E MPLOYEE T ESTING, S ELECTION & I NTERVIEWING C ANDIDATES Week 6

Why Careful Selection is Important Organizational Performance Legal Obligations and Liability The Importance of Selecting the Right Employees Costs of Recruiting and Hiring

Avoiding Negligent Hiring Claims  Carefully scrutinize information on employment applications.  Get written authorization for reference checks, and check references.  Save all records and information about the applicant.  Reject applicants for false statements or conviction records for offenses related to the job.  Balance the applicant’s privacy rights with others’ “need to know.”  Take immediate disciplinary action if problems arise.

Basic Testing Concepts  Reliability Consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with identical or equivalent tests. Are test results stable over time?  Validity Indicates whether a test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring. Does the test actually measure what it is intended to measure?

Sample Picture Card from Thematic Apperception Test Source: Reprinted by permission of the publishers from Henry A. Murray, THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST, Plate 12F, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1943.

Types of Validity Criterion Validity Content Validity Test Validity Face Validity

How to Validate a Test 1 Relate Your Test Scores and Criteria: scores versus actual performance Choose the Tests: test battery or single test Steps in Test Validation Analyze the Job: predictors and criteria Administer the Tests: concurrent or predictive validation 234 Cross-Validate and Revalidate: repeat Steps 3 and 4 with a different sample 5

Testing Program Guidelines 1.Use tests as supplements. 2.Validate the tests. 3.Monitor your testing/selection program. 4.Keep accurate records. 5.Use a certified psychologist. 6.Manage test conditions. 7.Revalidate periodically.

Legal Privacy Issues  Defamation Libeling or slandering of employees or former employees by an employer.  Avoiding Employee Defamation Suits 1.Train supervisors regarding the importance of employee confidentiality. 2.Adopt a “need to know” policy. 3.Disclose procedures impacting confidentially of information to employees.

Sample Test Source: Courtesy of NYT Permissions.

Using Tests at Work  Major Types of Tests Basic skills tests Job skills tests Psychological tests  Why Use Testing? Increased work demands = more testing Screen out bad or dishonest employees Reduce turnover by personality profiling

Computerized and Online Testing  Online tests Telephone prescreening Offline computer tests Virtual “inbox” tests Online problem-solving tests  Types of Tests Specialized work sample tests Numerical ability tests Reading comprehension tests Clerical comparing and checking tests

Types of Tests Cognitive (Mental) Abilities Achievement Motor and Physical Abilities Personality and Interests What Tests Measure

Type of Question Applicant Might Expect on a Test of Mechanical Comprehension

Sample Personality Test Items Source: Elaine Pulakos, Selection Assessment Methods, SHRM Foundation, 2005, p. 9. Reprinted by permission of Society for Human Resource Management via Copyright Clearance Center.

The “Big Five” Extraversion Emotional Stability/ Neuroticism Agreeableness Openness to Experience Conscientiousness

Work Samples and Simulations Work Samples Miniature Job Training and Evaluation Management Assessment Centers Video-Based Situational Testing Measuring Work Performance Directly

Background Investigations and Reference Checks  Investigations and Checks Reference checks Background employment checks Criminal records Driving records Credit checks  Why? To verify factual information provided by applicants. To uncover damaging information.

Reference Checking Form Source: Society for Human Resource Management, © Reproduced with permission of Society for Human Resource Management in the Format Textbook via Copyright Clearance Center.

Background Investigations and Reference Checks (cont’d) Former Employers Current Supervisors Written References Social Networking Sites Commercial Credit Rating Companies Sources of Information

Limitations on Background Investigations and Reference Checks Background Investigations and Reference Checks Supervisor Reluctance Employer Guidelines Legal Issues: Privacy Legal Issues: Defamation

Making Background Checks More Useful 1.Include on the application form a statement for applicants to sign explicitly authorizing a background check. 2.Use telephone references if possible. 3.Be persistent in obtaining information. 4.Use references provided by the candidate as a source for other references. 5.Ask open-ended questions to elicit more information from references.

Using Pre-employment Information Services 1 Notice of adverse action to applicant/employee Employer certification to reporting agency Acquisition and Use of Background Information Disclosure to and authorization by applicant/employee Providing copies of reports to applicant/employee 234

The Polygraph and Honesty Testing  Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 Generally prohibits polygraph examinations by all private employers unless: The employer has suffered an economic loss or injury. The employee in question had access to the property. There is a reasonable prior suspicion. The employee is told the details of the investigation, as well as questions to be asked on the polygraph test itself. Exceptions: Private security employees Employees with access to drugs National defense and security (FBI, DOE, and DOJ)

Handwriting Exhibit Used by Graphologist Source: Kathryn Sackhein, Handwriting Analysis and the Employee Selection Process (New York: Quorum Books, 1990), p. 45. Reproduced with permission of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

Honesty Testing Programs: What Employers Can Do  Antitheft Screening Procedure: Ask blunt questions. Listen, rather than talk. Do a credit check. Check all employment and personal references. Use paper-and-pencil honesty tests and psychological tests. Test for drugs. Establish a search-and-seizure policy and conduct searches.

Physical Examination  Reasons for preemployment medical examinations: To verify that the applicant meets the physical requirements of the position. To discover any medical limitations to be taken into account in placing the applicant. To establish a record and baseline of the applicant’s health for future insurance or compensation claims. To reduce absenteeism and accidents. To detect communicable diseases that may be unknown to the applicant.

Substance Abuse Screening (cont’d) Safety: Impairment vs. Presence Recreational Use vs. Addiction Americans with Disabilities Act Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 Intrusiveness of Procedures Accuracy of Tests Ethical and Legal Issues

Basic Features of Interviews Interview Structure Interview Administration Selection Interviews Interview Content

Types of Interviews Selection Interview Appraisal Interview Exit Interview Types of Interviews

Interview Formats Unstructured or Nondirective Interview Interview Formats Structured or Directive Interview

Officer Programs Applicant Interview Form Source: Adapted from ograms/OProgramForms/PDFS/D CA/Interview%20CG-5527.pdf. Accessed May 9, 2007.

Officer Programs Applicant Interview Form (cont’d) Source: Adapted from ograms/OProgramForms/PDFS/D CA/Interview%20CG-5527.pdf. Accessed May 9, 2007.

Interview Content Situational Interview Stress Interview Behavioral Interview Job-Related Interview Types of Questions

Administering the Interview Unstructured Sequential Interview Structured Sequential Interview Panel Interview Mass Interview Phone and Video Interviews Computerized Interviews Web-Assisted Interviews Ways in Which Interviews Can Be Conducted

Panel Interview

Mass Interview

What Can Undermine An Interview’s Usefulness? Nonverbal Behavior and Impression Management Applicant’s Personal Characteristics Interviewer Behavior Factors Affecting Interviews First Impressions (Snap Judgments) Interviewer’s Misunderstanding of the Job Candidate-Order (Contrast) Error and Pressure to Hire

Designing and Conducting An Effective Interview  The Structured Situational Interview Use either situational questions or behavioral questions that yield high criteria-related validities. Step 1: Job Analysis Step 2: Rate the Job’s Main Duties Step 3: Create Interview Questions Step 4: Create Benchmark Answers Step 5: Appoint the Interview Panel and Conduct Interviews

How to Conduct a More Effective Interview Suggestions: Prepare for the Interview Structure Your Interview Establish Rapport Ask Questions Close the Interview 6 Review the Interview

Effective Interviews  Structure the Interview: 1.Base questions on actual job duties. 2.Use job knowledge, situational or behavioral questions, and objective criteria to evaluate interviewee’s responses. 3.Train interviewers. 4.Use the same questions with all candidates. 5.Use descriptive rating scales (excellent, fair, poor) to rate answers. 6.Use multiple interviewers or panel interviews. 7.If possible, use a standardized interview form. 8.Take control of the interview. 9.Take brief, unobtrusive notes during the interview.

Interview Evaluation Form Source: Reprinted from with permission of the publisher Business and Legal Reports Inc. 141 Mill Rock Road East, Old Saybrook, CT © 2004.

Structured Interview Guide Source: Copyright The Dartnell Corporation, Chicago, IL. Adapted with permission.

Structured Interview Guide (cont’d)

6–45 Structured Interview Guide (cont’d)