Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall7-1 Human Resource Management Chapter Seven Selection

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-1

Human Resource Management

Chapter Seven

Selection


Selection and Performance

Hiring manager has ultimate responsibility for selection of employees

Performance of company is directly correlated to employees hired and the competencies they bring to the job

Employees who are not a good fit tend to make mistakes and/or leave often resulting in lost customers and money


Selection Systematic process of deciding which applicants to hire, promote or move to other jobs Prediction—selecting an applicant that can do the job or learn to do it well Internal selection is moving current employees into vacant positions


Person-Job Fit

A good match between applicant’s KSAs and interests with those of the job

Satisfied employees tend to be more productive

A strong fit maximizes the benefits for employees and the organizations for which they work


Selection Methods Initial screening involves reviewing the information

provided by applicants to decide which applicants are worthy of consideration

Final screening is taking a more in-depth look at applicants, reviewing references, conducting background checks

Applications and resumes reviewed to determine which applicants meet minimum job requirements (education, previous experience, etc.)


Guidelines for Application Questions

Keep questions job related Ask questions about relevant past work experience, skills, abilities, education, goals and interests Don’t ask personal questions (Are you married?

What year did you graduate from high school?)


Tips for Screening Resumes


Screening Interviews

Calling applicant and conducting a short telephone interview

Confirms person is still looking for a job

Provides clues about person’s oral communication skills

Final screening narrows down number of candidates to enable final selection


Employment Tests

Aptitude tests measure basic talents or abilities Cognitive ability tests measure general

intelligence like numeric fluency, general reasoning or verbal comprehension

Physical ability tests measure endurance, strength or general fitness

Achievement tests or competency tests measure applicant’s current knowledge or skill level


Employment Tests (cont’d)

Work sample test requires applicant perform a sample of work representative of the job

Knowledge tests measure applicant’s mastery of subject matter to do the job

Personality inventories identify extent to which applicant possesses certain characteristics needed to be successful in job


When to Use Employment Tests

1. Current selection process does not result in quality of employees desired

2. Turnover or absenteeism is high

3. Current selection methods do not meet professional or legal standards

4. Productivity is low

5. Errors made by employees could have safety, health, or financial consequences


Interviews Panel interview—several people interviewing applicant at

the same time Unstructured interviews—interviewer will ask job-related

questions but without defined format and uses different questions with different applicants

Structured interview—more accurate means of comparing responses across applicants, same questions asked to all applicants

Situational interview—interviewer poses hypothetical situations and asks how candidate would respond

Behavioral interview—interviewer asks how candidate has handled a situation in the past

7–13

Examples of Questions That Provide Structure

Note: These questions provide structure, insofar as they are job-related and the employer can be consistent in asking them of all candidates.

Situational Questions

1. Suppose a co-worker was not following standard work procedures. The co-worker was more experienced than you and claimed the new procedure was better. Would you use the new procedure?

2. Suppose you were giving a sales presentation and a difficult technical question arose that you could not answer. What would you do?

Past Behavior Questions

3. Based on your past work experience, what is the most significant action you have ever taken to help out a co-worker?

4. Can you provide an example of a specific instance where you developed a sales presentation that was highly effective?

Background Questions

5. What work experiences, training, or other qualifications do you have for working in a teamwork environment?

6. What experience have you had with direct point-of-purchase sales?

Job Knowledge Questions

7. What steps would you follow to conduct a brainstorming session with a group of employees on safety?

8. What factors should you consider when developing a television advertising campaign?


Other Screening Techniques

Reference checks—potential employer can contact applicant’s references to verify information (applicants should sign release form granting permission)

Background checks—verifying information provided during the application process or to obtain additional information (education, criminal check, credit reports)


Assessment Centers

Put candidates through a series of simulations designed to assess their ability to perform aspects of job they are seeking (example: communication, decisiveness, delegation, planning, etc.)

In-basket—candidates sort through and respond to letters, memos, reports within a specified time frame

Leaderless group discussion—candidates are given a problem to solve

Role plays—candidates play out job-related situations


Drug and Medical Tests Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988

requires federal contractors to develop policies to ensure workers are drug free

Drug testing has decreased in recent years due to cost

Medical exams can only be required after an offer of employment has been made


Rating Errors

Bias—one’s personal views affect the decision making Candidate’s personal characteristics (attractiveness,

age, and gender) affect the decision Contrast effect—evaluation is artificially inflated or

deflated compared to another applicant Halo effect/devil’s horns effect—positive or negative

characteristic of a job candidate affects the other attributes

Impression management—applicant engages in behavior to falsely impress interviewer (self promotion, ingratiation)


Selection in Practice


Factors Affecting Selection Practices

Company’s strategy and core competencies required of all employees

Low-cost strategy might focus on efficiency and productivity using simple application, short interview

Differentiation might focus on customer service using role plays, situational interviews, etc.

Larger companies use more formal and extensive selection process, smaller companies very informal, simplified process


Factors Affecting Selection Practices (cont’d)

Person-Organization fit—how well a person fits within the broader organizational culture (values)

Promotion-from-within policy—extent to which a company tends to promote current employees rather than look outside the organization

Efforts to reduce bias and treat applicants in fair and consistent manner

Labor market including skills of applicants and willingness of applicants to accept jobs

Globalization and need to modify selection process for language differences


Technology and Selection

Applications are completed at a computer kiosk

Computer based personality or situational judgment questionnaire used for screening interview

Applicants call in to respond to questions Reference and background checking may

now be done by companies online


Globalization and Selection

Hiring increasingly large numbers of international employees to work domestically

Selecting internal candidates to send to other countries

Hiring host-country nationals to work in host countries

Hiring international employees to work for company abroad


Privacy Concerns

Selection methods like background checks, credit reports, drug tests should be used only when job related and less invasive alternatives are not available

Rationale should be explained to applicants Reliability and validity should be

established Think through what information is ethical

and responsible to divulge to applicants

Documents

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall7-1 Human Resource Management Chapter Seven Selection