Selection 1

MANA 4328Dr. George Bensonbenson@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?

Why Use Selection Mechanisms?

Individual judgment is poor and inconsistent Perceptual biases Individual biases

Match applicant KSA’s with job requirements

Ensure that new hires will perform well on the job.

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

EEOC Uniform Guidelines

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

EEOC Uniform Guidelines

Validity – accuracy of the measureAre you measuring what you intend to measure?

ORDoes the test measure a characteristic related to job performance?

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)

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)

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

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

ApplicantsCandidates

OffersHires

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 (r = .10 - .20)

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

AP May 11, 2004 WASHINGTON “At least 28 senior-level federal employees in eight agencies

have bogus college degrees, including three managers at the office that oversees nuclear weapons safety, congressional investigators have found.”

MSNBC June 24, 2004 WASHINGTON “More than 100 federal air marshals have been fired or stripped

of their flight status in recent weeks for problems stemming from their security clearance background investigations”

Potential ProblemsNY 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.

Reference Checking

Also relatively low predictive validity 80% - 95% of Organizations attempt 63% of Organizations limit info they will share Should ask for applicant permission Legal Concerns

Companies decline to report negative information to protect from defamation suit.

Failure to conduct reference check may create negligent hiring liability.

Potential Problems

FW Star-Telegram 2.12.04 ARLINGTON - A University of Texas a Arlington official voiced regrets that a

part-time lecturer's background was not checked after he talked about his personal life in class and alarmed students….Ronnie Robert Molina was fired after his first lecture on communications law. In August, Molina was fired as an attorney for Dallas for inappropriate behavior.

Shorthorn 1.28.04 Several students in the class said Molina spent the first day discussing a range

of personal topics and that many in the class were appalled and disturbed….After arriving 25 minutes late, Molina started a monologue about religious values, sexual orientation and drug use…Students said Molina wrote the initials of the attorney that he previously worked for and distinguished his initials D.L., as devil and Lucifer.

“Qualified Privilege”

Aimed at protecting companies that provide “good faith” reference information Information must be given without malicious intent Information can be substantiated Information given is limited to specific inquiry Information must be given at proper time, through

proper channels, with proper methods.

Is the employee eligible for rehire?