1. Selection Process

2. What will we cover today…

3. Introduction to the selection process
Selection is the process of picking individuals who have relevant qualifications to fill jobs in an organization.
Selection is much more than just choosing the best candidate. It is an attempt to strike a happy balance between what the applicant can and wants to do and what the organization requires.   

4. The Selection Process
1. Job Analysis
The systematic study of job content in order to determine the major duties and responsibilities of the job. Allows the organization to determine the important dimensions of job performance. The major duties and responsibilities of a job are often detailed in the job description.
2. The Identification of KSAs or Job Requirements
Drawing upon the information obtained through job analysis or from secondary sources, the organization identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the job. The job requirements are often detailed in a document called the job specification.
A selective employer cannot possibly choose the right person for a position without first truly understanding the position itself. Managers should perform a Job Analysis where every detail of the position is recorded through observations, interviews, and work journals. Suppose a long-time employee retires. It is important that you know everything that employee did, even outside the obvious scope of the job. Maybe that person always made the coffee in the break room or took out the trash—tasks that might be overlooked until one day those things are not done. Now suppose larger, more important, jobs were not done. The entire business could suffer because the manager did not know all of the responsibilities of an employee.
3. The Identification of Selection Methods to Assess KSAs
Once the organization knows the KSAs needed by job applicants, it must be able to determine the degree to which job applicants possess them. The organization must develop its own selection methods include, but are not limited to, reference and background checks, interviews, cognitive testing, personality testing, aptitude testing, drug testing, and assessment centers.

5. The Selection Process
4. The Assessment of the Reliability and Validity of Selection Methods
The organization should be sure that the selection methods they use are reliable and valid. In terms of validity, selection methods should actually assess the knowledge, skill, or ability they purport to measure and should distinguish between job applicants who will be successful on the job and those who will not.
5. The Use of Selection Methods to Process Job Applicants
The organization should use its selection methods to make selection decisions. Typically, the organization will first try to determine which applicants possess the minimum KSAs required. Once unqualified applicants are screened, other selection methods are used to make distinctions among the remaining job candidates and to decide which applicants will receive offers.
After the job analysis, compile a list of skills, abilities, licenses or knowledge needed to do the job. This is called a Job Specification. An employer should take no skills for granted. If an employee will have to read, write, do basic mathematics, drive a vehicle, lift heavy objects, etc., those things should be listed and considered when evaluating applicants.

6. The Basics of Testing and Selecting Employees
Carefully testing and screening employees is important because :
It results in improved employee and organizational performance
Your own performance always depends on subordinates
Can reduce dysfunctional behaviors at work
Effective screening helps reduce costs in the long run

7. Legal Implications and Negligent Hiring
Incompetent hiring can result in legal implications such as unfairly discriminating against a protected group
Negligent hiring occurs when employers are liable for employees who have criminal records or other problems that use a customer’s home or similar opportunities to commit crimes
Hiring these types of employees requires safeguards
Reasonable action must be taken to investigate the candidate’s backgrounds

8. The Process of Selection
Reception
Screening Interview
Application blank
Selection Tests
Selection Interview
Medical Examination
Reference Checks
Hiring Decision
Selection is usually a series of hurdles or steps.
Each one must be successfully cleared before the applicant proceeds to the next

9. The Process of Selection
Reception
A warm, friendly and courteous reception is extended to candidates with a view to create a favourable impression. Employment possibilities are also communicated honestly and clearly
Screening interview
The HR department tries to screen out the obvious misfits through this courtesy interview. A prescribed application form is given to candidates who are found to be suitable.
Application blank
It is a printed form completed by job aspirants detailing their educational background, previous work history and certain personal data.

10. Contents Of Application Blank
Written Applications gauge an employee’s reading and writing abilities and get at background information like years of experience and education.
Personal data (address, sex, identification marks)
Marital data (single or married, children, dependents)
Physical data (height, weight, health condition)
Educational data (levels of formal education, marks, distinctions)
Employment data (past experience, promotions, nature of duties, reasons for leaving previous jobs, salary drawn, etc.)
Extra-curricular activities data (sports/games, NSS, NCC, prizes won, leisure-time activities)
References (names of two or more people who certify the suitability of an applicant to the advertised position)

11. Sample Application Blank

12. The Process of Selection
Weighted application blank
The items that have a strong relationship to job performance are given numeric values or weights so that a company can cross-compare candidates with more or less similar qualifications on paper
It is a printed form completed by candidate wherein each item is weighted and scored based on its importance as a determinant of job success
It helps a company to cross-compare candidates having more or less similar qualifications and reject those not meeting the job criteria strictly
On the negative side, it is difficult to develop an appropriate WAB, the exercise could be quite costly, and it needs frequent updating so as to be in line with changing job requirements.

13. Selection Testing
A test is a standardized, objective measure of a sample of behaviour.
Selection tests are increasingly used by companies these days because they measure individual differences in a scientific way, leaving very little room for Individual bias.

14. Selection Tests
Written Tests can evaluate an applicant’s technical knowledge.
Practical Tests gauge an applicant’s hands-on ability by giving them actual tasks to work through: sorting a pen of cattle, driving a truck, repairing equipment.
Other employees may be used to set up or grade the tests.
Employers should be very careful when using practical tests, however. If, at any point, the applicant appears to be at risk of injuring anyone or anything, the test should be stopped immediately.

15. Using Tests at Work
Do not use tests as your only selection method - use tests to supplement other methods like interviews and background checks
Remember that tests are not infallible
Most tests are more predictive at identifying candidates that will likely fail rather than succeed
Employers have long used tests to predict behavior and performance

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17. Computerized and Online Testing
Replacing conventional paper-and-pencil and manual tests
Computerized tests usually score individuals the same as manual tests
Online and off-line computerized tests or aptitude tests could be used to measure a wide range of candidate attributes including:
Cognitive abilities
Motor and physical abilities
Personality and interests
Achievement

18. Tests of Cognitive Abilities
Employers often assess a candidate’s cognitive or mental abilities, for example: Is the bookkeeping candidate good with numbers?
Intelligence or IQ tests look at general intellectual abilities including memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency and numeric ability
Aptitude tests measure specific mental abilities

19. Tests of Motor and Physical Abilities
Motor or physical abilities might need to be measured for specific jobs
Finger dexterity
Strength
Manual dexterity
Reaction time
Speed of finger, hand or arm movements

20. Measuring Personality
Personality tests and interest inventories measure and predict intangibles such as attitude, motivation and temperament
Difficulties notwithstanding – studies confirm that personality tests can help companies hire more effective workers
Measure relationships between the five personality dimensions below with job performance criteria:
Extraversion
Emotional stability
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Openness to experience

22. Individual Rights of Test Takers and Test Security
Test takers have various privacy and information rights
The American Psychological Association’s standards for educational and psychological tests include
The right to confidentiality of results
The right to informed consent regarding use of results
The right to expect only qualified individuals will have access to the results
The right to expect the test is secure 22

23. Selection Tests Intelligence test Aptitude test Personality test
Projective test
Interest test
Preference test
Achievement test
Simulation test
Assessment centre
The in basket
The leaderless group discussion
Business games
Individual presentations
Graphology test
Polygraph test
Integrity test

24. SELECTION TESTING
A. Intelligence tests: They measure a candidate’s learning ability and also the ability to understand instructions and make judgments. They do not measure any single trait but several mental abilities (memory, vocabulary, fluency, numerical ability, perception etc)
B. Aptitude tests: They measure a candidate’s potential to learn clerical, mechanical and mathematical skills. Since they do not measure a candidate’s on the job motivation, they are generally administered in combination with other tests.
Personality tests: They measure basic aspects of a candidate’s personality such as motivation, emotional balance, self confidence, interpersonal behaviour, introversion etc.
Projective tests: These tests expect the candidates to interpret problems or situations based on their own motives, attitudes, values etc (interpreting a picture, reacting to a situation etc)

25. SELECTION TESTING
Interest tests: These are meant to find how a person in tests compares with the interests of successful people in a specific job. These tests show the areas of work in which a person is most interested.
Preference tests: These tests try to compare employee preferences with the job and organisational requirements.
D. Achievement tests: These are designed to measure what the applicant can do on the job currently, i.e., whether the testee actually knows what he or she claims to know.
E.   Simulation tests: Simulation exercise is a test which duplicates many of the activities and problems an employee faces while at work.
F. Assessment centre: It is a standardised form of employee appraisal that uses multiple assessment exercises such as in basket, games, role play, etc. and multiple raters.

26. Differences between work sample method and assessment centre

27. Selection testing – Assessment Centres
The in-basket: From out of reports, memos, letters etc. placed in the in-basket, a candidate is supposed to initiate relevant actions within a limited period of time.
The leaderless group discussion: This exercise involves groups of managerial candidates working together on a job related problem so as to measure skills such as oral communication, tolerance, self- confidence, adaptability, etc.
Business games: Here participants try to solve a problem, usually as members of two or more simulated companies that are competing in the market place
Individual presentations: In this case the participants are given a limited amount of time to plan, organise and prepare a presentation on a given topic.

28. Evaluation of the assessment centre technique
+points points
The flexibility of form and content expensive to design
The use of a variety of techniques difficult to administer
Standardised ways of interpreting behaviour --blind acceptance of data may
Pooled assessor judgements not be advisable
Content validity and wider acceptance
Performance ratings are more objective

29. The Polygraph and Honesty Testing
The Polygraph or lie-detector is a device that measures physiological changes such as increased perspiration
Results are interpreted assuming that such changes reflect changes in emotional state that accompany lying.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most employers from conducting polygraph exams on applicants and most employees

30. Permitted Users of the Polygraph
Employers with contracts involving: National defense or security Nuclear-power (Department of Energy) Access to highly classified information Counterintelligence (the FBI or Department of Justice) Other exceptions Hiring of private security personnel Hiring persons with access to drugs Conducting ongoing investigations involving economic loss or injury to an employer’s business.

31. Honesty Tests
Paper-and-pencil honesty tests Psychological tests designed to predict job applicants’ proneness to dishonesty and other forms of counter-productivity.
Measure attitudes regarding things like tolerance of others who steal, acceptance of rationalizations for theft, and admission of theft-related activities

32. Handwriting Exhibit Used by Graphologist
Graphology
Graphology (handwriting analysis) Assumes that handwriting reflects basic personality traits. Graphology’s validity is highly suspect.
Handwriting Exhibit Used by Graphologist

33. Physical Examination Reasons for pre-employment medical examinations:
To verify that the applicant meets the physical requirements of the position
To discover any medical limitations you should take 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.

34. More Steps to Selecting Candidates
Drug screening
Commonly done before candidates are formally hired
Many firms test current employees after a work accident or when there are obvious behavioral symptoms
Some companies administer drug tests randomly on a periodic basis
Some firms only administer drug tests when transferring or promoting employees
Problems with drug testing
Doesn’t correlate with actual impairment levels and there are many products that exist to help employees beat drug tests
Some argue drug testing violates employees right to privacy and due process while others feel the procedures are degrading and intrusive
Some say positive results are irrelevant to performing the job

35. Evaluating the Selection Process

36. Tests as Selection Tools
Tests help uncover qualifications and talents that cannot be predicted otherwise. They offer unbiased information regarding potentially sound candidates. However, they suffer from sizeable errors of estimate. It is difficult to elicit truthful responses from testees.
Standards for Selection Tests
To be useful, tests must meet certain requirements such as reliability, validity, suitability, preparation, standardisation etc.

37. Standards For Selection Tests
Reliability: the ability of a selection tool to measure an attribute consistently; When a test is administered to the same individual repeatedly, he should get Approximately identical scores.
Validity: the extent to which an instrument measures what it intends to measure; In a typing test, validity measures a typist’s speed and accuracy.
Suitability: a test must fit the nature of the group on which it is applied Usefulness: exclusive reliance on any single test should be avoided
Standardisation: norms for finalising test scores should be established Qualified people: tests demand a high level of professional skills

38. Selection Practices Of Global Giants
1. Siemens India: It uses extensive psychometric instruments to evaluate short- listed candidates. The company uses occupational personality questionnaire to understand the candidate’s personal attributes and occupational testing to measure competencies.
2. LG Electronics India: LG Electronics uses 3 psychometric tests to measure a person’s ability as a team player, to check personality types and to ascertain a person’s responsiveness and assertiveness.
3. Arthur Anderson: While evaluating candidates, the company conducts critical behavioural interviewing which evaluates the suitability of the candidate for the position, largely based on his past experience and credentials.
4. Pepsico India: The company uses India as a global recruitment resource. To select professionals for global careers with it, the company uses a competency- based interviewing technique that looks at the candidate’s abilities in terms of strategising, lateral thinking, problem solving, managing the environment. These apart, Pepsi insists that to succeed in a global posting, these individuals possess strong functional knowledge and come from a cosmopolitan background.

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