1. 6 .
C H A P T E R
S I X
Selection

2. Selection Process Defined
A series of specific steps used by an employer to decide which recruits should be hired
Begins when recruits apply for employment and ends with the hiring decision
Involves matching applicants with the needs of the organization

3. Strategic Significance of Selection
Selection impacts the organization’s strategy: 1.
Successful execution of an organization’s strategy depends on the calibre of its employees 2.
An organization’s selection decisions must reflect job requirements 3.
Selection strategy should be linked to an organization’s stage in its life cycle
more

4. Strategic Significance of Selection
Selection impacts the organization’s strategy: 4. 4.
Selection strategy should recognize organizational contraints 5. 5.
Selection strategy should recognize labour market realities 6. 6.
Selection strategy needs to be ethical

5. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary Reception
Initial contact with applicants
Walk-ins--may receive preliminary interview
Write-ins often receive letter of acknowledgment
This step has disappeared in many organizations with the increasing use of Internet recruitment

6. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary reception
Review of Application Blanks/Screening Interviews
Care needs to be taken to ensure application is useful and meets legal requirements
Review & screening

7. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary reception
Reliability
Requires that the test yields consistent results
Validity
Requires that the test scores significantly relate to job performance or some other relevant criteria
Empirical approaches
Predictive validity
Concurrent validity
Rational approaches
Content validity
Construct validity
Review & screening
Employment tests
more

8. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary reception
Types of Tests
Psychological Tests
Knowledge Tests
Performance Tests
Assessment Centres
Computer-interactive Tests
Integrity Tests
Attitude Tests
Review & screening
Employment tests

9. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary
reception
Review & screening
Employment tests
Employment references
discuss applicant’s work history
references may not be candid especially with negative information
Verification of references

10. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary reception
Review & screening
Supervisors are often involved in order to increase commitment and quality of the hiring decision
Employment tests
Verification of references
Employment interview(s)

11. Steps in the Selection Process
Preliminary reception
Review & screening
Allows the employee to understand the job setting before the hiring decision
Involves showing the candidate:
the type of work
equipment
working conditions
Employment tests
Verification of references
Employment interview(s)
Realistic job previews

12. Steps in the Selection Process
Medical evaluation
Assessment of health and accident information
If the employer wants a medical evaluation it should be conducted after the hiring decision
to avoid charges of discrimination
Increasing use of drug testing

13. Steps in the Selection Process
Medical evaluation
Marks the end of the selection process
retain job applications of those hired (update HRIS)
notify applicants that were not selected and retain applications for future openings
Hiring decision

14. Employment Interviews
Formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the applicant’s acceptability
allows a personal impression
opportunity to sell a job to a candidate
provides opportunity to answer the candidate’s questions
effective public relations tool
Concerns about reliability and validity

15. Types of Interviews Unstructured Structured
Interviews using few if any planned questions to enable the interviewer to pursue, in depth, the applicant’s responses
Structured
Interviews wherein a predetermined checklist of questions usually asked of all applicants is used
more

16. Types of Interviews (cont’d)
Mixed
This interview format is a combination of structured and unstructured interviews
Behavioural description
Based on the principle that the best predictor of a person’s future behaviour is their past behaviour
Increasingly being used (also referred to as “situational” interviews)
more

17. Types of Interviews (cont’d)
Stress-producing
Use a series of harsh, rapid-fire questions to learn how the applicant handles stress
Computer-assisted
Use of computers to electronically profile job candidates and screen new hires
May potentially increase reliability (by making the interviews uniform)
Some controversy exists regarding use of this type of interview

18. Types of Interviews (cont’d)
Video Interviewing
Interviews that use solicited videos of a candidate’s answers to provided questions

19. Employment Interview - Stages
1. Interviewer
preparation
2. Creation
of rapport
5. Evaluation
3. Information
exchange
4. Termination

20. Interviewer Errors Halo effect Leading Questions Stereotypes
Use of limited information about candidate to bias interviewer’s evaluation
Leading Questions
Communicating the desired answer
Stereotypes
Harbouring prejudice or exhibiting personal bias
Interviewer Domination
Using the interview to oversell, brag etc.

21. Interviewee Errors
May be due to attempting to cover job-related weaknesses or nervousness
Typical errors include:
playing games e.g. acting nonchalant
talking too much
boasting
not listening
being unprepared

22. Evaluating The Selection
Quality and productivity of the workforce hired
Costs incurred at a level appropriate to the organization

23. 6 .
C H A P T E R
S I X
Selection