requirements.

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 Applicant Job Interest

‡ ealistic Job Preview

ºThe process through which a job applicant receives an
accurate picture of the organizational realities of the
job.
Prevents the development of unrealistic job expectations that
cause disenchantment, dissatisfaction, and turnover in new
employees.

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 Pre--Employment Screening
Pre

‡ Pre-Screening Interview
º Purpose: verify minimum
qualifications
‡ Electronic Screening
º Use applicant tracking
systems when:
The volume of applicants is large
The quality of hires needs to be increased
·iring cycles need to be shortened
The cost of hiring needs to be reduced
The firm needs to reach geographic areas not visited by
recruiters

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 Applications

‡ Purposes of Applications
º ecord of applicant¶s interest in the job
º Provides a profile of the applicant
º Basic record for applicants who are hired
º esearch effectiveness of the selection process
‡ esumes as Applications
º esumes are applications for EEO purposes.
º esumes should be retained for at least three years.

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 Application Ñisclaimers and Notices
‡ Employment-at-will
º Indicates the right of the employer or employee to terminate the
employment relationship at any time with or without notice or
cause.
‡ eferences contacts
º Obtains applicant¶s permission to contact references.
‡ Employment testing
º Notifies applicants of required drug tests, physical exams, or
other tests.
‡ Application time limits
º Indicates how long the application will remain active.
‡ Information falsification
º Indicates that false information is grounds for termination.

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 EEO Considerations and Application Forms

‡ Applications should not contain illegal (nonjob-

related) questions concerning:
º Marital status
º ·eight/weight
º Number and ages of dependents
º Information on spouse
º Ñate of high school graduation
º Contact in case of emergency

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 Selection Testing: Ability Tests
‡ Cognitive Ability Tests
º Measure an individual¶s thinking, memory, reasoning, and verbal
and mathematical abilities.
‡ Physical Ability Tests
º Measure an individual¶s strength, endurance, and muscular
movement
‡ Psychomotor Tests
º Measure an individual¶s dexterity, hand-eye coordination, arm-
hand steadiness, and other factors.
‡ Work Sample Tests
º equire an applicant to perform a simulated task.

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 Selection Testing: Ability Tests (cont¶d)
‡ Situational Judgment Tests
º Measure a person¶s judgment in work settings.
‡ Assessment Centers
º A series of evaluation exercises and tests used for the selection
and development of managerial personnel.
º Multiple raters assess participants in multiple exercises and
problems that are job content-related to the jobs for which the
individuals are being screened.

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 Other Tests

‡ Personality Tests
º Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
º Myers-Briggs
º ³Fakability´ and personality tests
‡ ·onest and Integrity Testing
º Standardized honesty/integrity tests
³Fakability of honesty tests
º Polygraph tests (³lie detector´)
Polygraph testing in pre-employment is prohibited (in most
instances) by the Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

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 Controversial and Questionable Tests

‡ Graphology (·andwriting Analysis)

º Analysis of the characteristics of an individual¶s
writing that purports to reveal personality traits and
suitability for employment.
‡ Psychics
º Persons who are supposedly
able to determine a person¶s
intellectual and emotional
suitability for employment
‡ Standardized Tests
º SAT, ACT scores

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 Legal Concerns and Selection Testing

‡ Legal Concerns and Selection Testing

º Job-relatedness (validity) of selection tests
º Compliance with laws and regulations
‡ Proper Use of Tests in Selection
º Use for additional information, not disqualification
º Negative reactions by test takers to certain tests
º Costs of testing versus ³bad hires´

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 eliability and Validity in Interviews

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 Selection Interviewing

‡ eliability and Validity of Interviews

º ),- interviewers who are
consistent in their ability to select individuals who will
perform well.
º ),- the extent to which different
interviewers agree in the selection of individuals who
will perform well.
º #'- a test that appears to be valid because
external observers assume, without proof, that it is.
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 Structured Interviews

‡ Structured Interview
º Uses a set of standardized questions asked of all job
applicants.
º Useful for initial screening and comparisons
‡ Benefits
º Obtains consistent information needed for selection
decision
º Is more reliable and valid than other interview formats

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 Structured Interviews (cont¶d)

‡ Biographical Interview
º Focuses on a chronological exploration of the
candidate¶s past experiences.
‡ Behavioral Interview
º Applicants are asked to give specific examples of how
they have performed a certain task or handled a
problem in the past.
·elps discover applicant¶s suitability for current jobs based
on past behaviors.
Assumes that applicants have had experience related to the
problem.

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 Structured Interviews (cont¶d)

‡ Competency Interview
º Similar to the behavioral interview except that the
questions are designed specifically to provide the
interviewer with something to measure the applicant¶s
response against²that is, the ³competency profile´
for the position, which includes a list of competencies
necessary to do that particular job.
‡ Situational Interview
º Applicants are asked how they would respond to a
specific job situation related to the content of the job
they are seeking.

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 Less Structured Interviews

‡ Nondirective Interview
º Applicants are queried using questions that are
developed from the answers to previous questions.
º Possibility of not obtaining needed information.
º Information obtained may not be not job-related or
comparable to that obtained from other applicants.
‡ Stress Interviews
º An interview designed to create anxiety and put
pressure on an applicant to see how the person
responds.

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 Effective Interviewing

‡ Conducting an Effective Interview

º Planning the interview
º Controlling the interview
º Using effective questioning techniques
‡ Questions to Avoid
º Yes/No questions
º Obvious questions
º Questions that rarely produce a true answer
º Leading questions
º Illegal questions
º Questions that are not job related

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 Problems in the Interview

 
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 Background Investigation
‡ Falsification of ‡ Sources of Background
Background Information
Information º Previous-employment records
º Many applications º Criminal records
and resumes contain º Education/degree documentation
factual misstatements º Professional certifications/licenses
or significant
omissions. º Motor vehicle records
º Credit history
º ·onesty tests
º Worker¶s compensation records
º Military records

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 Background Investigation (cont¶d)

‡ eference Checking Methods

º Telephoning the reference
º Use of preprinted reference forms
‡ Giving eferences on Former Employees
º Employers can incur a civil liability for statements
made about former employees.
º Employers have adopted policies restricting the
release of reference information to name,
employment dates, and job title.

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 Background Investigation (cont¶d)

‡ Legal Constraints on Background Investigation

º isks of negligent hiring and retention
Ñue diligence: investigating an applicant¶s background to
avoid suits for actions of the employee.
Obtaining signed releases from applicants is necessary to
avoid problems with privacy issues.
º Negligent hiring
Occurs when an employer fails to check an employee¶s
background and the employee injures someone.
º Negligent retention
Occurs when an employer becomes aware that an employee
may be unfit for employment, continues to employ the
person, and the person injures someone.

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 Background Investigation (cont¶d)

‡ Fair Credit eporting

º equires disclosure of a credit check
º equires written consent of applicant
º equires copy of report be given to the applicant

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 Medical Examinations and Inquires
º pre-employment medical exams
º Ñisabilities certifications

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 Making the Job Offer

‡ Offer Guidelines
º Formalize the offer with a letter to the applicant
clearly stating the terms and conditions of
employment.
º Avoid vague, general statements and promises.
º equire return of a signed acceptance of the offer.

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 Staffing Global Assignments


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