Employee Selection Flashcards
1
Q
Employee Screening
A
- The process of
choosing applicants
for employment.
2
Q
Employee Screening
Criteria & Predictors
A
- The model for recruiting and hiring employees involves two main variables: criteria and predictors.
- Criteria are measures of success on the job, often related to performance metrics like units installed or sales figures.
- Success on the job encompasses various factors beyond performance, such as loyalty, commitment, interpersonal skills, and adaptability.
- Predictors are measurable pieces of information about job applicants that are related to the criteria.
- In employee selection, predictors include job-related knowledge, education, and skills.
- Evaluation of applicants involves assessing them on various predictors through resumes, interviews, and employment tests.
- The effectiveness of the selection process is determined by how well the predictors predict success on the job.
3
Q
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Test Formats
Individual VS Group Tests
A
- Individual tests are administered to one person at a time, with the administrator heavily involved.
- Group tests are given simultaneously to multiple people, with the administrator mainly serving as a monitor.
- Increasingly, tests are administered online, blurring the distinction between individual and group testing.
4
Q
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Test Formats
Speed Versus Power Tests
A
- Speed tests have a fixed time limit, focusing on the number of items completed within the time frame.
- Power tests allow sufficient time to complete all items, focusing on the percentage of correct answers.
5
Q
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Test Formats
Paper-and-Pencil Versus Performance Tests
A
- Paper-and-pencil tests include both paper and online formats, requiring written responses.
- Performance tests involve physical manipulation or tasks, such as typing or manual dexterity tests.
- Written tests are increasingly administered online, offering more flexibility.
6
Q
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Biodata
A
- Biodata refers to background information and personal characteristics used for employee selection.
- They include items on education, work history, personal interests, attitudes, values, likes, and dislikes.
- Unlike other test instruments, there are no standardized biodata instruments; they require extensive research and validation.
- They are effective as they provide detailed descriptions and classifications of an applicant’s behavioral history, predicting future behavior well.
- Potential issues include the personal nature of questions and the risk of unintentional discrimination against minority groups.
7
Q
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Cognitive Ability Tests
A
- Tests of cognitive ability range from general intellectual ability to specific cognitive skills.
- Examples include the Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability (OSATMA) and the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test (WCAT).
- These tests assess basic verbal and numerical abilities, learning potential, and problem-solving skills.
- General intelligence tests have faced criticism for potentially being too broad to predict specific job-related skills effectively.
- Meta-analyses have shown that cognitive ability tests predict job performance and training success.
- Concerns exist regarding potential discrimination against certain ethnic minorities in test outcomes.
8
Q
Types of Employee Screening Tests
Job Skills & Knowledge Tests
A
- Standardized tests assess specific job skills or domains of job knowledge.
- Examples for clerical workers include typing tests, proofreading, alphabetical filing, and software proficiency tests like the Judd Tests.
- Work sample tests involve brief examples of critical job tasks, administered under standard conditions and scored on a predetermined scale.
- They provide a realistic job preview and are job-related but can be costly and time-consuming to develop and administer.
- Work sample tests are effective screening tools and predictors of job performance.
9
Q
Hiring Interviews
Traditional Interviews
A
- Widely used and the most common type of interview.
- Often lack structure, leading to haphazard assessments of applicants.
- Typically involve open-ended questions and may resemble casual conversations.
- Little concern is given to reliability, validity, and predictability.
- Provides limited information about applicants and may yield invalid assessments of qualifications.
- Subject to interviewer biases, including factors like gender, race, and physical appearance.
- May fail to predict job success accurately due to a mismatch between selection instruments and job requirements.
10
Q
Hiring Interviews
Structured Behavioral Interviews
A
- Designed to improve interview effectiveness by providing structure and focusing on past behaviors.
- Ask interviewees to draw on past job incidents and behaviors to deal with hypothetical future work situations.
- More reliable and valid than traditional interviews.
- Asking about past behaviors is preferred over hypothetical situations.
- Effective in improving the success of hiring interviews as selection devices.
- Offer better predictability of job performance compared to traditional interviews.
11
Q
Hiring Interviews
Video Conference Interviews
A
- Conducted either via live videoconference or computer-video interface.
- Interviewers tend to make more favorable evaluations compared to face-to-face interviews due to the absence of some nonverbal cues.
- Provide opportunities for face-to-face interaction without physical presence.
- Offer convenience and cost-saving benefits for both employers and applicants.
12
Q
Making Employee Selection Decisions
Multiple Regression Models
A
- Uses several predictors to predict job performance.
- Combines predictors in an additive, linear fashion.
- Equations generated from this model utilize various screening information to predict job performance.
- Can be problematic in situations where certain predictors are essential for job success and cannot be compensated for by others.
- Provides a comprehensive assessment of applicants’ potential based on multiple factors.
13
Q
Making Employee Selection Decisions
Multiple Cutoff Models
A
- Requires applicants to obtain a minimum cutoff score on each predictor.
- Non-compensatory model where scoring below the cutoff on any predictor disqualifies the applicant.
- Ensures that all eligible applicants have a minimal level of ability on all dimensions believed to be predictive of job success.
- Commonly used in public-sector organizations for large-scale applicant screening.
- Setting cutoff scores involves careful consideration to avoid discrimination against specific demographic groups.
14
Q
Making Employee Selection Decisions
Multiple Hurdle Models
A
- Utilizes an ordered sequence of screening devices.
- At each stage, a decision is made to either reject an applicant or allow them to proceed to the next stage.
- Unqualified applicants are rejected early in the process, saving time and resources.
- Provides confidence that selected applicants have the potential to succeed on the job.
- Typically used for central jobs within an organization due to its expense and time-consuming nature.
