D: Psychology of Hiring Flashcards
[Week 4: How to hire the best people]
- What is the first step you should take in determining whether to change an organization’s approach to hiring people?
The first step is conducting an Organizational Needs Analysis. This analysis helps determine whether hiring is the root cause of issues such as poor productivity or high turnover. Often, other factors like ineffective leadership, poor training, or the nature of the tasks being performed could be the underlying issues. Before altering the hiring process, it’s important to assess whether changes in recruitment will address the organization’s problems, or if other areas (e.g., policies or job design) require attention.
- Describe several methods for analyzing jobs. What are some strengths and limitations of each?
Observations and Interviews:
Strengths: Direct observation provides a clear view of tasks performed, while interviews allow insights into aspects that aren’t visible.
Limitations: Employees may behave differently when observed (e.g., “going by the book” or performing tasks they wouldn’t normally do). Also, interviews might not capture all variations of job performance.
Critical Incident Technique:
Strengths: Involves gathering information from employees about situations where job performance was particularly effective or ineffective, offering detailed insights into key performance drivers.
Limitations: Relies on subjective recall of critical incidents, which might not cover the full range of job responsibilities.
Task Inventory Surveys:
Strengths: Surveys gather data from multiple employees about which tasks are most important or frequent, providing quantifiable results.
Limitations: The self-reported nature of surveys can introduce bias, and they might not fully capture how the job might evolve in the future.
Occupational Information Network (O*NET):
Strengths: A comprehensive database that provides standardized information about various jobs, offering a wealth of comparative data.
Limitations: O*NET may not capture specific nuances or evolving aspects of certain job roles.
- What are the key principles for hiring? Why is each principle important?
Reliability: Consistency in hiring practices ensures that the selection process produces stable results. Without reliability, the selection process cannot be valid or useful
Validity: Hiring tools must accurately predict job performance or relevant outcomes. This ensures that decisions are based on factors that will improve job performance, reducing errors in hiring.
Fairness: Fair hiring processes prevent discrimination and adverse impacts on minority groups, ensuring legal compliance and promoting diversity.
Cost: The efficiency and financial cost of selection tools must be balanced with their predictive value. Costly methods may need justification through stronger outcomes.
Transparency: Clear communication about hiring criteria ensures applicants understand the process, which can reduce negative reactions and increase applicant satisfaction.
- How does job performance differ from contextual performance?
Job Performance (Task Performance): This refers to the execution of core tasks and responsibilities that directly contribute to the organization’s goals. It varies between jobs based on the specific skills required.
Contextual Performance: Involves activities that enhance the organizational environment but are not directly tied to core job functions, such as helping colleagues, demonstrating initiative, and supporting a positive workplace culture. Contextual performance is often associated with personality traits and motivation.
- Describe and critically evaluate each of the following selection methods:
Weighted Application Blanks:
Description: A scoring method that assigns values to certain application information to predict job success.
Strengths: Useful for narrowing down large applicant pools and systematically identifying top candidates.
Limitations: May not be consistently applied and can overlook important qualitative factors.
Interviews:
Description: Interviews vary in structure and can assess a wide range of factors such as personality or situational judgment.
Strengths: When structured, they can reliably predict job performance.
Limitations: Unstructured interviews can be unreliable due to interviewer biases and inconsistency.
Work Samples:
Description: Candidates perform tasks that simulate actual job activities. Strengths: High face validity and predictive power for job performance. Limitations: Expensive and time-consuming to develop and administer for some roles.
Situational Judgment Tests:
Description: Low-fidelity simulations where candidates must choose how they would respond to work-related scenarios. Strengths: Predicts performance above cognitive ability and personality. Limitations: Effectiveness depends on the quality of the test design.
Assessment Centers:
Description: Use multiple simulations, tests, and exercises to evaluate a wide range of competencies.
Strengths: Highly predictive of job performance, especially for management roles.
Limitations: Time-consuming and expensive to administer.
- Does structuring interviews improve their validity? Why or why not? What does “structuring” mean?
Yes, structuring interviews improves their validity. Structuring means that all candidates are asked the same set of predefined questions, and their responses are evaluated using consistent criteria. Structured interviews reduce interviewer bias and increase the reliability and predictive validity of the interview process, as they ensure that all candidates are assessed on the same dimensions.
- Does personality predict job performance, above and beyond cognitive ability? If so, what implications does this have for personnel selection?
Yes, personality can predict job performance beyond cognitive ability, especially in roles that require interpersonal skills, teamwork, or handling stress. For example, conscientiousness is a strong predictor of job performance across various roles, while extraversion is important in sales or leadership roles. This implies that organizations should consider both cognitive and personality assessments in their selection processes to ensure a more comprehensive understanding of a candidate’s potential.
- What are some drawbacks of using cognitive ability tests in the workplace?
Some drawbacks of using cognitive ability tests include:
Adverse Impact: Cognitive tests often show significant subgroup differences (e.g., between racial groups), leading to potential legal and fairness concerns.
Test-Taker Reactions: Candidates may feel that cognitive tests are not directly relevant to the job, which can affect their perceptions of fairness and reduce engagement
