L2 Workplace Selection

Question 1

Define selection. what do you need to know?

Answer 1

Selection involves matching the person to the job or organisation, and then evaluating the effectiveness of that match. Need to know from JA
• What the job requires
• What the person has to offer (knowledge, skills, abilities and other things e.g. values; KSAOs)
• How well the person performs in that type of job

Question 2

Utility issues with The Selection Process (4)

What is a selection ratio? What is base rate of success?

Answer 2

The Selection Process: Utility
1. Company performance depends on employees.
2. It is costly to recruit and hire employees.
3. There are legal implications of incompetent selection.
4. Can depend on selection ratio* and base rate of success*
A selection ratio is used to screen in/out candidates
Number of job vacancies / Number of applicants
• If selection ratio ≥ 1 utility decreases (screen out inappropriate applicants)
• If selection ratio < 1 utility increases (screen in best applicants)
Base Rate of Success: The proportion of hires considered successful before implementation of selection system
• The higher the base rate the less likely a new system will be beneficial

Question 3

What are the four stages of the Employee Selection Process

Answer 3

• I. Employee Recruitment
• II. Employee Screening
• III. Employee Selection and Placement
• IV. Validity Check

Question 4

Employee recruitment

Answer 4

Process by which companies attract qualified applicants (e.g. social media, on campus pop up stalls)

Question 5

Good and bad things about recruitment

Answer 5

Best: 1. Employee referrals and applicant-initiated contacts yield higher quality workers with lower rate of turnover than newspaper ads or employment agency placement (e.g., Saks, 1994)
2. Realistic job previews (RJP): An accurate presentation of the prospective job and organisation made to applicants (increase job commitment and satisfaction; decrease turnover, allow to self-select, lower unrealistically high job expectations, and may provide applicants with information that will later be useful on the job) BUT more likely to turn down a job with RJP

Bad: 1. Internet sites have lots of job seekers and employers, and require sifting through many potential applicants
Employees try to sell themselves to companies, but companies also try to sell themselves to employees
• Recruitment programs: recruiters can influence applicants’ decisions to accept or reject job offers (smiling, warm etc. Applicants often more influenced by recruiters than they are by the characteristics of the job)
- companies “oversell” themselves (job unsatisfying once person is employed, they resign)

Question 6

II Employee screening (define and present the 5 methods)

Answer 6

The process of reviewing information about job applicants to select workers

1. Applications and resumes
2. References
3. Employment testing
4. Assessment Centres
5. Interviews

Question 7

Pros and cons of applications and resumes

Answer 7

Pros:
Purpose is to collect biographical information, which is among the best predictors of future job performance
• First impressions count! (Macan & Dipboye, 1994)
Cons
- Questions that are not job-related should not be on application forms
• It can be difficult to evaluate and interpret this information to determine most qualified applicants (assign different weights to pieces of info relevant to the job e.g. experience worth more than education?)

Question 8

Are references strong screening methods?

Answer 8

No. It is unlikely that applicants will give details of someone who would say something bad
 All references can be so positive that employers can’t distinguish between applicants
 Litigation against employers who provide bad references has caused some employers to refuse to write them (just say date of employment and salary)
• Still widely used in postgrad schools and professional positions
 Often include rating forms
 Some get applicants to waive rights to see letter

Question 9

Why do meployers use standardised tests? What are 8 forms of employment testing?

Answer 9

Most employers use standardised tests because it can be costly and time-consuming to create valid and reliable tests

a. Biodata
b. Cognitive ability
c. Mechanical ability
d. Motor and sensory ability
e. Job skills and knowledge
f. Personality
g. Integrity
h. Other tests (Drug testing is on the rise, Graphology: handwriting)

Question 10

Pros and cons of cognitive testing?

Answer 10

Tests of general intellectual ability or tests of specific cognitive skills
• Provides an indication of the individual’s learning potential and capacity to manage complexity in problem solving, decision making etc. The more complex the job is, the better a predictor it is
• Cognitive ability is predictive of job success,

BUT validity moderated by complexity of job
• These tests may have adverse impact on particular groups (high SES bias)

Question 11

What are two examples of a test of job skills and knowledge? Pros and cons?

Answer 11

Work samples tests: Measure applicants’ abilities to perform brief examples of important job tasks (best predictor of job performance)
 Pro: clearly job-related and can serve as realistic job preview
 Con: Can be expensive and time-consuming

Can be one of the best predictors of job performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998)
• Job knowledge tests: Measure specific types of knowledge required to perform a job

Question 12

Is personality testing valid in screening and placement?

Answer 12

Before 1990s considered invalid predictors by researchers although used by practitioners
• Now: Work-related personality characteristics can be reasonably good predictors of job performance, especially when the they are derived from job analysis
• Some personality measures (e.g., MMPI) are used to screen out applicants who possess psychopathologies

Question 13

What job skills do the Big Five predict?

Answer 13

• Conscientiousness: Performance across jobs, Teamwork, Training
• Emotional stability (Neuroticism): Performance across jobs, Teamwork
• Extroversion: Performance in specific roles e.g. sales, Teamwork, Training
• Agreeableness: Teamwork, Customer service
• Openness to experience: Training (DOESN”T TELL YOU MUCH)

Question 14

What can integrity tests predict? How do you measure integrity?

Answer 14

Questions concerning drug use, shoplifting, petty theft, etc.
• Although overt integrity tests are easy to ‘fake good’, covert (subtle) tests are not, and the results are somewhat predictive of job performance (Alliger et al, 1996)
• Integrity tests are valid predictors of:
o Dishonesty
o Counterproductive behaviours
You can tell applicants taking tests that employers know if they are lying or use lie detectors. Can also time responses.

Question 15

When are assessment centres used? Pros and cons?

Answer 15

• Structured setting in which applicants take part in multiple activities, monitored by a group of evaluators.
• Typically used in large organisations for managerial positions
• Can be good predictors of managerial success, but can be very costly

Question 16

Pros and Cons Interviews 3 each

Answer 16

Pros
1 In unstructured interviews you simply ask follow up questions that come to mind.
2 No formalized “scoring” for the quality of each answer.
3 May actually diminish the tendency to make simple stereotype judgments (e.g. resume might give you a stereotype, but in person they do not meet that stereotype)
Cons
1. Physically attractive people hired more than those less physically attractive, although not by the most experienced managers
2. Unstructured interviews often give rise to poor selection decisions and sometimes lack predictive validity (not selecting best candidates of the job)
3. There can be low level of agreement between interviewers (not sure what they are looking for)

Question 17

13 factors affecting interviews?

Answer 17

1 Applicant self-presentation
2 Snap Judgments
3 Negative emphasis
4 Self-fulfilling prophecies (if an interviewer believes you will be a certain way, they will ask questions to bring out these qualities)
5 Misunderstanding the job (Interviewers need to have a good understanding of the job)
6 Interview skills (e.g., communication) may not relate to job
6 Pressure to hire (will hire anybody)
7 Candidate-order (contrast) error (bad applicant, next one appears wonderful)
8 Influence of nonverbal behavior
9 Telegraphing (put correct answer in their mouth with leading questions)
10 Too much/too little talking
11 Similar-to-me effect
12 Halo effect (judge whole person based on single attribute)
13 Other personal prejudices/biases (racism, sexism, homophobia etc)

Question 18

What is the best type of interview?

Answer 18

Structured: • All applicants are evaluated in the same manner (same information is obtained in the same situation from all applicants, who are then compared on a common, relevant set of dimensions)

Question 19

What are the 4 types of questions involved in structured interviews?

Answer 19

1. Situational questions: Asks interviewees how they would deal with specific job-related, hypothetical situations
2. Behavioural questions: Asks interviewees to draw on past job incidents and behaviours to deal with hypothetical future work situations
3. Job knowledge questions: Assesses interviewee knowledge about the job
4. Background questions: Supplements information from resume and application form

Question 20

Employee Screening Effectiveness

Comparative Validities for Overall Job Performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998)

Answer 20

 Work sample tests .54 
 Cognitive ability tests .51 
 Structured interviews .51 
 Job knowledge tests .48 
 Assessment centres .37 
 Biodata .35 
 Conscientiousness .31 
 References .26 
 Unstructured interviews .14 
 Graphology .02
  Age -.01 E
Unstructured Interviews, Age and handwriting worst good predictors of applicants.

Question 21

Best and worst statistical methods for selection and placement

Answer 21

Worst: 1. Multiple regression (compensatory)
Best:
1. Multiple cut-off model: Uses a minimum cut-off score for each of the various predictors of job performance

2. Multiple hurdle model: Requires an acceptance or rejection decision to be made at each of several stages in the screening process. Applicants who do not pass one of the hurdles are no longer considered for the job (Good when testing which is expensive)

Can also have combination of multiple cut-off and multiple hurdle

Question 22

When is placement needed?

Answer 22

Only takes place when there are two or more positions that a new worker could fill

Question 23

What is involved in a validity check?

Answer 23

• Test the selection PROCEDURES to determine if they succeeded in identifying the best workers for the job.

Question 24

 Discuss the importance of EEO in Employee Selection and Placement

Answer 24

Equal Employment Opportunity in Employee Selection and Placement
Adverse Impact: Occurs when members of one sub-group are selected disproportionately more or less often than members of another sub-group.
We must protect against discrimination in employment