Mgmt440 t06 Selection Methods

8/2/2019 Mgmt440 t06 Selection Methods

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Paul L. Schumann, Ph.D.

Professor of Management

MGMT 440: Human Resource Management

1 2008 by Paul L. Schumann. All rights reserved.


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Outline Quick Review of Selection Theory Selection Methods

Application Blanks & Rsums Employment Interviews Reference Checks Medical Examinations Drug Tests Credit Reports Work Sample Tests Trainability Tests Assessment Centers Personality Inventories

Honesty & Integrity Tests Cognitive Ability Tests Other Ability Tests Biodata Questionnaires Experience & Accomplishments Questionnaires

Criteria for Choosing Selection Methods

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Selection Process

Step 1 - Measurement: Measure each applicantsqualifications using the selection methods

Step 2 - Decision Making: Use the qualifications to predictjob performance to decide which applicant to hire

Step 3 - Evaluation: Evaluate the selection processSource of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2006), Figure 7.1, p. 283

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Selection Process Selection methods measure the applicants qualifications

for the job We use the selection methods to predict the job performance

of each applicant For each selection method (know for quiz):

Describe the selection method

Rate the validity of the selection method how well does theselection method predict job performance: Poor:validity coefficient = r .00

Moderate:validity coefficient = r .25

Good:validity coefficient = r .50

Great:validity coefficient = r .75

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Taylor-Russell Table Get better hires by:

Increasing theBase Rate ofSuccess (BRS) byeffectiverecruiting

Increasingvalidity (r) byusing selectionmethods withgood (.50) orgreat (.75)

validity Decreasing the

Selection Ratio(SR) by raisingthe selection cut-off score

Source of table: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, &Shaw (2006), Table 7.2, p. 307.

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ModeratePoor

Good

Great

Poor

Poor

Moderate

Moderate

Good

Good

Great

Great


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Rsums & Application Blanks Purpose: collect basic factual information about the

applicant

Name, address, phone, e-mail, education, work history,training, skills, accomplishments, etc.

Use: screen out applicants who dont meet the jobsminimum qualifications in terms of education, work

experience, etc.Validity as typically used: poor (typically r < .20)

Why? Lack of agreement on what to look for

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Rsums & Application Blanks Solution to poor validity: be structured in how you evaluate

the rsums or application blanks

Use a numerical scoring system to evaluate the rsums

Define in advance of evaluating the rsums what keywords areassociated with each of the jobs essential qualifications

Example: What words on a rsum indicate a college degree?

Develop a rating system to numerically rate the keywords

Example: How many points out of 100 is a college degree worth?

Example: Does it matter which university? MSU vs. UofM?

Conduct a validity study of the rating system (concurrent?)

If valid, use it; otherwise, revise it

Validity: good (typically r .50) if properly done

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Rsums & Application Blanks By switching from the typical

unstructured rsum evaluation to astructured rsum evaluation, weincrease the validity of ourevaluation of applicants rsumsfrom poor (.00) to good (.50)

Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2006),Figure 8.2, p. 324: describes thesteps in constructing a WeightedApplication Blank (WAB)

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Employment Interviews Validity as typically done: poor (r < .20)

Why? Typical interviews are unstructured

Types of Interviews (Degree of Interview Structure) Unstructured: few (if any) pre-planned questions; commonly

used; poor validity (so dont use this type of interview)

Semi-structured: some pre-planned questions, but with lots offlexibility to pursue lots of follow-up questions; moderate

validity (dont use it because we can do better)

Structured: all questions are pre-planned; every applicant getsthe same questions; some limited follow-up questionsallowed; answers evaluated by numeric rating scales; good

validity (this type of interview is a key to good hires)

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Employment Interviews Types of Structured Interviews

Patterned Interview: ask about education, workexperiences, career goals, etc. Example questions:

Why did you pick your major?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

What do you plan on doing 5 years from now?

Validity: moderate (we can do better than this) Having an interview script helps validity

Every applicant gets exactly the same questions

But the typical questions may not be all that helpful

Whats a good answer to Why did you pick your major?

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Employment Interviews Types of Structured Interviews (more)

Situational Interview 3 types of questions:

Hypothetical: questions that describe a situation and ask what theapplicant would do in that situation

Job-Knowledge: questions that ask applicants to define job-related terms, or explain a procedure, or demonstrate a skill

Job Requirements: questions that ask applicants about theirwillingness to comply with job requirements (e.g., travel, shift-work, etc.)

Each question has a scoring system to rate the applicants answers onnumerical rating scales

To improve validity, use a panel of interviewers to evaluate eachapplicants interview

Validity: good (we might be able to do better than this)

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Behavioral Interview (Behavior Description Interview)

Questions ask applicants for specific examples from their past

experiences of specific job-related issues Commonly used question format: Tell me about a time when .

Examples:

For a sales position: Tell me about your most difficult recent sale.What did you do? What happened?

If team leadership is essential to the job: Tell me about a time whenyou were the leader of a team. What did you do? What happened?

If providing effective performance feedback is essential to the job:Tell me about a time when you had to talk with a person abouttheir poor performance. What did you do? What happened?

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Behavioral Interview (more) Each question has a scoring system to rate the applicants

answers on numerical rating scales Use rubrics: For each question, write an example of what

would be the:

Best answer (e.g., best answer = 5 points)

Good answer (e.g., good answer = 3 points)

Bad answer (e.g., bad answer = 1 point) To improve validity, use a panel of interviewers to evaluate

each applicants interview

Validity: good to great (r > .60, if properly done); this isusually our best choice of interview formats

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Employment Interviews By switching from the typical

unstructured interview to a highlystructured behavioral interview, we

increase the validity of the interviewfrom poor (.00) to good (.50) or evengreat (.75)

If properly done (thats the catch), this

can be one of our best selection tools But if we conduct the usual

unstructured interview, its little betterthan pulling names out of a hat

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Reference ChecksYou should always carefully check the references of the

finalists for the job before making a job offer

Include the applicants former supervisors

Validity: moderate (r .25), but do careful andthorough reference checks anyway to reduce chancesof lawsuits for:

Negligent hiring: organization can have legal liability if itfailed to check references and it hires a person with ahistory of workplace violence who then repeats the

workplace violence

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Reference Checks But, some managers are reluctant to provide negative

information about a former employee in a referencecheck

They may only want to provide limited information suchas the dates of employment and job title of the formeremployee

Why? They think that by giving only the limited information

that they can avoid lawsuits for: Defamation of character: if you provide negative information

about your former employee, he or she might sue you

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Reference Checks But the former employee might still sue for defamation

by arguing that limited information is negativeinformation

And only providing limited information about a formeremployee in a reference check also runs a risk of alawsuit for:

Negligent misrepresentation (negligent referral): if you fail to

provide accurate and relevant negative information about aformer employee in a reference check, the former employeesnew employer might sue you for not being truthful about yourformer employee, especially if the employee was violent

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Reference Checks Some states have passed laws designed to protect

employers from defamation of character lawsuits whenthey give reference information

Example: Minnesota Statue 181.967 on EmploymentReferences (effective 8/1/04) https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=181.967

My recommendations: Always do careful reference checks when hiring

When you (as a manager) get called about a reference checkconcerning a former employee: Follow the organizations policies on providing reference information

Provide accurate information that you can document

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https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=181.967https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=181.967


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Medical Examinations A medical doctor performs a medical exam of the applicant

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): only use a medicalexam aftermaking a job offer that is conditional on passing

the medical exam; can use results of the medical exam to: Revoke the conditional job offer if the applicant is found to be

physically unable to perform essential job duties with reasonableaccommodations

Assign applicants to jobs (e.g., bronchitis)

Prevent the spread of contagious diseases

Document pre-existing injuries & illnesses to prevent fraudulentinsurance claims

Validity: poor (with overall job performance), but still mightbe used for the above reasons or for drug tests

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Drug Tests Used in the following situations:

Part of the pre-employment medical exam

Part of an investigation of current employees

Random drug tests of current employees

Caution: Even very reliable drug tests can have asurprising high false accusation rate Why? Most people are innocent, and a small error rate

applied to lots of innocent people can generate lots offalse accusations So, consider re-testing those who test positive before taking

action against them (especially for current employees)

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Credit Reports Fair Credit Reporting Act:

Credit reports can be used as a selection method, but only ifthe following conditions are satisfied: Applicant has been notified in a clear and conspicuous written

disclosure Applicant gives written authorization Information is not used in violation of employment discrimination

laws Monitor for adverse impact discrimination Be ready to demonstrate job-relatedness or business necessity

Example: position involves the handling of money

My advice to job seekers: Check your 3 credit reports beforeyou begin looking for a job and correct any errors: https://www.annualcreditreport.com

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https://www.annualcreditreport.com/https://www.annualcreditreport.com/


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Work Sample Tests In a standardized format, have applicants perform the

tasks required by the job (all or some)

Examples:

For a sales job, have applicants make a simulated sales pitch

For a construction job, have applicants interpret blueprints

For a teaching job, have applicants teach a class

For a secretarial job, have applicants type letters, reports, etc.

Validity: typically good (r .50 [.45 or .54])

Assuming, of course, that the work sample correctlycaptures the jobs essential tasks

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Trainability Tests Typically used for semi-skilled jobs when the applicant

is not expected to know the skills involved in the job

Applicant is instructed how to perform the tasks

Applicant performs the tasks once or twice withcoaching

Applicant then performs the tasks without coaching

Applicant is observed and performance is evaluated for errors

Validity: typically moderate

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Assessment CentersWork sample test for manager positions

Measure: leadership, communication, decisiveness,organizing & planning, etc.

Examples of assessment techniques: In-basket exercises

Leaderless group discussions

Oral presentations

Role-playing exercises Applicants are observed & evaluated by multiple trained

observers

Validity: good, but expensive

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Personality Inventories Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Validity: poor for selection purposes

Might be okay, if carefully used, to help a team work bettertogether

Many psychologists who study personality today prefer adifferent measure of personality than the MBTI:

Big 5 Dimensions of Personality

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Personality Inventories The Big 5 Personality Dimensions: OCEAN

Openness: curious, imaginative, variety of experiences

Conscientiousness: prudent, organized, thoughtful

Extraversion: sociable, outgoing

Agreeableness: cooperative, sympathetic, kind

Neuroticism: easy to anger, anxiety, depression

Sometimes reverse-scored to get opposite of neuroticism: Adjustment: stable, calm, stress-tolerant

Example questions for each dimension:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traitshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits


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Personality Inventories The Big 5 Personality Dimensions (more)

Example: California Personality Inventory (CPI) from CPP(formerly known as Consulting Psychologists Press)

Validity: typically moderate for selection (r .25 withmeasures of overall job performance) But, validity of the Big 5 is hard to generalize

Some dimensions of personality may correlate more strongly withparticular aspects of particular jobs

Extraversion: success in sales

Low agreeableness, low conscientiousness, & low adjustment(high neuroticism): more likely to engage in counterproductive

work behaviors (e.g., break rules, abuse sick leave, drug abuse,workplace violence, etc.)

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Personality Inventories Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Designed to diagnose mental health issues

MMPI-2 has almost 600 questions (true/false/cant say)

I am good at meeting other people

Sometimes evil spirits control my actions

Dimensions (scales) include: Hypochondriasis, Depression,Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Masculinity-Femininity,

Paranoia, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Hypomania, & SocialIntroversion

Controversial to use for selection purposes

Validity for selection purposes is hard to summarize

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Honesty & Integrity Tests Employee Polygraph Act (1988) prohibits (with some

exceptions) the use of polygraph tests of applicants oremployees

Polygraphs of applicants were then replaced by paper-and-pencil honesty & integrity tests

2 types of paper-and-pencil integrity tests:

Overt integrity tests

Personality-oriented integrity tests

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Honesty & Integrity Tests Overt integrity tests: measures attitudes about

dishonest behavior

Example: Everyone will steal if given the chance

Tools:

Pearson Reid London House:

Personnel Selection Inventory

Reid Report Assessment

Secure Point:

Stanton Survey

Validity: good (r .55)

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Honesty & Integrity Tests Personality-oriented integrity tests: measures

personality traits associated with integrity:dependability & conscientiousness

Tools (usually based on the CPI):

Hogan Assessments: Hogan Personality Inventory has aOrganizational Delinquency scale

Personnel Decisions International (PDI): PDI Employment

Inventory has an Employee Deviance scale CPP: Personnel Reaction Blank has a Wayward Impulse

scale

Validity: moderate (r .27)

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Cognitive Ability TestsAlso called mental ability tests or intelligence tests

Tools: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (full)

Wonderlic Personnel Test (quick: 12 minutes)

Validity: good to great (typically r > .40, e.g., r .51,some as high as .80) Furthermore, the good-to-great validity can be

generalized across a wide variety of jobs Problem: adverse impact

So, debate about their use: they work, but you riskadverse impact discrimination

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Other Ability Tests There are lots of tests of a variety of abilities

Examples:

Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test: test of mechanical

abilities

Wonderlic Basic Skills Test: test of basic verbal & math skills

HAY Aptitude Test Battery: test of speed & accuracy withalphanumeric data

Validity: typically good, if the tested ability is reallyjob-relevant

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Biodata Questionnaires Standardized questionnaire about an applicants life

experiences

Example questions:

Did you ever build a model airplane that flew?

When you were a child, did you collect stamps?

Do you ever repair mechanical things in your home?

Answers are scored using a scoring key

Validity: moderate (r .30 or .35)

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Experience & Accomplishments

Questionnaires Questionnaire focuses on an applicants job-related

experiences & accomplishments To make the questions job-related, the questionnaire is

usually customized to fit job categories Example: For an Information Systems Analyst position:

Describe the types of IT systems problems you haveencountered

Describe the types of manual processes you have studied to

develop automation recommendations Describe your experiences in testing hardware, software, or

systems

Validity: moderate (typically content validity)

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Criteria for Choosing Selection

Methods Validity: how well does it predict job performance?

Utility: factors to consider in addition to validity:

Cost, base rate of success, standard deviation ofperformance (in dollars), & selection ratio

Legality & likelihood of legal challenge

Acceptability to managers

Applicant reactions Societal impact

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Taylor-Russell Table Get better hires by: Increasing the

Base Rate ofSuccess (BRS) byeffectiverecruiting

Increasingvalidity (r) byusing selectionmethods withgood (.50) orgreat (.75)

validity Decreasing the

Selection Ratio(SR) by raisingthe selection cut-off score

Source of table: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, &Shaw (2006), Table 7.2, p. 307.

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Summary & My Advice Core selection procedures almost always use: Structured rsum evaluation or weighted application blank (good

validity) Structured behavioral interview (good to great validity)

Reference checks (moderate validity, but do it to avoid negligent hiring) Consider adding:

Work sample test (good validity) Cognitive ability test (good to great validity, but monitor for adverse

impact discrimination) For some jobs, consider adding:

Medical exam with drug test (poor validity for predicting jobperformance, but might be useful for other reasons)

Overt integrity test (good validity) Other selection methods as appropriate

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Outline Quick Review of Selection Theory Selection Methods

Application Blanks & Rsums Employment Interviews Reference Checks

Medical Examinations Drug Tests Credit Reports Work Sample Tests Trainability Tests Assessment Centers Personality Inventories

Honesty & Integrity Tests Cognitive Ability Tests Other Ability Tests Biodata Questionnaires Experience & Accomplishments Questionnaires

Criteria for Choosing Selection Methods

Documents

Mgmt440 t06 Selection Methods