Chapter 6 Flashcards
Employee Selection
What is ‘selection’
the process of choosing individuals who have relevant qualifications to fill existing or projected job openings
Goal of Selection:
Maximize ‘Hits’ and Minimize ‘Misses’
False negative: Inaccurate prediction (candidate would have succeeded)
True negative: accurate prediction (candidate would have failed)
False Positive: Inaccurate prediction (candidate failed)
True Positive accurate prediction (candidate succeeded)
Why are False negative misses especially problematic
difficult to detect and may be disproportionately screening out members of protected groups
KSAO’s
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Other characteristics
What is ‘Values-based hiring’
hiring candidates who share the values of the organization
What is reliability
the degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over time (e.g., interrater reliability)
What is validity
the degree to which a test or selection procedure measures a person’s attributes and predicts future behaviour
_____ is required for a measure to have _____
Reliability, Validity
without reliability in our measures, there is no chance of achieving validity
Greatest selection method validities (correlation with job performance)
Interviews (structured): 0.51
Job knowledge test: 0.48
Work sample tests: 0.54
Cognitive Ability Test: 0.51
Issues with cover letters and resumes
subjective process with low reliability
potential discrimination (now firms might use name-blind resumes)
some firms even use software scanning
Application forms
Provide information for deciding whether an applicant meets the minimum requirements for experience, education, and training
A weighted application blank (WAB) is a standardized employment application that involves a more objective and statistical approach to analyzing the information collected
Biodata is also good
Internet checks and phone screenings
Even structured evaluations of candidate social media pages seem to lack the ability to predict job performance
It is of concern that many initial phone or screening interviews are unstructured
Asynchronous job interviews involve question prompts that applicants receive and are then required to provide a response that is recorded
Video résumés: short video clips that highlight applicants’ qualifications beyond what they can communicate on their résumé
What is a ‘Nondirective interview’
an interview in which the applicant is allowed the maximum amount of freedom in determining the course of the discussion, while the interviewer carefully refrains from influencing the applicant’s remarks
What is ‘Structured interview’
an interview in which a set of standardized questions with an established set of answers is used
Situation interviews and Behavioural description interview (BDI)
What is ‘Situational interview’
Structured: an interview in which an applicant is given a hypothetical incident and asked how they would respond to it
What is ‘Behavioural description interview (BDI)’
Structured: an interview in which an applicant is asked questions about what they did in a given situation
What is ‘Panel interview’
an interview in which a board of interviewers questions and observes a single candidate
What is ‘Sequential interview’
a format in which a candidate is interviewed by multiple people, one right after another
What is ‘Video interviews’
interviews conducted via videoconferencing or over the Web
What is ‘Computer-administered (automated) interview’
interview in which the questions are administered to applicants via computers
Why reference check?
The most reliable information usually comes from previous supervisors, who are in the best position to report on an applicant’s work performance
They also have qualified privilege
Background checks
Checks for previous employment history, academic qualifications, criminal record
Organizations using Internet searches to uncover background information on candidates
sometimes even a credit check
Preemployment tests
Job knowledge tests—have been found to be predictive of job performance
Work sample tests—cost effective, reliable, valid, fair, and acceptable to applicants
Cognitive ability tests—robust predictor of performance across a wide variety of jobs; these tests remain a stronger predictor of job performance than EI
Personality tests—can be predictive of job performance (especially the dimension of conscientiousness) and tend to not have adverse impact or subgroup differences
Polygraph tests—a lack of reliability as well as negative applicant reactions are important reasons why these tests should be avoided in selection
Honesty and integrity tests—good predictor of job performance and do not have problematic differences in scores for protected group members
Physical ability tests—these tests should be carefully determined on the basis of the essential functions of the job with a representative and diverse group of employees
Medical examinations—can be conducted only after an offer (preferably written) of employment has been made
Drug testing—human rights tribunals and courts have imposed very strict limitations on the right of employers to require drug tests; if the job is a safety-sensitive one, then an employer may be permitted to offer the position conditional on the successful passing of a drug test
Assessment centres: a process by which individuals are evaluated as they participate in a series of situations that resemble what they might encounter on the job; usually used to select higher-level employees, such as managers
Criterion-related validity
the extent to which a selection tool predicts, or significantly correlates with, important elements of work behaviour
concurrent validty
predictive validity
cross-validation
What is ‘Concurrent validity’
the extent to which test scores (or other predictor information) correlate with criterion data obtained at about the same time from current employees
what is ‘Predictive validity’
the extent to which applicants’ test scores predict criterion data obtained from those applicants/employees after they have been on the job for a period of time
What is ‘cross-validation’
verifying the results obtained from a validation study by administering a test or test battery to a specific sample
What is ‘Content validity’
the extent to which a selection instrument, such as a test, adequately samples the knowledge and skills needed to perform particular job task
What is ‘Construct validity’
the extent to which a selection tool measures a theoretical construct or trait
What is the important overlap for job performance
Can Do’s and Will Do’s
Can Do: KSAO’s
Will Do: Personality, values, motivation
What is ‘Clinical approach’
those making the selection decision review all of the data on the applicants; then, on the basis of their understanding of the job and the individuals who have been successful in that job, they make a decision
What is ‘Statistical approach’
involves identifying the most valid predictors and weighting them using statistical methods, such as multiple regression
Compensatory model
Multiple cutoff model
Multiple hurdle model
What is Compensatory model
statistical approach
a selection decision model in which a high score in one area can make up for a low score in another area
What is Multiple cutoff model
statistical approach
a selection decision model that requires an applicant to achieve a minimum level of proficiency on all selection dimensions
What is multiple hurdle model
statistical approach
a sequential strategy in which only the applicants passing the cutoff score at an initial evaluation stage go on to the next stage
What is Selection ratio:
the number of applicants to be selected compared with the total number of applicants
