HR Chapter 6

Most org require application forms to be completed because they provide a fairly quick and systematic means of obtaining a variety of info about the applicant.

General Mental Ability (GMA) or the g-factor.

Interviewing Methods

Nondirective Interview The applicant determines the course of the discussion, while the interviewer refrains from influencing the applicant's remarks. Structured Interview An interview in which a set of standardized questions having an established set of answers is used.

Interviewing Methods (cont'd)

Situational Interview An interview in which an applicant is given a hypothetical incident and asked how he or she would respond to it. Behavioral Description Interview (BDI) An interview in which an applicant is asked questions about what he or she actually did in a given situation. E.g. Tell me about the last time you disciplined an employee. More effective than situational interviews, especially for higher level positions. Panel Interview An interview in which a board of interviewers questions and observes a single candidate

Most org require application forms to be completed because they provide a fairly quick and systematic means of obtaining a variety of info about the applicant.

True

Validity refers to what a selection procedure measures and how well it measures it.

True

While the overall selection process is the responsibility of the HR department, line managers often make the final decision about hiring personnel into their unit.

True

The Employment Interview

Why the interview is so popular: It is especially practical when there are only a small number of applicants. It serves other purposes, such as public relations Interviewers maintain great faith and confidence in their judgments.

Application Forms

Application date Educational background Experience Arrests and criminal convictions National origin References Disabilities EEO and at-will statements

Which of the following is inappropriate on an application form

Asking the applicant about prior arrests

Classification of Employment Tests

Cognitive Ability Tests Aptitude tests Measures of a person's capacity to learn or acquire skills. Achievement tests Measures of what a person knows or can do right now. Personality and Interest Inventories "Big Five" personality factors: Extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience.

Approaches to Validation

Criterion-related Validity The extent to which a selection tool predicts, or significantly correlates with, important elements of work behavior. A high score indicates high job performance potential; a low score is predictive of low job performance. Concurrent Validity The extent to which test scores (or other predictor information) match criterion data obtained at about the same time from current employees. High or low test scores for employees match their respective job performance.

Cognitive Ability Tests

Measures of general intelligence, such as IQ tests, are generally regarded as good predictors of job performance across a variety of jobs.

The Selection Process

Obtaining Reliable and Valid Information Regardless of the selection methods used, it is essential that the selection procedure be reliable and valid. Reliability: The degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over time and alternative measures. Validity: Degree to which a test or selection procedure measures a person's attributes.

Selection Considerations

Person-job fit: job analysis identifies required individual competencies (KSAs) for job success. Person-organization fit: the degree to which individuals are matched to the culture and values of the organization.

Approaches to Validation (cont'd)

Predictive Validity The extent to which applicants' test scores match criterion data obtained from those applicants/ employees after they have been on the job for some indefinite period. A high or low test score at hiring predicts high or low job performance at a point in time after hiring. Validity (or Correlation) Coefficient A number ranging from 0.00, denoting a complete absence of relationship, to 1.00 and to -1.00, indicating a perfect positive and perfect negative relationship, respectively.

Sample Situational Interview Question

QUESTION: It is the night before your scheduled vacation. You are all packed and ready to go. Just before you get into bed, you receive a phone call from the plant. A problem has arisen that only you can handle. You are asked to come in to take care of things. What would you do in this situation? RECORD ANSWER: SCORING GUIDE: Good: "I would go in to work and make certain that everything is OK. Then I would go on vacation." Good: "There are no problems that only I can handle. I would make certain that someone qualified was there to handle things." Fair: "I would try to find someone else to deal with the problem." Fair: "I would go on vacation."

Types of Reliability

Retest reliability The extent to which the method yield comparable data over time Interrater reliability the extent to which agreement between two or more raters Equivalent reliability the extent to which two methods yield similar results

The results of a validation study are usually reported in the form of a

correlation coefficient (Results are 1.00 to -1.00)