Selecting Employees

1. 15 Selecting Employees You may have the technology or a product that gives you an edge, but your people determine whether you develop the next winning technology or product. —Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft

2. Learning Objectives • Discuss common roles for supervisors in the selection process. • Distinguish between job descriptions and job specifications and explain how they help in the selecting employees. • List possible sources of employees. • Identify the steps in the selection process. • Discuss how a supervisor should go about interviewing candidates for a job. • Define types of employment tests. • Summarize the requirements of antidiscrimination laws. • Explain how hiring decisions are affected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). • Describe the requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986.

3. Roles in the Selection Process • In small organizations, a supervisor may have great latitude in selecting employees to fill vacant positions. • Some organizations have formal procedures that require human resources to do most of the work, with the supervisor simply approving the candidates recommended. • In most cases, a supervisor works with a human resources department.

4. Selection Criteria • Be clear about what jobs need to be filled and what kind of people can best fill those jobs. • Job description • Job characteristics • Job specification • Knowledge • Skills • Abilities • Other characteristics

5. Recruiting Inside the Organization • Promotions or different tasks can be a source of motivation for employees. • Promoted or transferred employees are already familiar with the organization’s policies and practices. • Internal recruitment is accomplished through: • Job postings • Employee referrals

6. Recruiting Outside the Organization • New hires bring fresh ideas and skills that the organization may lack. • Basic ways to identify qualified outside candidates: • Advertising • Employment agencies • Schools

7. The Selection Process

8. Screening from Employment Applications and Resumes • Review the applications or resumes to screen out candidates who are unqualified or less qualified than others. • Usually done by the human resources department • Compares resumes with the job description • Does not usually screen out a person recommended by the supervisor

9. Interviewing Candidates • Objectives of the interview: • Assess each candidate’s interpersonal and communication skills • See whether the supervisor and employee are comfortable with one another • Learn details about the information the candidate has provided on the application or resume • Allow the candidate an opportunity to learn about the organization

10. Who Should Interview? • Initially, someone in the human resources department • Later, the supervisor of the department • In some instances, team interviews may be conducted to see how a candidate interacts with a team • Parts of an interview may be automated using a phone system or other technology

11. Preparation for the Interview and Interview Conditions • Preparation • Review the job description • Review the applicant’s resume or job application • Arrange for an appropriate interview location • Interview conditions • Privacy • Freedom from interruptions • Comfortable seating • Consider sitting at a small table, not behind a desk • Offer coffee and “warm-up” conversation

12. Content of the Interview • Why do you want to work for our company? • What kind of career do you have planned? • What have you learned in school to prepare for a career? • What are some of the things you are looking for in a company? • How has your previous job experience prepared you for a career? • What are your strengths? Weaknesses? • Why did you attend school/select your major? • What do you consider to be one of your most worthwhile achievements? • Are you a leader? Explain. • How do you plan to continue developing yourself? • What can I tell you about my company?

13. The Interviewing Process

14. Interviewing Techniques • Structured interview • Unstructured interview • Open-ended questions • Closed-ended questions

15. Interview Problems to Avoid • Know what types of questions are acceptable and unacceptable. • Don’t make decisions based on personal biases. • Avoid the halo effect. • Don’t form erroneous first impressions. • Avoid giving candidates a misleading picture of the organization.

16. Conducting Employment Tests • Types of tests: • Aptitude test • Proficiency test • Psychomotor test • Personality test • Drug test • Usually the human resources department handles the testing of applicants. • Be sure any test you use is nondiscriminatory. • Be creative when designing your tests.

17. Conducting Background and Reference Checks • Many resumes and job applications contain false information: • Former employers and length of employment • Past salaries • Criminal records • Be sure to check references: • Personal • Academic • Employment • Be aware of restrictions on background checks.

18. Making a Selection Decision • The final decision of whom to hire is usually up to the supervisor. • With more than one qualified candidate, supervisors should select a person whose values and beliefs match those of the company. • Teams may benefit by people who seek compromise and others who challenge old ways by arguing for fresh ideas. • Human resources typically makes the job offer and negotiates pay and benefits.

19. Physical Examination • Experts advise that employers request a physical exam only after a job offer is made. • Helps determine if the candidate is physically able to fulfill the job requirements • This timing reduces the risk that someone will sue the company for refusing to hire him or her because of a disability • Determines whether the candidate is eligible for company-offered insurances • An illness, disability, or pregnancy may not be used as the basis for denying a person a job unless it makes the person unable to perform the job.

20. Legal Issues • Antidiscrimination laws: • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 • Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 • Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974 • Managing diversity • Workplace accessibility: • Accommodations for employees with disabilities • What supervisors can do • Immigration Reform and Control Act

21. How Hiring Decisions AreAffected by The ADA • Employers must make accommodations for employees with disabilities if the necessary accommodations are “readily achievable.” • Readily achievable would be defined as easy to carry out and possible to accomplish without much difficulty or expense. • This law extends beyond wheelchair accessibility to require accommodations for any eligible disabled employee, including those with impaired sight and haring, arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

22. Requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act • IRCA forbids employers to hire illegal immigrants and requires them to screen candidates to make sure they are authorized to work in the United States. • Employers may not use these requirements as a rationale for discriminating against candidates because they look or sound “foreign.” • The employer must verify the identity and work authorization of every new employee.

23. Summary • In most cases, a supervisor works with a human resource department in the employee selection process. • Job descriptions list the characteristics of the job. • Job specifications list desirablecharacteristics in the person performing the job. • Employees can be recruited from inside or outside the organization.

24. Summary (continued) • The selection process begins with screening candidates using employment applications and resumes. Interviews are done. Employment tests may be given. Background checks are conducted, then a selection is made, after which a candidate may be asked to take a physical exam. • Objectives of interviewing include narrowing the search for an employee by assessing each candidate’s interpersonal and communication skills, seeing whether the supervisor and employee are comfortable with one another, and learning details about the information the candidate has provided on the application or résumé. • Employment tests include: aptitude, proficiency, psychometer, personality, and drug use.

25. Summary (continued) • The organization, including the supervisor, must avoid actions that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age over 40 years, or physical or mental disability, including pregnancy-related disabilities. • The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability against people who can perform the essential functions of a job. • Under IRCA, employers are responsible for helping to discourage illegal immigration.