CHAPTER 4 Employee Selection

1. CHAPTER 4 Employee Selection Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology by Ronald Riggio

2. A Model for Employee Selection • Criteria are measures of job success typically related to performance; for example, a criteria for successful basketball performance would be the number of baskets made. • Predictors are variables about applicants that are related to the criteria; predictors for successful basketball performance could be experience and physical height.

4. Employee Recruitment • Employee recruitment isthe process of attracting potential workers to apply for jobs. • There are a variety of employee recruitment methods, such as: advertisements, college recruitment programs, employment agencies, and employee referrals.

5. Employee Recruitment • An important element of the recruitment process is to present applicants with an accurate picture of the job through the use of Realistic Job Previews (RJPs). • These areaccurate descriptions of a daily tasks, duties, and responsibilities. • RJPs help increase satisfaction and decrease turnover of new employees.

6. Employee Screening • Employee screening isthe process of reviewing information about job applicants to select individuals for jobs. • Data sources such as resumes, job applications, letters of recommendation, employment tests, and hiring interviews can be used in screening and selecting candidates.

7. Employee Screening • Basic background information can be translated into numerical values to compare the qualifications of applicants through the use of weighted application forms or biographical information blanks (BIBs).

8. Employee Screening • Employee screening also involves references and letters of recommendation. • Such sources can provide information about: • Employment and educational history. • Evaluations of the applicant’s character. • Evaluations of the applicant’s job performance. • The recommender’s willingness to rehire the applicant. • The use of these methods is on the decline because they tend to be overly positive and are often uninformative.

9. Employee Screening • The second step in screening is employee testing, which typically uses standardized instruments to measure characteristics that are predictive of job performance. • Any screening test or method must demonstrate that it is a reliable and validpredictor of job performance. • A measurement instrument is reliable if it repeatedly gives the same or similar results when applied repeatedly to the same quantity. • A measurement instrument that is valid is accurately measuring what it purports to measure.

10. Employee Screening • Three methods for establishing reliability are test‑retest reliability, parallel forms, and internal consistency. • Two forms of validity that are most important for development and use of screening tests are: • Content validity, or whether the test content adequately measures the knowledge, skills and abilities required by the job. • Criterion‑related validity,or the relationship betweenscreening test scores and some criterion of job success.

11. Employee Screening • Employee screening tests vary greatly in format and in characteristics they measure. • Categories of such tests include: • Cognitive ability tests. • Mechanical ability tests. • Motor and sensory ability tests. • Job skills and knowledge tests. • Personality tests. • Miscellaneous instruments such as polygraphs. • Standardized tests are often used in combinationin test batteriesto help select the best qualified candidates.

14. Employee Screening • An important issue regarding the effectiveness of employee screening tests is validity generalization, or a test's ability to predict job performance in settings different from the one in which it was validated. • Another concern is test utility, an estimate of thedollars gained in increased productivity and efficiency because of the use of screening tests.

15. Employee Screening • Fakingis trying to beat an employment test by distorting responses. • Assessment centers use the test battery approach to offer a detailed, structured assessment of applicants' employment potentialmost often for high‑level managerial positions.

17. Employee Screening • Employment screening for most jobs includes at least one hiring interview, which is a measurement tool just like any other screening device. • Unfortunately, research indicates that hiring interviews (as they are typically used) generally have low levels of reliability and validity. • One of the greatest sources of problems with hiring interviews stems from interviewer biases.

18. Employee Selection and Placement • Statistical models of decision-making include: • The multiple regression model, an approach that allows predictors to be combined statistically. • The multiple cutoff strategy, a method of setting minimum cutoff scores for each predictor. • The multiple hurdle approach, a stringent method that uses an ordered sequence of screening devices.

20. Employee Selection and Placement • Regardless of the screening and selection procedures used, an overriding concern in all personnel decisions is to protect against discrimination in employment. • The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has established guidelines to ensure against discrimination against ethnic minorities and other protected groups. • To take preventive steps to avoid employment discrimination, many organizations have adopted affirmative action plans to ensure jobs are made available to members of protected groups.