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Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.Publishing as Prentice Hall 4- 1
A Framework for Human Resource
Management,
5th ed.
Gary Dessler
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Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.Publishing as Prentice Hall 4- 2
Testing and Selecting Employees
Ch 4
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When you finish studying this chapter,you should be able to:
Define basic testing concepts, including validityand reliability.
Discuss at least four basic types of personnel
tests.
Explain the pros and cons of background
investigations, reference checks, and
preemployment information services.
Explain the factors and problems that canundermine an interviews usefulness, and
techniques for eliminating them.
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Why Is Selection Important?
1. A managers performance alwaysdepends on subordinates
2. Its costly to recruit and hire employees
3. The legal implications of incompetentselection negligent hiring
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Reliability
Reliability- consistency of scores obtained by the same
person when retested with the identical tests
or with an equivalent form of a test- equivalent-form estimate
- internal comparison estimate
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Validity
Validity- a test should be job related
- performance on a test should be a valid
predictor of subsequent performance on thejob
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Thematic Apperception Test
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Validity
Criterion validity- those who do well on the test also do well on
the job, and those who do poorly on the test
do poorly on the job Content validity
- the test constitutes a fair sample of the
content of a job
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Ethical and Legal Questions in Testing
1. You must be able to prove that your testswere related to success or failure on the
job.
2. You must prove that your tests dontunfairly discriminate against either
minority or nonminority subgroups.
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Ethical and Legal Questions in Testing
Adverse impact- there is a significant discrepancy between
rates of rejection of members of the protected
groups and others
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Using Tests at Work
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Using Tests at Work
Outback is looking for employees who arehighly social, meticulous, sympathetic, and
adaptable.
They use a special personalityassessment test as part of a three-step
preemployment interview process.
The company compares the candidatestest results to the profile for Outback
Steakhouse employees.
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Tests of Cognitive Abilities
Intelligence tests (IQ tests)- tests of general intellectual abilities including
memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, and
numeric ability
www.wonderlic.com
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Tests of Motor and Physical Abilities
Measure finger dexterity, strength, manualdexterity, and reaction time
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Personality Tests
Emphasize the big five personalitydimensions as they apply to personnel
testing
Extroversion, Emotional stability,Agreeableness, Conscientiousness,
Openness to experience
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Personality Tests
Conscientiousness shows a consistentrelationship with all job performance
criteria
Extroversion is a valid predictor ofperformance for managers and sales
employees
Openness to experience and extroversionpredicted training proficiency for all
occupations
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Using Tests at Work
Interest inventoriescompare onesinterests with those of people in various
occupations
Achievement Tests are a measure of
what a person has learned
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Management Assessment Centers
Management assessment centers- Management candidates take tests and make
decisions in simulated situations
- involves 10 to 12 management candidatesperforming realistic management tasks underthe observation of expert assessors over 2 to3 days
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Management Assessment Centers (cont.)
The in-basket- the candidate is faced with an accumulation of
reports, memos, notes of incoming phone
calls, letters, and other materials
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Management Assessment Centers (cont.)
The leaderless group discussion- a leaderless group is given a discussion
question and told to arrive at a group decision
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Management Assessment Centers (cont.)
Individual presentations- a participants communication skills and
persuasiveness are evaluated by having the
person make an oral presentation on anassigned topic
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Testing on the Web
Financial firm CapitalOnes new onlinesystem eliminates the previous time-
consuming paper-and-pencil test process.
Applicants for call center jobs complete anonline application and online math and
biodata tests.
They also take an online role-playing callsimulation.
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Selection Interview
Selection interview- selection procedure designed to predict future
job performance on the basis of applicants
oral responses to oral inquiries
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Selection Interview
Non-structured- interviewer asks questions as they come to
mind
- no set format to follow
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Selection Interview
Structured- questions are specified in advance and the
responses may be rated for appropriateness
of content
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Types of Questions
Situational interviews- questions focus on the candidates ability to
project what his behavior would be in a given
situation
Behavioral interviews
- applicants asked how they behaved in the
past in some situation
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Behavioral Interviews
When Citizens Banking Corporation inFlint, Michigan, found that 31 of the 50
people in its call center quit in 1 year,
Cynthia Wilson, the centers head,switched to behavioral interviews.
Wilson says this makes it much harder to
fool the interviewer, and, indeed, only fourpeople left her center in the following year.
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Types of Questions
Sequential interview- several people interview the applicant in
sequence before a selection decision is made
Panel interview- candidate is interviewed simultaneously by a
group (or panel) of interviewers
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How Useful Are Interviews?
Structured interviews are generally morevalid
Can also help inexperienced interviewersto conduct useful interviews
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Common Interviewing Mistakes
Snap judgments Negative emphasis
Not knowing the job
Pressure to hire Candidate order (contrast) error
Influence of nonverbal behavior
Attractiveness Race
Ingratiation
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Guidelines for Conducting an Interview
Plan the Interview Start the interview with a clear picture of
the traits of an ideal candidate
Guidelines for Conducting an Interview
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Guidelines for Conducting an Interview(cont.)
Structure the interview Assures greater consistency, but helps to
make sure that you are asking questions
that provide real insight into how theperson will perform on the job
Increase the Standardization of the
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Increase the Standardization of theInterview
Base questions on actual job duties Use job knowledge, situational, or
behaviorally oriented questions and
objective criteria Train interviewers
Increase the Standardization of the
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Increase the Standardization of theInterview
Use the same questions with allcandidates
Use rating scales to rate answers
Use multiple interviewers or panelinterviews
Take brief notes during the interview
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Guidelines for Conducting an Interview
Establish rapport Ask questions
Make it clear youre going to conduct
reference checks Close the interview
Leave time to answer any questions from
the candidate
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Dos and Donts of Interview Questions
Dont ask questions that can be answeredyes or no
Dont put words in the applicants mouth or
telegraph the desired answer Dont interrogate the applicant as if the
person is a criminal, and dont be
patronizing, sarcastic, or inattentive
Dos and Donts of Interview Questions
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Do s and Don ts of Interview Questions(cont.)
Dont monopolize the interview byrambling
Do ask open-ended questions
Do listen to the candidate to encouragehim or her to express thoughts fully
Dos and Donts of Interview Questions
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Do draw out the applicants opinions andfeelings by repeating the persons lastcomment as a question
Do ask for examples
Do s and Don ts of Interview Questions(cont.)
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Reasons for Verifying Backgrounds
To verify the accuracy of factualinformation provided by the applicant
To uncover damaging background
information such as criminal records andsuspended drivers licenses
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Checking Social Networking Sites
More employers are checking candidatessocial networking sites postings
Recruiters found that 31% of applicantshad lied about their qualifications and 19%
had posted information about their drinking
or drug use
Making Reference Checks More
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Making Reference Checks MoreProductive
Use a structured form Use the references offered by the
applicant as merely a source for other
references Ask open-ended questions
Companies fielding requests for
references should ensure that onlyauthorized managers give them
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Honesty Testing
Polygraph tests Paper-and-pencil honesty tests
Graphology
Physical exams
Drug screening
C l i i h h I i i L
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Complying with the Immigration Law
Person does not have to be a U.S. citizen Employer should ask if candidate is
lawfully authorized to work in the United
States
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