1. Chapter 6
Staffing Decisions

2. Module 1: Conceptual Issues in Staffing
Staffing decisions
Associated with recruiting, selecting, promoting, & separating employees
Keith Brofsky/Getty Images

3. Sequential View of the Staffing Process
Figure 6.1

4. Impact of Staffing Practices on Firm Performance
High performance work practices
Include use of formal job analyses, selection from within for key positions, & use of formal assessment devices for selection
Staffing practices have positive associations with firm performance

5. Stakeholders in the Staffing Process
Line managers
Seek accurate, easy-to-administer, & easy-to-defend staffing process
Co-workers
Among other considerations, layoff decisions have practical & emotional consequences
Applicants
Manner in which staffing decision carried out will be influential in their perception of organization

6. Staffing from International Perspective
Job descriptions used universally
Educational qualifications & application forms widely used for initial screening
Interviews & references are common post-screening techniques
Cognitive ability tests used less frequently; personality tests used more frequently

7. Module 2: Evaluation of Staffing Outcomes
Validity: Accurateness of inferences made based on test or performance data
Validity designs
Criterion-related
Content-related
Construct-related

8. Levels of Relationship Between a Test & a Criterion
Figure 6.2
Scatterplots Depicting
Various Levels of
Relationship between a
Test and a Criterion

9. SR = n/N Validity Selection ratio (SR) n = number of available jobs
N = number of people assessed
SR = n/N

10. Selection Decisions False positive False negative True positive
Applicant accepted but performed poorly
False negative
Applicant rejected but would have performed well
True positive
Applicant accepted & performed well
True negative
Applicant rejected & would have performed poorly

11. Cut score or cutoff score
Specified point in distribution of scores below which candidates are rejected
Raising cut score will result in fewer false positives but more false negatives
Strategy for determining cut score depends on situation

12. Effect on Selection Errors of Moving the Cutoff Score
Figure 6.4
The Effect on Selection
Errors of Moving the
Cutoff Score

13. Establishing Cut Scores
Criterion-referenced cut score
Consider desired level of performance & find test score corresponding to that level
Norm-referenced cut score
Based on some index of test-takers’ scores rather than any notion of job performance

14. Utility
Addresses cost/benefit ratio of one staffing strategy versus another
Base rate
% of current workforce performing successfully
If performance is high, then new system will likely add very little to productivity

15. Utility Analysis
Assesses economic return on investment of HR interventions like staffing or training
Calculations can be very complex

16. Feelings of unfairness lead to:
Initiation of lawsuits
Filing of formal grievances with company representatives
Counterproductive behavior

17. Module 3: Practical Issues in Staffing
Staffing Model
Comprehensiveness
Enough high quality information about candidates to predict likelihood of their success
Compensatory
Candidates can compensate for relative weakness in one attribute through strength in another one, providing both are required by job

18. Combining Information
Clinical decision making
Uses judgment to combine information & make decision about relative value of different candidates
Statistical decision making
Combines information according to a mathematical formula

19. Combining Information (cont'd)
Hurdle system of combining scores
Non-compensatory strategy: individual has no opportunity to compensate at later stage for low score in earlier stage
Establishes series of cut scores
Anthony Saint James/Getty Images

20. Hurdle System of Combining Scores
Constructed from multiple hurdles so candidates who don’t exceed each of the minimum dimension scores are excluded from further consideration
Often set up sequentially
More expensive hurdles placed later
Used to narrow a large applicant pool

21. Combining Information (cont'd)
Combination scores by regression (compensation approach)
Multiple regression analysis
Results in equation for combining test scores into a composite based on correlations of each test score with performance score

22. Relationship Between Predictor Overlap & Criterion Prediction
Figure 6.4
The Relationship between
Predictor Overlap and
Criterion Prediction

23. Combination Scores by Regression
Cross-validation
Regression equation developed on first sample is tested on second sample to determine if it still fits well

24. Score banding
Individuals with similar test scores grouped together in category (score band)
Selection within band made based on other considerations
Controversial

25. Standard error of measurement (SEM)
Score Banding
Standard error of measurement (SEM)
Provides measure of amount of error in a test score distribution
Function of reliability of test & variability of test scores

26. Score Banding Fixed band system Sliding band system
Candidates in lower bands not considered until higher bands have been exhausted
Sliding band system
Permits band to be moved down a score point when highest score in a band is exhausted

27. Subgroup Norming
Develop separate lists for individuals in different demographic groups who are then ranked within their respective group
In general, subgroup norming is not allowed as staffing strategy
However, there is no explicit prohibition of age norming

28. Selection vs. Placement
Sometimes, the challenge is to place an individual rather than simply select an individual
Placement
Process of matching multiple applicants & multiple job openings
Strategies
Vocational guidance
Pure selection
Cut & fit

29. Deselection 2 typical situations Termination for cause Layoff
Individual is fired for a particular reason
Generally not unexpected
Layoff
Job loss due to employer downsizing or reductions in force
Often occurs with little or no warning

30. Large Staffing Projects
Concessions must be made: Labor intensive assessment procedures are not feasible
Requires an actuarial strategy
Utility can be an issue (Cost of testing can be expensive)
Fairness is a critical issue
Standard, well-established, & feasible selection strategies are important

31. Small Staffing Projects
Luxury of using wider range of assessment tools
Adverse impact is less of an issue
Fairness is still a key issue
Rational, job-related, & feasible selection strategies are important

32. Module 4: Legal Issues in Staffing Decisions
Charges of employment discrimination
Involve violations of Title VII of 1964 CRA, ADA, or ADEA
I-O psychologists often serve as expert witnesses in these lawsuits
Consequences can be substantial
Most often brought by individual claiming unfair termination

33. Intentional Discrimination or Adverse Treatment
Plaintiff attempts to show that employer treated plaintiff differently than majority applicants or employees

34. Unintentional Discrimination or Adverse Impact (AI)
Acknowledges employer may not have intended to discriminate against plaintiff but employer practice had AI on group to which plaintiff belongs

35. Determination of Adverse Impact
Burden of proof on plaintiff to show:
a) he/she belongs to a protected group, &
b) members of protected group were statistically disadvantaged compared to majority employees

36. “80%” or “4/5ths” rule
Guideline for assessing whether there is evidence of AI
Plaintiffs must show that protected group received only 80% of desirable outcomes received by majority group in order to meet burden of demonstrating AI
Results in AI ratio

37. “80%” or “4/5ths” Rule (cont'd)
Crude & can be substantially affected by sample sizes
Burden of proof shifts to employer once AI is demonstrated