Chapter 09:
External Selection II
Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Organization
Mission
Goals and Objectives
Organization Strategy HR and Staffing Strategy
Staffing Policies and Programs
Support Activities Core Staffing Activities
Legal compliance
Planning
Job analysis
Recruitment: External, internal
Selection:
Measurement, external, internal
Employment:
Decision making, final match
Staffing System and Retention Management
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 Substantive Assessment
Methods
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Personality Tests
Ability Tests
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Emotional Intelligence
Tests
Performance Tests and
Work Samples
Situational Judgment
Tests
Integrity Tests
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Interest, Values, and
Preference Inventories
Structured Interview
Choice of Substantive
Assessment Methods
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Discretionary Assessment
Methods
Contingent Assessment
Methods
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Drug testing
Medical exams
Legal Issues
 Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection
Procedures
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Selection Under the
Americans With
Disabilities Act (ADA)
Drug Testing
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Distinguish among initial, substantive, and contingent selection
Review the advantages and disadvantages of personality and cognitive ability tests
Compare and contrast work sample and situational judgment tests
Understand the advantages of structured interviews and how interviews can be structured
Review the logic behind contingent assessment methods and how they are administrated
Understand the ways in which substantive and contingent assessment methods are subject to various legal rules and restrictions
9-4

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Describe the similarities and differences between personality tests and integrity tests. When is each warranted in the selection process?
How would you advise an organization considering adopting a cognitive ability test for selection?
Describe the structured interview. What are the characteristics of structured interviews that improve on the shortcomings of unstructured interviews?
What are the most common discretionary and contingent assessment methods? What are the similarities and differences between the use of these two methods?
How should organizations apply the general principles of the
UGESP to practical selection decisions?
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•Substantive assessment methods
•Determining who among the minimally qualified will likely be the best performers on the job
9-6

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Current role of personality tests e.g., role of Big Five
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Describe behavioral, not emotional or cognitive traits
May capture up to 75% of an individual’s personality
Big Five factors (Personality Characteristics Inventory etc.)
 Emotional stability-calm, optimistic, and well adjusted
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Extraversion-sociable, assertive, active, upbeat, and talkative
Openness to experience-imaginative, attentive to inner feelings, have intellectual curiosity and independence of judgment
Agreeableness-altruistic, trusting, sympathetic, and cooperative
Conscientiousness-purposeful, determined, dependable, and attentive to detail
Roughly 50% of the variance in the Big Five traits appears to be inherited
9-7

 Surveys
 Personal Characteristics Inventory (PCI)
 NEO Personality Inventory
 Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)
 Administration options
 Paper-and-pencil
 Interviews
 Online forms
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 Conscientiousness
 I can always be counted on to get the job done.
 I am a very persistent worker.
 I almost always plan things in advance of work.
 Extraversion
 Meeting new people is enjoyable to me.
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I like to stir up excitement if things get boring.
I am a “take-charge” type of person.
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Agreeableness
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I like to help others who are down on their luck.
I usually see the good side of people.
I forgive others easily.
Emotional Stability
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I can become annoyed at people quite easily (reversescored).
At times I don’t care about much of anything (reverse-scored).
My feelings tend to be easily hurt (reverse-scored).
Openness to Experience
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I like to work with difficult concepts and ideas.
I enjoy trying new and different things.
I tend to enjoy art, music, or literature.
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9-11

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Trivial validities
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Correlations for any individual trait with job performance are typically low (around r=.23)
However, when all traits are used simultaneously, correlations are higher
Faking
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Individuals answer in a dishonest way
However, tests still have some validity, and it may be that being able to “act” conscientiously may be related to real job performance
Negative applicant reactions
 Applicants, in general, believe personality tests are less valid predictors of job performance
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9-13

 Definition -- Measures that assess an individual’s capacity to function in a certain way
 15 to 20% of organizations use ability tests in selection
 Two types
 Aptitude - Assess innate capacity to function
 Achievement - Assess learned capacity to function
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 Four classes of ability tests
 Cognitive: perception, memory, reasoning, verbal, math, expression
 Psychomotor: thought/body movement coordination
 Physical: strength, endurance, movement quality
 Sensory/perceptual: detection & recognition of stimuli
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9-16

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Validity approaches .50
Research findings
 Among the most valid methods of selection
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Often generalizes across organizations, job types, and types of applicants
Can produce large economic gains for organizations and provide major competitive advantage
Validity is particularly high for jobs of medium and high complexity but also exists for simple jobs
A simple explanation for validity: those with higher cognitive ability acquire and use greater knowledge
9-17

 Concern over adverse impact and fairness of tests
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Equally accurate predictors of job performance for various racial & ethnic groups
Blacks and Hispanics score lower than whites
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This gap is narrowing somewhat over time
 Alternative presentation formats (e.g., verbal tests) decrease differences in scores dramatically while producing nearly equivalent scores
Applicants’ perceptions
Reactions to concrete vs. abstract test items
9-18

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Psychomotor ability tests
 Reaction time, arm-hand steadiness, control precision, and manual and digit dexterity
Physical abilities tests
 Muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and movement quality
Sensory/perceptual abilities tests
 Ability to detect and recognize environmental stimuli
Note: Increasingly, ability tests are being computer administered
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 The ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action
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Self-awareness: Good at recognizing and understanding one’s own emotions
Other awareness: Good at recognizing and understanding others’ emotions
Emotion regulation: Good at making use of or managing this awareness
9-20

 A review of 59 studies indicated that, overall, EI correlated moderately with job performance
 Some critics argue that because EI is so closely related to intelligence and personality, once you control for these factors, EI has nothing unique to offer
 Still not clear whether these tests are useful
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Definition -- Assess actual performance (e.g., fix a car, teach a class, type a document)
Types of tests (should focus on relevant
KSAOs)
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Performance test vs. work sample (all or some)
Motor vs verbal work samples (action or thought)
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High- vs. low-fidelity tests (level of realism)
Computer interaction performance tests vs. paperand-pencil tests including simulations (e.g., The
Manager’s Workshop)
All the above can have good validity (.50+) & acceptance
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 Place applicants in hypothetical, jobrelated situations.
 Applicants are then asked to choose a course of action from several alternatives
 Capture the validity of work samples and cognitive ability tests in a way that is cheaper than work samples and that has less adverse impact than cognitive ability tests
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9-24

 Two types (Exhibit 9.9)
 Clear purpose / overt
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Do you think most people would cheat if they thought they could get away with it?
 Do you believe a person has a right to steal from an employer if he or she is unfairly treated?
 Personality-based/veiled purpose
 Would you rather go to a party than read a newspaper?
 How often do you blush?
 Scores appear to reflect conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability
9-25

 Validity can be useful
 Clear purpose as high as .55 predicting bad behaviors
 General purpose as high as .32 predicting bad behaviors
 Can predict performance as well (as high as
.30)
 Why would these predict general performance?
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Assess activities individuals prefer to do on & off the job; do not attempt to assess ability to do these
Not often used in selection
Can be useful for self-selection into job types
Types of tests
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Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB)
Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI)
Evaluation
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Unlikely to predict job performance directly
May help assess person-organization fit & subsequent job satisfaction, commitment & turnover
9-27

 Describe the similarities and differences between personality tests and integrity tests. When is each warranted in the selection process?
 How would you advise an organization considering adopting a cognitive ability test for selection?
9-28

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Relatively unplanned and “quick and dirty”
Questions based on interviewer “hunches” or
“pet questions” to assess applicants
 Casual, open-ended, or subjective questions
 Often contains obtuse questions
 Often contains highly speculative questions
 Interviewer often unprepared
 More potential for discrimination and bias
 Validity typically r=.20
9-29

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Questions based on job analysis
Same questions asked of each candidate
Response to each question numerically evaluated
Detailed anchored rating scales used to score each response
Detailed notes taken, focusing on interviewees’ behaviors
Validity may be r=.30 or better
Surprisingly uncommon in organizations
9-30

 Situational - Assess applicant’s ability to project his / her behaviors to future situations. Assumes the person’s goals/intentions will predict future behavior
 Experience-based -
Assess past behaviors that are linked to prospective job.
Assumes past performance will predict future performance
 Research is inconclusive regarding which type is best
 Individual interviews usually more valid than panel interviews
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 Consult job requirements matrix
 Develop the selection plan
 Exh. 9.10: Partial Selection Plan for Job of Retail
Store Sales Associate
 Develop structured interview plan
 Exh. 9.11: Structured Interview Questions,
Benchmark Responses, Rating Scale, and
Question Weights
 Select and train interviewers
 Evaluate effectiveness
9-32

 Describe the structured interview. What are the characteristics of structured interviews that improve on the shortcomings of unstructured interviews?
9-33

 Types of teams
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Problem-solving teams
Self-managed work teams
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Cross-functional teams
Virtual teams
 Establish steps for selection in team-based environments
 Who should make the hiring decision?
 Critical to ensure proper context is in place
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 Interpersonal KSAs
 Conflict-Resolution KSAs
 Collaborative Problem-Solving KSAs
 Communication KSAs
 Self-management KSAs
 Goal-Setting and Performance Management
KSAs
 Planning and Task-Coordination KSAs
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9-36

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Used to separate people who receive job offers from list of finalists (assumes each finalist is considered fully qualified for position)
Often very subjective, relying heavily on intuition of decision maker
Factors other than KSAOs are evaluated
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Assess person/organization match
Assess motivation level
 Assess people on relevant organizational citizenship behaviors
Should involve organization’s staffing philosophy regarding EEO/AA commitments
9-37

 “We offer you this job contingent upon
….”
 Contingent methods not always used
 Depends on nature of job and legal mandates
 Might involve confirmation of
 Drug test results
 Medical exam results
9-38

 The average drug user
 was 3.6 times more likely to be involved in an accident
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 received 3 times the average level of sick benefits was 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim
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 missed 10 times as many work days as nonusers
31% of all fatal truck accidents were due to alcohol or drugs
 Drug testing has decreased in recent years because so few people test positive
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9-40

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Emphasize drug testing in safety-sensitive jobs
Use only reputable testing laboratories, and ensure that strict chain of custody is maintained.
Ask applicants for their consent, and inform them of test results
Use retesting to validate positive samples from the initial screening test
Ensure that proper procedures are followed to maintain the applicant’s right to privacy
Review the program and validate the results against relevant criteria (accidents, absenteeism, turnover, job performance); conduct a cost-benefit analysis
9-41

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Identify potential health risks in job candidates
Must ensure medical exams are required only when a compelling reason exists
 Ensures people with disabilities unrelated to job performance are not screened out
Use is strictly regulated by ADA to ensure disabilities not job related are not screened out
Usually lack validity as procedures vary by doctor
Not always job related
Often emphasize short- rather than long-term health
New job-related medical standards are specific, job related, and valid
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 What are the most common discretionary and contingent assessment methods?
What are the similarities and differences between the use of these two methods?
9-43

Legal Issues: Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP)
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General principles
Technical standards
Documentation of impact and validity evidence
Definitions
Makes substantial demands of a staffing system
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Ensures awareness of possibility of adverse impact in employment decisions
If adverse impact is found, mechanisms provided to cope with it
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Selection under the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA)
 General principles
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Access to job application process
Reasonable accommodation to testing
Medical examinations
Drug testing
UGESP
Drug testing is permitted to detect illegal drug use and discipline/termination if found is OK
9-45

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Identifies potential health risks in job candidates
Important to ensure medical exams are required only when a compelling reason exists
 Ensures people with disabilities unrelated to job performance are not screened out
Use is strictly regulated by ADA
Lack validity as procedures vary by doctor
Not always job related
Often emphasizes short- rather than long-term health
New approach -- Job-related medical standards
9-46

 How should organizations apply the general principles of the UGESP to practical selection decisions?
9-47

 Issue 1
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Do you think it’s ethical for employers to select applicants on the basis of questions such as,
“Dislike loud music” and “Enjoy wild flights of fantasy,” even if the scales that such items measure have been shown to predict job performance? Explain.
 Issue 2
 Cognitive ability tests are one of the best predictors of job performance, yet they have substantial adverse impact against minorities. Do you think it’s fair to use such tests? Why or why not?
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