Selection 1

MANA 4328

Dr. George Benson

benson@uta.edu

Selection Mechanisms

Personality tests Physical ability tests Job knowledge tests Work sample tests Simulators Situational interviews Unstructured interviews Assessment centers Recommendations Many others…..

Applications Resumes Biographical information Background investigations Checking references Credit reports Polygraph tests Honesty tests Graphology Drug testing Cognitive ability tests

Why Use Selection Mechanisms?

Choosing Selection Methods

Multiple factors need to be considered.

Specificity of skills required Risk of bad hire or mistakes made by employees Employee reactions

Level of adverse impact

Cost Administration time “Screening-in” vs. “Screening out” methods

Developing A Selection Plan

List each of the KSA’s required for the job Does it need to be assessed? What are the minimum qualifications?

List potential selection mechanisms for those KSA’s that need to be assessed along with costs and benefits.

Validity and reliability $$$ Costs Level of adverse impact

Detail the selection sequence Data to be collected at each point Criteria to be used to move applicants through the

sequence

Most Common Methods

Application Interview Education level Training and experience Reference checks Resumes Licensing and certification Biodata

Required for Every Selection Test…

Equal opportunity (non-discriminatory)

Reliability

Validity(a) Test reflects the content of the job.

(b) Test predicts job performance.

Test Reliability

Reliability – consistency of the measureIf the same person takes the test again will he/she earn the

same score?

Potential contaminations: Test takers physical or mental state Environmental factors Test forms Multiple raters

How to determine reliability: Statistical techniques Test – retest reliability Inter-rater reliability Others

Relative Reliability of Measures

Visual acuity HighHearingDexterityMathematical abilityVerbal abilityIntelligenceClerical skillsMechanical aptitudesSociabilityCooperativenessToleranceEmotional stability Low

Test Validity

Validity – accuracy of the measure

Are you measuring what you intend to measure? (CONTENT)

OR

Does the test measure a characteristic related to job performance? (CRITERION)

Testing criterion validity:

Criterion – test predicts job performance in general Predictive – test predicts job future performance Concurrent – test predicts performance at time of test

How to determine validity: Conduct a job analysis Collect statistics Use outside evidence

The Goal of Selection: Maximize “Hits”

MISSMISS InaccurateInaccuratepredictionprediction

(Person would have (Person would have succeeded on the succeeded on the

job)job)

MISSMISS InaccurateInaccuratepredictionprediction

(Person would have (Person would have succeeded on the succeeded on the

job)job)

HITHIT AccurateAccuratepredictionprediction

(Person succeeds (Person succeeds on the job)on the job)

HITHIT AccurateAccuratepredictionprediction

(Person succeeds (Person succeeds on the job)on the job)

HITHIT AccurateAccuratepredictionprediction

(Person would not (Person would not have succeeded on have succeeded on

the job)the job)

HITHIT AccurateAccuratepredictionprediction

(Person would not (Person would not have succeeded on have succeeded on

the job)the job)

MISSMISS Inaccurate Inaccurate predictionprediction

(Person fails on the (Person fails on the job)job)

MISSMISS Inaccurate Inaccurate predictionprediction

(Person fails on the (Person fails on the job)job)

Predicted Success

Job

Per

form

ance

Low

Low

High

High

“Earns a Bonus”

“Is a Bonehead”

Correlation Scatterplots

Figure 5.3

Reliability vs. Validity

Blood, Sweat and Type O: Japan's Weird Science

In Japan, using blood type to predict a person’s character is as common as going to McDonald’s and ordering a teriyaki burger. Theodore Bestor, a professor of Japanese studies at Harvard: “It’s a piece of information that supposedly gives you some idea of what that person is like as a human being.” Japanese popular culture has been saturated by blood typology for decades. Dating services use it to make matches. Employers use it to evaluate job applicants.

A person can have one of four blood types, A, B, AB or O, and while the most common blood type in Japan is Type A, many of the more prominent Japanese are Type O. In Japan, people with Type O are commonly referred to as warriors because they are said to be self-confident, outgoing, goal-oriented and passionate.

Can any of these correlations be scientifically supported?

“There’s absolutely no evidence that there are different character traits that you can define by blood type,” said Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine.

NYT 12.14.06

Principles of Assessment

Don’t rely on a single method. Use only fair and unbiased instruments. Use only reliable instruments. Use only valid instruments for a specific purpose. Use only tools designed for a specific group. Use instruments with understandable instructions. Ensure test administration staff are properly trained. Ensure test conditions are suitable for all test takers. Provide reasonable accommodation. Maintain confidentiality of results. Ensure proper interpretation of results.

Effectiveness of Selection Methods

A survey of 201 HR executives rated selection methods on the effectiveness producing the best employees.

Work samples 3.68References/recommendations 3.49Structured interviews 3.42Assessment centers 3.42Specific aptitude tests 3.08Personality tests 2.93General cognitive ability tests 2.89Biographical information blanks 2.84

HR Focus 1996

Steps in Pre-Employment Screening

1. Verify applicants employment history

2. Competency-based screening Written or simulation tests generally reliable and valid Benefits need to be balanced with costs

3. Use structured interviews Question objectivity and job relatedness Standardized administration Multiple raters

4. Consider “screening-out” tool

Applicants

Candidates

Offers

Hires

Initial

Substantive

Contingent

Methods and Applicant Flow

Initial Selection

Initial Selection Resumes Application Forms Reference Checks

Initial / Contingent Background Checks Drug Tests

Application Forms

Only ask info related to job KSA’s Link to job performance Use thorough job analysis and validation techniques Consider potential adverse impact Consider “knockout” questions

Careful collecting personal characteristics Race, National Origin, Gender, Age etc. Law assumes all questions are used in hiring More is not necessarily better

Different applications for different jobs Instructions and Disclaimers Not particularly valid

Application Forms

How to ask non-discriminatory questions? You are always permitted to ask if applicant is qualified

and able to perform primary job duties. You should never ask questions that indicate protected

class status. Allow people to “self-select” as much as possible.

What if you need to collect demographic information for EEO purposes? Race, National Origin, Gender, Age etc

How to ask…

Do you have child-care for your children? Do you own a car? How old are you? Do you have a physical or mental disability? Height? Weight? What is your maiden name? Are you a U.S. citizen? Have you every been arrested? Do you smoke or use tobacco?

Resumes

Applicant controls the information Many examples of fraud or omission Up to 50% contain some inaccuracy What are possible indicators of resume fraud?

Jobs and education should be verified One question honesty test

Requirements for education and experiences should be job-related.

Potential Problems

NY Times Sept 12, 2005

Ronald L. Zarrella, the chief executive of Bausch & Lomb, claimed to have had a master's in business administration from New York University. Shares in the company dropped 3 percent the day the company divulged Mr. Zarrella's resume-fudging.

David J. Edmondson, the chief executive of RadioShack, was fired after a newspaper investigation showed that his resume was padded with two degrees in psychology and theology, degrees he never got from a university that was not even accredited.

Brad Fredericks, a co-founder of ResumeDoctor.com had his employees pull about a thousand of them that had been uploaded to the company Web site and check them for easily identifiable facts like job titles, education and dates of employment. ''What we found was shocking,'' Mr. Fredericks said. ''We discovered that 42.7 percent of them had significant inaccuracies.”

The Rutgers University Career Services office did an audit last year and found that 20 percent of students submitting resumes had inflated their grade-point averages.