Selection and Placement in Human Resource Management | Exercises Humanities

SELECTION AND PLACEMENT

Selection is the process of choosing individuals with the correct qualifications needed to fill jobs in an

organization

“Hire hard, manage easy.”

“Good training will not make up for bad selection.”

Placement

Placement Fitting a person to the right job.

Person/job ﬁt Matching the KSAs of individuals with the characteristics of jobs.

Selection and placement activities typically focus on applicants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), but

they should also focus on the degree to which job candidates generally match the situations experienced both

on the job and in the company. Psychologists label this person-environment fit. In HR it is usually called

person/job fit. Fit is related not only to satisfaction with work but also to commitment to a company, and to

quitting intentions.

Lack of fit between KSAs and job requirements can be classified as a “mismatch.” Five mismatch situations

are:

•Skills/job qualifications

•Geography/job location

•Time/amount of work

•Earnings/expectations

•Work/family

The other kinds of mismatches have more to do with conflicts of interests.

employers are concerned about the congruence between people and companies, or the person/organization fit.

Person/ organization fit is important from a “values” perspective, with many organizations trying to positively

link a person’s principles to the values of the company.

Selection, Criteria, Predictors, and Job Performance

When one knows what good

performance looks like on a

particular job, the next step is

to identify what it takes for the

employee to achieve successful

performance. Selection

criterion Characteristic that a

person must possess to

successfully perform work.

To determine whether

candidates might possess

certain selection criteria (such

as ability and motivation),

employers try to identify

predictors of selection criteria

that are measurable or visible

indicators of those positive

characteristics (or criteria).

Validity

In selection, validity is the correlation between a predictor and job performance.

Most validity decisions use a correlation coefficient,

Concurrent validity is one method for establishing the validity associated with a predictor. Measured when an

employer tests current employees and correlates the scores with their performance ratings.

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SELECTION AND PLACEMENT

Selection is the process of choosing individuals with the correct qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization “Hire hard, manage easy.” “Good training will not make up for bad selection.” Placement Placement Fitting a person to the right job. Person/job fit Matching the KSAs of individuals with the characteristics of jobs. Selection and placement activities typically focus on applicants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), but they should also focus on the degree to which job candidates generally match the situations experienced both on the job and in the company. Psychologists label this person-environment fit. In HR it is usually called person/job fit. Fit is related not only to satisfaction with work but also to commitment to a company, and to quitting intentions. Lack of fit between KSAs and job requirements can be classified as a “mismatch.” Five mismatch situations are:

Skills/job qualifications
Geography/job location
Time/amount of work
Earnings/expectations
Work/family The other kinds of mismatches have more to do with conflicts of interests. employers are concerned about the congruence between people and companies, or the person/organization fit. Person/ organization fit is important from a “values” perspective, with many organizations trying to positively link a person’s principles to the values of the company. Selection, Criteria, Predictors, and Job Performance When one knows what good performance looks like on a particular job, the next step is to identify what it takes for the employee to achieve successful performance. Selection criterion Characteristic that a person must possess to successfully perform work. To determine whether candidates might possess certain selection criteria (such as ability and motivation), employers try to identify predictors of selection criteria that are measurable or visible indicators of those positive characteristics (or criteria). Validity In selection, validity is the correlation between a predictor and job performance. Most validity decisions use a correlation coefficient, Concurrent validity is one method for establishing the validity associated with a predictor. Measured when an employer tests current employees and correlates the scores with their performance ratings.

Another method for establishing criterion-related validity is predictive validity. To calculate predictive validity, test results of applicants are compared with their subsequent job performance. Reliability of a predictor or “test” is the extent to which it repeatedly produces the same results over time. Combining Predictors Multiple hurdles: A minimum cutoff is set on each predictor, and each minimum level must be “passed.” Compensatory approach: Scores from individual predictors are added and combined into an overall score, thereby allowing a higher score on one predictor to offset, or compensate for, a lower score on another. Selection Responsibilities Selection Responsibilities

THE SELECTION PROCESS

Applicant Job Interest Traditionally, individuals have submitted résumés by mail or fax, or applied in person at an employer’s location. But with the growth in Internet recruiting, many individuals complete applications online or submit résumés electronically. Job applicants’ perceptions of the organization will be influenced by how they are treated. Realistic job previews provide potential employees with an accurate introduction to a job so that they can better evaluate the employment situation. Indeed, a realistic job preview can directly enhance individual training and clarify a job role. Truth-in-Hiring Lawsuits: a candidate who leaves a good job to accept a position and later discovers such exaggerations may choose to sue the company for misrepresenting the job. In some cases, recruiters feel such pressure to “sell” the company that they “oversell” it. Pre-employment Screening Electronic Assessment Screening : Much of this screening utilizes computer software to review the many résumés and application forms received during the recruiting and selection process. This may take several forms: disqualification questions; screening questions to get at KSAs and experience; valid assessment tests; and background, drug, and financial screening. A good strategy is to use simple electronic assessment early to cut down the number of applicants before requiring applications or interviews.

Work sample tests: Tests that require an applicant to perform a simulated task that is a specified part of the target job.
Situational judgment tests: Tests that measure a person’s judgment in work settings. Assessment Centers: An assessment center is not a place but an assessment composed of a series of evaluative exercises and tests used for selection and development. Personality Tests Personality is a unique blend of individual characteristics that can affect how people interact with their work environment. Many organizations use various personality tests that assess the degree to which candidates’ attributes match specific job criteria. Faking Personality Tests “Faking” is a major concern for employers using personality tests. Many test publishers admit that test profiles can be falsified, and they try to reduce faking by including questions that can be used to compute a social desirability or “lie” score. Honesty/Integrity Tests Employers use these tests as a screening mechanism to prevent the hiring of unethical employees, to reduce the frequency of lying and theft on the job, and to communicate to applicants and employees alike that dishonesty will not be tolerated. Polygraphs: The polygraph, more generally and incorrectly referred to as the “lie detector,” is a mechanical device that measures a person’s galvanic skin response, heart rate, and breathing rate. Controversies in Selection Testing Two areas in selection testing generate controversies and disagreements. One is the appropriateness of general mental ability testing, and the other is the validity of personality testing for selection. General mental ability testing is well established as a valid selection tool for many jobs, but since some minority groups tend to score lower on such exams, there is considerable controversy over whether such tests ought to be used. Personality Testing: Personnel Psychology concluded that personality explains so little about actual job outcomes that we should think very carefully about using it at all for employment decisions.

SELECTION INTERVIEWING

Interviews are commonly conducted at two levels: first, as an initial screening interview to determine if the person has met minimum qualifications, and then later, as an in-depth interview with HR staff members and/or operating managers to determine if the person will fit into the designated work area.

Interviewing for selection is imperfect and should be focused on gathering valid information that has not been gained in other ways. Inter-Rater Reliability and Face Validity High intra-rater reliability (within the same interviewer) can be demonstrated, but only moderate to-low inter- rater reliability (across different interviewers) is generally shown. Inter-rater reliability becomes important when each of several interviewers is selecting employees from a pool of applicants, or if the employer uses team or panel interviews with multiple interviewers. Structured Interviews A structured interview uses a set of standardized questions asked of all applicants so that comparisons can be made more easily. This type of interview allows an interviewer to prepare job-related questions in advance and then complete a standardized interviewee evaluation form that provides documentation indicating why one applicant was selected over another. Structured interviews—in any of several forms, including biographical, behavioral, competency, and situational—are useful when making selection decisions. Biographical Interview: A biographical interview focuses on a chronological assessment of the candidate’s past experiences. Behavioral Interview: In the behavioral interview technique, applicants are asked to describe how they have performed a certain task or handled a problem in the past, which may predict future actions and show how applicants are best suited for current jobs. Competency Interview: The competency interview is similar to the behavioral interview except the questions are designed to provide the interviewer with something against which to measure the applicant’s response. A competency profile for the position is often utilized, which includes a list of competencies necessary to do that particular job. Situational Interview: The situational interview contains questions about how applicants might handle specific job situations. Interview questions and possible responses are based on job analysis and checked by job experts to ensure content validity. A variation is termed the case study interview , which requires a job candidate to diagnose and correct organizational challenges during the interview. Less-Structured Interviews An unstructured interview occurs when the interviewer improvises by asking questions that are not predetermined. A semi-structured interview is a guided conversation in which broad questions are asked and new questions arise as a result of the discussion.

Selection and Placement in Human Resource Management, Exercises of Humanities

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Download Selection and Placement in Human Resource Management and more Exercises Humanities in PDF only on Docsity!

SELECTION AND PLACEMENT

THE SELECTION PROCESS

SELECTION INTERVIEWING