Literature Review of Research on Hiring and Selection
in Governments, Nursing, Allied Clinical Fields,
and the Technology Sector
Introduction
I
n order to gain a deeper understanding of the state of hiring and selection across a broad
range of disciplines, as well as to highlight emerging trends and best practices, this paper
highlights recent research regarding processes used in state, federal, and international
government agencies;
nursing; allied clinical fields;
and the technology sector.
The use of electronic
resources, testing, simulation,
structured interviews, and
unconventional hiring and
selection practices will also
be addressed.
Government Hiring and
Selection Processes
Within the
government sector, farreaching changes have
occurred in the last few
decades to modernize hiring
and selection processes,
eliminate slow bureaucratic
processes, and attract and identify the most talented workers. While implementation of new
practices varies across levels and locales of government, some trends and emerging best
practices can be identified.
State Government Trends in Hiring and Selection
Nationwide survey data of states’ human resources practices, including staff selection,
were analyzed (Selden, Ingraham, & Jacobson, 2001). This analysis showed a trend towards
decentralized human resources systems, where local agencies were charged with the majority of
responsibility in hiring for their positions and state human resource systems were used more
often simply on a consultative basis. Other trends included the reformed use of hiring lists in
order to give more discretion to managers about whom to interview and make offers to. For
example, several states moved from models using the “rule of three,” where only the top three
applicants (based on their scoring system) could be interviewed, to models scoring applicants in
groupings and allowing managers to choose interviewees from a wider band of qualified
applicants (Selden, Ingraham, & Jacobson, 2001). Many states also implemented systems to
reduce wait time for applicants and make it easier for them to apply for multiple positions at
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once. Other states also began to offer walk-in testing so that applicants could take the appropriate
test at the time of application. Some states also authorized the use of signing bonuses to help fill
hard-to-recruit positions (Selden, Ingraham, & Jacobson, 2001).
Structured interviews have been shown to be more reliable in predicting which applicants
will do well in a position (Mitchell et al, 2013), so some state governments have shifted to the
use of trained interviewers and patterned interview formats in which all applicants are asked the
same questions (Selden, Ingraham, & Jacobson, 2001). Some research shows that such structured
interviews should contain three characteristics to be most effective: job-relatedness, structured
questions, and structured scoring (Reed, Hirst, & Howard, 2013).
International Government Trends in Hiring and Selection
An international perspective on emerging and best practice in recruitment and selection
of government employees shows similar patterns as in U.S. state government. Emerging
approaches include simplification of the (notoriously onerous) government job application
process, like the above-mentioned elimination of rules that
restrict the number of candidates that can be considered for
a position (Lavigna & Hays, 2004). These rules, such as the Internationally emerging and
“rule of three,” have not been shown to enhance the quality
best practice in recruitment
of applicants selected and, instead, serve to limit an
and selection of government
agency’s ability to choose the candidate who is the best fit
employees are similar to those
for the position. Many locations have eliminated such rules
in the U.S. These include
or moved to more expansive processes like the “rule of
simplification of the
20”(Lavigna & Hays, 2004). Simplification of the
application and hiring processes also includes elimination
application and hiring
of arbitrary posting timelines, where positions must be
processes, flexibility in the time
posted for prescribed amounts of time before an offer can
and locations of prebe made, often leading to discouragement of candidates or
well-qualified applicants finding positions elsewhere before employment/application tests,
and decentralization to speed
the government can make offers (Ito, 2002).
up the hiring process to be
As has been implemented in many states,
international governments are also creating more flexibility more responsive to an agency’s
in the time and locations of pre-employment/application
individual needs and culture.
tests. In regards to testing, many governments
internationally are moving towards validated tests and abandoning often-used tests that are not
empirically validated. Performance-based tests are now being used instead in many locations
(Lavigna & Hays, 2004) (see Nursing and Allied clinical sections for more information on
testing).
Decentralization (where more responsibility for hiring is given to managers, and less to
centralized government human resources departments) is falling into favor abroad as well, in
order to speed up the hiring process and provide hiring that is more responsive to an agency’s
individual needs and culture (Lavigna & Hays, 2004).
Use of Electronic Systems in Government Hiring and Selection
To increase efficiency of hiring and accessibility of applications to prospective
employees, the use of electronic applications systems is rapidly replacing other, more traditional
application processes in state government hiring and selection (Selden, Ingraham, & Jacobson,
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2001). All 50 states have some sort of e-recruitment effort, or web-based recruitment, screening,
and application (Selden & Orenstein, 2011). Seldon and Orenstein (2011) suggest that these
systems should be evaluated from the user’s perspective in order to create a simple, user-friendly
portal, rather than be seen as a means to collect applications, the reason for which they were
initially built. Put simply, they should be used as recruitment tools. In order to assess usability
for recruitment, websites should be assessed based on form, content, and function (Cober,
Brown, & Levy, 2004).
Allied Clinical Hiring and Selection Processes
Performance-Based Testing
Some clinical fields, such as clinical work with individuals with disabilities, have begun
to adopt and adapt hiring and selection procedures from other fields like business (Reed, Hirst, &
Howard, 2013). One strategy that has shown promise in predicting future job performance is
work sampling. Although work sampling can be costly, many employers have found it to be
worthwhile because of its relatively high predictive validity (Roth, Bobko, McFarland, 2005).
Like other forms of performance-based testing, work
sampling involves the development of tasks that relate to a
specific job, wherein applicants perform the work samples
Some clinical fields have begun
and are scored based on the skills applied to the job. This is
to adopt and adapt hiring and
related to the assessment center (AC) approach, which
provides work environment/job simulation tests, or a
selection procedures from
“tryout” for applicants (more on ACs in the Nursing
other fields like business. These
section). Role-playing can offer a more accessible, ethical
include work sampling, which
approach to these types of tests that do not involve heavy
involves the development of
investment, nor vulnerable clients. Situational judgment
tasks that relate to a specific
tests (SJT) can be similarly used to assess applicants; these
job that applicants perform
provide applicants with a scenario and ask them to describe
what action they would take and why (Reed, Hirst, &
and are scored on, and the
Howard, 2013).
assessment center (AC)
With multiple, related approaches available, researchers
approach, which provides work
have compared the validity of various tests frequently used
environment/job simulation
in clinical and other hiring and screening. In comparing the
tests, and role-playing and
ACs, SJTs, and knowledge tests in a sample of nearly 200,
researchers found incremental validity of SJTs over
situational judgment tests
knowledge tests, and incremental validity of ACs over SJTs
(SJT), both of which can be
(Lievens & Patterson, 2011).
used to assess applicants.
Objective Structured Clinical Examinations
(OSCE), another testing method used in evaluating nurses
and other professionals in educational settings, has been successfully used in recruitment in
some healthcare professions (Patterson et al, 2005; Randall et al, 2006). An ICU unit in an
Australian hospital piloted the use of an OSCE in the selection of nurses for leadership roles
within the ICU (Mitchell et al, 2013). The OSCE, which was a simulation activity, was designed
to mimic a real patient scenario and lasted about 30 minutes. Its format and scoring were
developed using the best-practice guidelines for nursing. In the OSCE, applicants, along with
other clinical staff who were trained to play their role in a consistent way, engaged in a scenario
involving the treatment of an ICU patient who was decompensating. Though it was a small
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sample, results showed little variability between raters’ independent scores, indicating inter-rater
reliability. Additionally, nurses who were selected using the OSCE showed above-average
performance on their six-month evaluations (Mitchell et al, 2013).
Interviews as Marketing Tools in Nursing
Mayer and Carroll (2011) describe the use of the interview as a marketing tool in the
hiring and recruitment of nurses. This strategy was used to fill high-vacancy jobs, and recruit and
hire top-performing nurses, which has ultimately been associated with improved patient
outcomes (Studer, 2003). To accomplish this, the hospital shifted its vision of the interview, from
considering it an opportunity to find the best applicant to an opportunity to convince nurses that
they wanted to work at their hospital. In line with this perspective, they interviewed every nurse
who applied for the positions, rather than only the top candidates. They contacted applicants
within 24 hours of their application to convey their attentiveness and interest. They scheduled
interviews based on the candidate’s first availability, and interviewers rearranged their schedules
to accommodate interviews. The chief nursing officer (CNO) also met with every candidate in
the interview “to communicate respect for the candidate as an individual professional” (Mayer &
Carroll, 2011). Results showed that the nurse vacancy rate decreased considerably over time,
from 22% in 2007 to less than 2% in 2011. Additionally, 80% of those offered positions
accepted, though comparison data from before the intervention was not available (Mayer &
Carroll, 2011).
Technology Industry
The booming tech industry has infamously used unconventional techniques for hiring and
selection of its workers, including non-traditional interviews with creative problem-solving
questions related to superheroes, or group interviews that resemble staff parties (Regan, 2013;
Wadhwa, 2014; Miller, 2014). While these techniques have garnered media attention and shown
the quintessential tech industry shirking of business norms, critics are now arguing that these
strategies have also contributed to inequity in hiring, With the vast underrepresentation of
women and people of color in the industry, especially in leadership positions (Wadhwa, 2014;
Miller, 2014), those hiring practices are being called into question. As of this writing, no
empirical evidence could be located as to the efficacy of unconventional hiring and selection
processes used recently in this industry.
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