Selecting Employees
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
• One of the definitions of a supervisor is
a person who gets things done through
other people.
– Viewed through this perspective, a
supervisor must have well-qualified, or
knowledgeable, skilled employees to
accomplish his or her goals and objectives.
– Building a well-qualified employee team
starts with selecting the right people.
• Selecting the right people for the job begins
with knowing what the job is and what it takes
to get the job done.
– A job description specifies
• the characteristics of each job, and
• a job specification indicates the desirable characteristics
of the person performing each job.
– It may be the responsibility of the supervisor to
develop the job description and job specifications,
or at least to make sure they are correct.
– These documents become the basis for the
selection process.
• The selection process will be handled
by the human resources department
and the supervisor.
– The first step is to identify sources for
recruiting employees for a specific job.
• Current employees may be promoted or
transferred to fill job openings.
• Outside sources, such as help-wanted
advertisements, employment agencies, and
schools, may be used to find employees.
• Based on the employment applications
or resumes, the staff of the human
resources department screens out
unqualified candidates.
• The next step is for the human resources
department and/or the supervisor to interview
candidates.
– The organization may also administer employment
tests to determine the suitability of the candidate.
– For candidates the organization is still interested
in, background and reference checks are
conducted.
– The supervisor makes a selection decision, after
which the candidate may take a physical
examination.
• The interview is an important part of the
selection process.
– It is where the supervisor has a chance to
obtain additional information to determine if
the candidate will meet the qualifications of
the job.
– It is also an opportunity for the candidate to
find out more about the organization.
• The supervisor must be knowledgeable about
the law and what questions cannot be asked
in the interview process.
– There are antidiscrimination laws that require
organizations to avoid asking for certain
information.
– The organization, including the supervisor, must
avoid actions that discriminate on the basis of
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and
physical or mental disability, including pregnancyrelated disabilities.
– These laws apply to recruiting, hiring, paying,
firing, and laying off employees and to any other
employment practices.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits
discrimination on the basis of mental or
physical disability against people who can
perform the essential functions of a job.
– Supervisors should avoid asking about disabilities
and the candidate’s health history.
• Employers must make accommodations handicapped
employees if necessary and if it is readily achievable.
• To comply with the law, supervisors should review and
revise job descriptions to make sure they indicate what
functions of the job are essential.
Common Roles for Supervisors
in the Selection Process
• The supervisor’s role in the selection
process can vary greatly from one
organization to another.
– In a small office or business, the supervisor
may have great latitude in selecting
employees to fill vacant positions.
– Larger organizations have formal
procedures requiring the human resources
department to do most of the work.
Job Descriptions and Job
Specifications
• Job Description: A listing of the characteristics of the job, including the
– title,
– duties involved, and
– working conditions.
• Job Specification: A listing of the
characteristics desirable in the person
performing the job such as
– educational and work background,
– physical characteristics, and
– personal strengths.
• To select the right employees, the
supervisor and the human resources
department have to be clear about what
jobs need to be filled and what kind of
people can best fill those jobs.
• The supervisor’s role in the selection
process will vary, depending on the
organization.
– Supervisors may complete most of the
hiring procedure, or they may have one or
more qualified applicants sent to them from
the human resources department for final
approval.
• The supervisor’s organization may or
may not have adequate job
descriptions, and job specifications.
– The task of creating or modifying job
descriptions and job specifications may be
the responsibility of the supervisor.
– Because supervisors are closer to the
positions in their area of control, they are in
a good position to evaluate job and
personnel requirements.
Possible Sources of Employees
• Recruitment: Involves identifying
persons who are interested in holding a
particular job or working for the
organization.
• Finding new employees may be as simple
and informal as asking present employees if
they know anyone who is looking for a job.
• On the other hand, an organization may go
through a national search utilizing agencies
that specialize in finding specific types of
personnel.
• Company policy will likely dictate the type of
search required to meet company goals and
applicable regulations such as those related
to fair employment opportunities for specific
classifications of people.
– Some organizations prefer hiring
• family members of present employees,
• people who are known and know the present employees,
• or local folks.
– Other organizations specifically
• refrain from hiring new personnel with close ties to
present members, or
• prefer to draw new employees from a broad geographic
area.
• As a matter of policy, some companies
provide opportunities for advancement or
lateral movement within the company as the
preferred way of filling vacancies.
– This method may have a positive effect on
employee morale.
– Selecting internal personnel for a position may
reduce the training and skill mastery time.
– On the other hand, these organizations may forfeit
an opportunity for bringing in fresh ideas.
• Supervisors’ role in the internal
recruitment process is to keep upper
management and the human resources
department informed about the skills
and ability of their employees.
– They can also recommend an employee in
their department when a job is posted.
• A wide search for employees will likely
increase the cost of hiring.
– When potential employees are recruited
from outside the local area, companies
often pay for part or all of the costs
incurred by the potential employee.
• Advertising in newspapers is a common
way of letting the general public know
about job openings.
• Placing an advertisement in association
journals and magazines will target a
specific audience.
– This will limit the type of candidates to a
specific background or interest in the
relevant field.
• Employment agencies seek to match
applicants with job requirements.
– These agencies can be government run,
such as state employment (unemployment)
offices, or privately owned agencies.
• There may be a charge for a private agency.
• If a specific requirement for a job is
gained through formal education, an
organization may contact a university,
college, or technical school for
applicants.
Steps in the Selection Process
• Typically, there are many more
candidates than are needed to fill the
organization’s vacant positions.
– Most organizations have a formal
procedure to select the best candidate for
its purposes
• Candidates for a job respond to
recruitment by filling out an employment
application or sending in a resume.
– These are reviewed to screen out
candidates who are unqualified or who are
less qualified than others.
– The pool of applicants may be narrowed
down through various tests;
• for example, if math skills are identified, a math
test may be given.
• A relatively small number of applicants
are selected for personal interviews for
the job by the human resources
department and/or ther supervisor.
Interviewing Candidates for a Job
• Structured Interview: An interview based on
specific questions determined before the
interview.
– The same questions are covered with each
candidate.
• Unstructured Interview: There is no specific
list of questions to direct the interview.
– The questions are directed by responses to
previous questions.
– This type of interview allows for more flexibility.
• Open-ended Question: A question that gives
the person responding broad control over the
response.
– This type of question can be asked as a single
question, for example,
• List for me all of the associations you belong to.
– It may also be used as a follow-up question to a
yes or no question, for example,
• “Did you attend classes that included the legal
requirements of the human resources department?”
– “Yes.”
• “What were the classes, and what topics were covered?”
• Closed-ended Question: A question
that requires a simple answer such as
yes or no.
– Closed-ended questions also include those
that are answered by a number, such as
the number of years at one job.
– Closed-ended questions are easy to
answer and easy to use for comparisons.
• However, in really getting to know the
candidate for a job, they limit the depth of
information that can be obtained.
• Halo Effect: The practice of forming an
overall opinion on the basis of one
outstanding characteristic.
– An example of this effect is if the person
has been a winner in debating, he or she
must have other excellent skills that are not
related to debating.
• When the human resources department has
narrowed down the list of candidates to a few
people, the next step is to interview them.
– Objectives of interviewing include narrowing the
search for an employee by
• assessing each candidate’s interpersonal and
communication skills,
• seeing whether the supervisor and employee are
comfortable with one another, and
• learning details about information of the application or
resume.
– The candidate also has an opportunity to learn
about the organization.
• To prepare for the interview, the
interviewer
– should review the job description,
– develop a realistic way to describe the job
to candidates, and
– review the applicant’s resume or job
application.
• Questions should be developed to expand the
amount of information included in these
documents
• Most job candidates feel at least a little
bit nervous, making it difficult to tell
what the person would be like on the
job.
– Put the candidate at ease by using a
comfortable setting with privacy.
– Offer the candidate a cup of coffee and
take a few minutes to talk about noncontroversial subjects such as the weather.
• The interview should determine the
suitability of the candidate for the
position.
– It is also an opportunity to let the candidate
find out about the company.
• In addition to the description given by the
interviewer, the candidate should be given an
opportunity to ask questions.
• The interview should close by telling the
candidate what to expect, such as a
phone call in a week or a letter by the
end of the month.
• As soon as the candidate has left, jot
down notes of his or her impression.
Types of Employment Tests
• Aptitude Test: A test that measures a
person’s ability to learn skills related to
the job.
• Proficiency Test: A test that measures
whether the person has the skills
needed to perform a job.
• Psychomotor Test: A test that
measures a person’s strength, dexterity,
and coordination.
• There are many types of proficiency
tests.
– They may test motor and cognitive skills.
– The distinguishing characteristic of these
tests is that they measure skills.
• Examples of these types of test are math,
typing, and reading.
• Information about applicants’ background can
be obtained from resumes and applications.
– However, it is necessary to match specific
required skills with actual candidates.
– This is accomplished through testing.
• For example, if manual dexterity is a requirement of the
job, there are tests that screen specifically for this skill.
• If the job requires a certain level of math skills, there are
tests that indicate the applicant’s level of math
proficiency.
• The types of test include
– ability to learn or aptitude tests,
– specific skills tests such as typing tests,
physical skills, and
– personality types.
• In addition, many companies use drug
screening tests for all applicants
selected in the final pool of potential
employees.
Antidiscrimination Laws
• Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission: The federal government
agency charged with enforcing the Civil
Rights Act.
• Affirmative Action: Plans designed to
increase opportunities for groups that
have traditionally been discriminated
against.
• Congress has passed laws that restrict
employment decisions.
– These laws are designed to give people
fair and equal access to jobs based on
their skills, rather than on such personal
traits as race or physical disabilities.
• Some of the laws listed in the text include:
– a. The Civil Rights Act forbids employment discrimination on
the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in
recruiting, hiring, paying, firing, or laying off employees, or in
any other employment practices.
• It is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.
– b. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 makes it illegal to refuse a
job to a disabled person if the person’s disability does not
interfere with his or her ability to do the job.
– c. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 makes it
unlawful to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth,
or related medical conditions.
• See text Figure 17.5, which summarizes
the categories of workers protected by
the antidiscrimination laws.
• Many organizations have established
affirmative-action programs that move
beyond simply obeying antidiscrimination laws.
– Affirmative action is an active attempt to
promote diversity in the organization.
Hiring Decisions Affected by the
Americans with Disabilities Act
• In 1990, Congress passed the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
– This law prohibits employers from
discriminating on the basis of mental or
physical disability in hiring and promotion.
– Organizations must also avoid discrimination in
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public accommodations,
transportation,
government services, and
telecommunications.
• Employers must make accommodations
for handicapped employees if the
necessary accommodations are “readily
achievable.”
– that is, easy to carry out and possible to
accomplish without much difficulty or
expense.
• This law extends beyond wheelchair
accessibility to require accommodations for a
variety of disabilities including impaired sight or
hearing.
• The four most common disabilities are
– arthritis,
– high blood pressure,
– hearing impairment, and
– heart disease.
• Supervisors can take several steps to comply
with ADA.
– One is to review and revise job descriptions.
• Job descriptions should focus on the results the
employee must achieve, rather than the process of
achieving those results.
• When interviewing candidates, the supervisor should be
careful not to ask whether they have a physical of mental
condition that would prevent them from performing the
job.
– Rather, after making a job offer, the organization will seek
to accommodate any impairment the person may have.