Chapter 6 Flashcards
What is the selection process?
A series of specific steps used by an employer to decide which recruits should be hired.
Begins when recruits apply for employment and ends with the hiring decision
The steps in the process involve matching the employment needs of the organization and the applicant
In what ways is the selection function significant to the strategic success of the business?
- Successful execution of an organization’s strategy depends on the calibre of its employees it hires
- An organization’s selection decisions must reflect job requirements (avoid lawsuits)
- Selection strategy must be well integrated with organizational priorities (stage of life cycle starting point)
- Selection strategy must recognize organizational constraints (cost effective)
- Selection strategy should recognize labour market realities (there are labour shortages in many industries and geography, use selection ratio: # of applicants hired/ total # applicants)
- Selection practices must be ethical (Ex: dont post adds that dont exist)
Note: Internal/external policies affect selection. In addition, selection impacts virtually all major HR functions and
What are the steps in the selection process?
1) Perliminary Reception of Applicants
2) Applicant Screening
3) Administration of Employment Tests
4) Employment Interviews
5) Realistic Job Previews
6) Verification of References
7) Contingent Assessments
8) Hiring Decision
Note: these steps can vary in different companies Ex: small vs large or combind steps
What happens in Step 1: Preliminary Reception of Applicants?
steps in the selection process
- Initial contact with applicants (applicant reaches out)
- Walk-ins may receive preliminary interview
- Write-ins often receive letter or email of acknowledgment
- This step has disappeared in many organizations with the increasing use of Internet recruitment
What happens in Step 2: Applicant Screening?
steps in the selection process
- Goal: Remove from consideration applicants who do not meet minimum qualifications
- Biographical information blanks (BIB) (Questionnaire about personal experiances, historical and present behaviour. Past behavious as a predictor of future behaviour)
Cons of BIB:
-Must not adversly effect protected groups
-Can have uninteneded effect of turning off well-qualified applicants
-Rseponses cannot be varified
-Must be developed by the company - Weighted application blanks (WAB) (based on application filled out and computer calculates total score)
- Ensure application is useful and meets legal requirements
- Resumes should be checked for inconsistencies. (references/ background checks)
What happens in Step 3: Administration of Employment Tests?
steps in the selection process
Employment tests:
- Personality test
- Ability tests (physical/mental)
- Performance Tests (Situational Judgment Tests (hypathetical), Assessment Centres, Computer-interactive Tests)
- Integrity Tests
For these tests to be useful they must meet the criteria of:
Reliability: Selection device’s ability to yield consistent results over repeated measures (Ex: hard to understand/ambiguous, boring, are there external factors skewing results?)
Validity: Selection device that indicates its accuracy and relationship to job-relevant criteria (conduct validation studies)
Most common approaches to validation studies:
- Empirical approaches: Relate test scores with job criteria using Predictive and Concurrent validity
- Rational approaches: Used with smaller amount of applicants, Content, Construct and Differential validity (number of subjects are low and considered inferior to empirical techniques)
What are the types of employment tests?
Personality Tests: Measures personality or temperament that are thought to be stable traits for individuals.
Ex: Hogan Personality Inventory, Big 5 Personality Factors (CANOE)
Ability Tests: Evaluate general mental or specific abilities, aims yo predict which applicants have the ability to do the job. (cognative/physical ability tests)
Ex: Wonderlic Cognitive Test, General Aptitude Test Battery
Knowledge Tests: Measure specific knowledge in areas that apply to the position. (information/knowledge of job requirements)
Ex: Leadership Opinion Questionnaire, Tax test for tax specialist
Performance Tests: Measures the ability of applicants to do some parts of the work for which they will be hired to do. Ex: typing test for admin assistant or driving test for cab driver
Ex: Job Simulation Tests, situational judgment test, computer interactive performance test
Integrity Tests: Evaluate honesty, reliability, and responsibility of applicant.
Ex: Stanton Survey, Reid Report, lie detector tests (illegal in Ontario)
What are the differences between empirical and rational approaches to test validation?
Empirical Approaches: Relate test scores to job-related criteria like performance. Two types:
- Predictive validity: Tests given to applicants, then their job performance is measured and correlated.
- Concurrent validity: Tests current employees, correlating their scores with job performance.
Rational Approaches: Used when sample sizes are too small, considered inferior.
Two types:
- Content validity: Ensures the test covers a representative sample of the domain (e.g., a vocabulary test covering a wide word range).
- Construct validity: Confirms the test measures the intended construct, such as intelligence, not reading ability.
What are differential validity and validity generalization in the context of employment tests?
Differential Validity: Occurs when a test is valid for one group (e.g., white male applicants) but not for other subgroups (e.g., minorities or women). Tests must equally predict job performance for all subgroups to avoid violating laws like the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Validity Generalization: Refers to applying reliability and validity evidence from previous studies (found in the test manual) to guide test choices for a new organization or job. Organizations generalize these results but should also conduct local validation studies to ensure the test’s validity for their specific context.
What happens in Step 4: Employment Interviews?
steps in the selection process
- Role of HR is to provide the supervisors with the best applicants available.
- Immediate supervisor is ultimately responsible for applicant once hired so the supervisor should have input into the final hiring decision, they will be better able to evaluate the technical ability.
- Common to have a group interview for higher positions (managers or supervisors)
- Interviews are common (and expected) as part of the selection process
What happens in Step 5: Realistic Job Previews?
steps in the selection process
- Shows the candidate the type of work, equipment & working conditions involved (understand job setting)
- Attempts to prevent job dissatisfaction and generate greater trust and insights into the job.
- Highlights positive & negative aspects of the position
- Tends to reduce employee turnover
- Con: More people will turn down the position when they find it unappealing.
What happens in Step 6: Verification of References?
steps in the selection process
- Discuss applicant’s work history
- Former supervisors may not be candid, especially with negative information
- Reference letters
- Background checks
Cons:
- Only provide positiive references
- Reference only discusses positive
- Reference may not provide approprate information in fear of legal actions
- Fake refereneces
- Raliability and validity are low
What happens in Step 7: Contingent Assessments?
steps in the selection process
Applicant has been selected and will recieve the job offer provided thay pass the contingent assessments such as:
- Assessment of health, medical, and driving information
- May be scheduled after the hiring decision
- Medical records should only be used if job clearly requires level of physical effort or other abilities.
- Drug tests are increasingly used (Ex: transport) but may be found to violate employee rights (drug dependance is considered a disability)
What happens in Step 8: Hiring Decision?
steps in the selection process
- Marks the end of the selection process
- Update HRIS
- Retain applications for future
Different approaches to selecting the applicant:
- Subjective Approach: Decision maker evaluates scores among applicants based on skills.
- Multiple Cutoff Approach: cutoff scores are set and applicants that fall below will not be considered, highest score wins.
- Compensatory Approach: Applicant must have the proper score on a predictor to move on to the next, highest score wins.
What should happen after the selection?
Successful candidate is contacted and sent the employment contract.
When drawing up the employment contract, pay attention to:
- Specify probationary period if applicable.
- Specify start date and terms of employment clearly.
- Specify reasonable restrictive covenants.
- Ensure that termination procedures are legally enforceable.
