Managing People in Organisations Lecture 4 - Selection

Learning Objectives for this Lecture Analyse and evaluate the procedure for the recruitment of new entrants to an organisation Understand and explain the key concepts of reliability and validity in selection Evaluate the most commonly used techniques for making selection decisions

The Concerns of Selection The strategic aim of recruiting people with long term potential for the organisation The desire to avoid hiring employees with inadequate skills or experience and those with undesirable attitudes or behaviours

Criteria for Assessing the Value of Selection Techniques Practicability Sensitivity Reliability Validity Smith (1991)Selection in Organisations in Analysing Organisational Behaviour McMillan

Reliability in Selection The consistency with which a test or other technique provides results Getting the selection method right Validity in Selection Measuring the characteristic which it purports to measure and predicting future behaviour or performance that is required Getting the right selection method

Validity in Selection CONTENT FAITH CRITERION FACE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY RATIONAL E M P I R C A L O T N THEORETICAL VALIDITY CONTENT FAITH FACE CRITERION CONSTRUCT

Research Evidence on Criterion Related Predictive Validity JOB ANALYSIS PREDICTOR SELECTION TECHNIQUES CRITERION WORK PERFORMANCE correlation Validity range Selection methods Rating 0.4 to 0.5+ Work sample tests Ability tests Good to excellent 0.3 to 0.39 Biodata Assessment centres Structured interviews Acceptable Less than 0.3 Personality tests, Unstructured interviews, References, Graphology Poor 0 (pure chance) Astrology Meta analysis

CIPD 2005 Annual Survey Methods Used to Select Applicants (%) Manufacturing and Production Voluntary Not-for-Profit Private Sector Services Public Services Interviews following content of CV and application form 80 56 73 38 Competency based interviews 40 61 59 Structured interviews (panel) 45 84 87 Tests for specific skills 39 65 49 Structured interviews (one to one and critical incident/behavioural) 31 50 25 General ability tests 41 51 33 48 Literacy and/or numeracy tests 35 42 Personality questionnaires 37 Employment reference (pre interview) 30 55 Assessment centres Telephone interviews 16 13 Academic references (pre interview) 10 7 9 29 Online tests 5 4 2

Interview Objectives Predict future job performance and behaviour Focus on aspects of behaviour and performance that cannot easily be addressed by other methods To supply information to the candidate To persuade candidates to accept the job offered To create good-will for the organisation

Varieties of Interview Format 1. One-to-one Less formal, but can be biased Problems of information retrieval 2. Panel Information overload potential Artificial and formal, but reduces bias Difficult to arrange, can be poorly organised 3. Sequential interview Candidate interviewed by several people over period Can cause duplication of question

Problems with Reliability in Selection Interviews Expectancy effect – positive / negative expectations from CV Self-fulfilling prophecy effect – confirm initial impressions Primacy effect – early impressions influence judgement Stereotyping effect – characteristics lead to assumptions Prototyping effect – personality influences Halo/horns effect – ‘good’ / ‘bad’ perception

Improving the Interview Structured interviews Behaviourally anchored interviews

Examples of Behaviourally Anchored Interview Questions Customer Focus Responds to internal and external customer's needs in a manner that provides added value and generates significant satisfaction.  Overall Rating 1 - 5    Behaviours: Demonstrates a sense of urgency when responding to market/customer needs. Ensures that customer requirements are incorporated into day-to-day tasks and activities. Develops strategies/tactics to anticipate and respond to customer's key needs (internal and external). Planned Behavioural Questions: • Tell me about a time when you assessed the needs of another person or group, such as customers. (What did you do?) • Describe a situation in which you were involved when a product or service did not match someone's needs. (What was the outcome?) • Working closely with others to adapt project, products and services to their requirements is very important for success in today's business climate. When have you had to collaborate closely with someone to tailor or customize your approach? (What was the situation?) • Describe a situation when your level of knowledge or expertise about a particular product or service was key to helping someone.(e.g., partner, customer) • Tell me about a situation when you had to prioritise the needs of a particular person or group. • Tell me about a circumstance in which you had to repair a damaged relationship with someone. (What did you do?)  

Best Practice and Principles in Interviewing Focusing on objectively defined success behaviours (i.e. job specific competences) Using a common tool and process(to ensure cross interviewer consistency) Asking mostly open ended questions, followed by listening and encouraging (versus talking and telling) Gathering evidence about performance from real ‘success stories’ (not from opinion or hearsay) Determining what a candidate actually did personally to achieve success ( versus what they think should be done)

Psychological Tests “Carefully chosen, systematic, and standardised procedures for evoking a sample of responses from a candidate, which can be used to assess one or more of their psychological characteristics by comparing the results with those of a representative sample of an appropriate population ”

Types of Tests Psychometric tests (measures of mental ability) Tests of general intelligence The capacity for abstract thinking within a range of different contexts and media Tests of special aptitudes or abilities Personality tests

Main Categories of Modern Ability Tests Verbal Comprehension Numerical Diagrammatic Mechanical Difficulty Reasoning Spatial Clerical Sensory Dexterity Evaluative

Tests of Personality

Tests of Personality What is personality? Personality questionnaires Characteristic patterns of behaviour and ways of thinking that determine a person’s adjustment to their environment Personality questionnaires The identification of a number of fairly independent and enduring characteristics of behaviour which all people display but to differing degrees

Sample Test Questions Personality questionnaire Career interest tests Strongly agree = 1 Strongly disagree = 5 I like to sit in my room reading novels 1 2 3 4 5 I get nervous when I meet new people 1 2 3 4 5 I love parties 1 2 3 4 5 I feel enthusiastic about giving a speech 1 2 3 4 5 I prefer working quietly on my own 1 2 3 4 5 Career interest tests Which of the following tasks would you prefer Working with children Using computers Dealing with adult customers Do you have a preference for? Spreadsheets Word processing Picture scanning

Basic Assumptions About Personality Testing Human personality is measurable or “mappable” Our underlying human personality remains stable over time and across different situations Individual jobs can be usefully analysed in term of personality traits that would be most desirable for the job holder to possess A personality questionnaire, completed in 30 to 60 minutes, provides sufficient information about an individual’s personality to make meaningful inferences about their suitability for the job

Characteristics of Assessment Centres A variety of assessment techniques Several candidates are assessed together Several assessors are involved Assessments are made on several dimensions

Assessment Centres In-tray exercise 2 hours Group exercise 1 hour Fact-finding exercise 1 hour Presentation 1.5 hours Aptitude tests 1 hour Personality interest questionnaires 1.5 hours Background interview 1 hour Total 9 hours

Assessment Centres – Limitations 1 Some of the criterion used in validity studies such as supervisors ratings have limited reliability consequently the criterion are contaminated. In addition the criterion used such as salary growth, promotions and managerial level have more to do with managerial survival than work effectiveness. Researchers argue that assessment centres pick up the personal mannerisms that top management use in promotion which may have little to do with work effectiveness (Cook 1994 and Klimoski and Strickland 1977) Discriminant / convergent validity: A fundamental characteristic of the assessment centre approach is that assessors should rate candidates on dimensions. There is a strong body of research to suggest that assessors often rate them on exercises (Sackett and Draher 1982 : Schneider and Schmitt 1992 : Robertson and Smith 1989)

Assessment Centres – Limitations 2 Ipsativity:Participant’s performance ratings in a group exercise depends on how the others behave ; candidates who performed poorly in an otherwise “good” group got lower ratings than a poor candidate in a generally “poor” group (Gaugler and Rudolph 1992) Assessors’ ratings are more accurate when candidates differ a lot, which suggests that assessors compare candidates with one another not with an external standard (Gaugler and Rudolph 1992)

Guidance on the use of Selection Tests Selection decisions should not be made using psychometric tests alone they should always form part of a wider selection process Tests should actually measure attributes which are directly relevant to the employment context The test should have been rigorously developed Data should be provided on the reliability,validity and effectiveness of tests Evidence should be supplied that the test does not disadvantage certain groups Feedback from tests should be given to all candidates concerning their performance in tests by professionally trained people