7 Selection

Selecting the right employees

Selection defined  Gather legally defensible information about job candidates  Assess information  Decide who has skills, knowledge and other required attributes  Decide who is likely to fit in with the organisation and its people

Contemporary issues  Selecting for performance or potential?  Selecting for the job or the organisation?  How to predict performance  Make selection a two-way process

Reliability and validity  Reliability  Does the selection method provide consistent data over time?

 Validity  What does this selection method measure?  How well does it measure it?

Validity of selection methods 1. Work sample tests 2. Tests of general mental ability 3. Structured interviews 4. Job knowledge tests 5. Job tryouts 6. Integrity tests 7. Unstructured interviews 8. Conscientiousness tests 9. Reference checks 10. Job experience

Improving predictive validity  Ensure content of selection method closely reflects tasks and requirements of job  Use structured or systematic selection methods, rather than unstructured approaches  Combine a range of selection methods

Focus of selection methods  Past behaviour  Biodata, references, ratings

 Present behaviour  Personality tests, interviews, self-assessments, work samples, repertory grids, graphology

 Future behaviour  Future biography, situational interviews

Data for initial screening  Personal information  Name, preferred title, contact address and telephone number

 Education and training  institutions and programmes attended, qualifications gained, special training or skills, other on-job or off-job education and training

 Employment history  present and previous employers, dates employed, brief description of jobs, reasons for leaving, current remuneration, other work experience

Job interview  Conversation with a purpose  Organisation gains information and impressions about applicant  Applicant gains information and impressions about organisation  Both parties begin process of selection and contracting, or decide not to

Criticisms of job interview  Costly, inefficient and usually invalid  Problems of bias  Interviewers have too much belief in their judgement  Used instead of more valid methods  Treated as ‘final hurdle’, rather than data-gathering device

Criticisms of interviewers          

Not prepared Talkative Rely on first impressions Apply stereotypes or preconceptions Judge by appearances and body language Halo effect Inconsistent ‘Just like me’ effect Influenced by negative information Do not understand cultural differences

Interview types Structured

Unstructured

 Standard series of questions  All interviewees asked same questions in same way  Answers recorded  Compared with model answers

 Questions not planned in advance  Questions and interview sequence based on previous questions and answers  Interviews all different

Criticisms of unstructured interviews  Different interviews don’t cover same range of issues in same way  Different information gathered about different candidates  Applicants cannot be compared on systematic or objective basis  Interviewers believe they can remember and interpret candidates’ responses more accurately than they actually do

Structured interviews Behavioural description  Assumes past behaviour is best predictor of future behaviour  Candidates asked what they did do in specific situations

Situational  Assumes future behaviour can be predicted from person’s goals and intentions  Candidates asked what they would do in specific situations

Realistic job preview  Should be part of every selection process  Covers both favourable and unfavourable aspects of job  Helps set realistic job expectations  New employees not surprised by reality of job or organisation  Raises job satisfaction; lowers risk of quitting

Occupational test Any standardised set of questions or tasks which is intended for use as a comparative measure of the skills, knowledge, abilities and other characteristics of individuals in an employment context. - IPM New Zealand

Test types  General mental ability  e.g. intelligence tests which measure analytical reasoning or critical thinking powers

 Specific ability  used to measure e.g.numeracy or verbal reasoning skills.

 Personality questionnaires  include general personality tests, tests for specific personality traits, e.g. values, interest preferences, learning styles and team types

Selecting occupational tests  Has validity and reliability been checked?  How well does this test predict future performance?  Are appropriate norms and comparisons available?  Could the test discriminate against or disadvantage any candidates?  Is a qualification needed to use this test?  How will the test results be handled?

References  Personal or character references  personal statements from friends or colleagues

 Documentary evidence  certificates, qualifications, work permits

 Work experience  descriptions provided by previous employers

 Certificates of service  factual information about previous employment

Reference checking issues  Is past performance a valid predictor of future performance?  How much information do you really need? Are there privacy issues?  Who will make the reference check?  Have you prepared a standard set of questions?