1. Mgmt 441-01 Staffing Prof. Howard Miller
Welcome!
Mgmt Staffing
Prof. Howard Miller

2. Staffing Function Among several human resource functions Benefits
Compensation
Safety
Labor Relations
Training

3. Staffing . . . Involves getting people in, or out, of a company
We’ll concentrate on the “getting people in” part

4. Staffing has 2 main purposes
“Get the best talent” for the firm at the price we can offer
Conform to national, state and local regulations concerning staffing practice, or in short “keep it legal”

5. How to Staff? Derive “demand for labor”
Update job requirement information
Identify knowledge, skills and abilities required for success on job
Develop measures of job-related KSA’s
Recruit from relevant labor markets
Screen using “valid” tests
Make offer, provide orientation to accepts

6. Staffing Project Steps
Choose job to study
Find real setting to perform job analysis
Perform job analysis
Develop job description, job specification
Find/develop tests to measure job specifications
Identify “Relevant” labor markets
Define recruiting methods
Spell out hiring process to client in full detail

7. What do you mean “valid test”?
* Note importance of Supreme Court case Watson v. Ft Worth Bank and Trust (1988) Supreme court states (paraphrasing): “A test is any hurdle you have to clear to get a job” - especially important for interviewing, which was at core of case * A “valid test” is a hurdle that allows better talent to get over, while lesser talent is screened out

8. How do we establish if a test is “valid”
Note importance of “The Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection Procedures” (1978)
Three methods recognized by courts –
“Content validation”
“Criterion-related validation”
“Construct validation”

9. The logic of hiring validity illustrated
Consider classic payoff matrix, which we’ll label “selection decision matrix” in our setting.
Good decisions result when applicants who will succeed are hired (“true positive”), and applicants who will not succeed are rejected (“true negative”)
Bad decisions involve rejecting people who will work out (“false negative), and accepting those who don’t work out (“false positive”)

10. Selection Decision Matrix

11. Content validation …
A logical analysis by subject matter experts (SME’s) of the overlap between the content of screening tests and the content of job requirements
Note the deceptive simplicity of the requirements for a typist at the university

12. Criterion-related validation
The main way it’s done
2 types: Predictive Validation and Concurrent Validation
Predictive uses test data from applicants, and job performance data from those hired
Concurrent uses both test and performance data from current employees

13. Construct Validation . . . More complex than the other two
One has to show that measures of applicant traits and job performance really measure those things (Classic construct validation)
AND then show trait measures correlate with job performance measures

14. the vast majority of the time
we’ll be referring to “concurrent, criterion- related validity evidence” because of it’s overwhelming use

15. Valid tests mean lower error rates in hiring decisions
More true positives and negatives
Fewer false positives and negatives
Lower exposure to successful litigation
Higher “utility” of the staffing function

16. Research on validity tells us what works!
Find tests that are shown to be valid
How is this done?
Within the “concurrent, criterion-related validation” approach, it means showing a significant correlation between test scores and job performance scores – the essence of a concurrent validity study.

17. What would such validation data look like?
See “Ma and Pa Consumer Electronics Store” data set illustration

18. Valid Hiring Tests
A hiring test – anything you must get through to get the job
A “Valid” hiring test – one where applicants who score better on the test do a better job if hired
In criterion-related empirical test validation, it is one where there is a “significant correlation between hiring test scores and job performance scores”

19. Empirical validation Obtain a representative sample of people
Have them take the hiring test(s), and measure their job performance
Compute the statistical correlation of hiring test scores and job performance scores
Compute the “statistical significance” of the sample correlation
If “significant”, cross-validate in new sample
If correlation remains significant, put test(s) into use

20. Some key statistical concepts
“Mean” the average score for a group of people
“Standard Deviation” the average variability around the average score for a group of people
“Correlation” a number that reveals the degree of linear association between hiring test scores and job performance scores

21. Correlation properties
Correlation is notated with lower case “r”
It can range in value from to +1.00
r=0 means “zero” correlation, no linear association between the test (x) and job performance (y) – that’s not happy
r=+1.00 (or r= -1.00) means there is a perfect association of hiring test and job performance - doesn’t happen in reality, tho’ we’d love it if it did!
Correlations from real samples RARELY exceed values of r=.50

22. More on correlation
Correlation can be used to “summarize” the pattern in a 2-variable scatterplot, like the hiring test (x axis) versus job performance (y axis) scatterplot
In this application, correlation is a special case of linear regression – using a straight line to summarize what’s happening in a data set
Plot interview score against job performance in the Ma and Pa data set

23. Statistical analysis of interviews in relation to monthly sales
Compute the correlation of hiring test scores with job performance scores
Compute the regression of job performance scores (Y) on hiring test scores (X)