1. Initial Screening MANA 5341 Dr. George Benson benson@uta.edu

2. Selection Mechanisms Personality tests Physical ability tests Job knowledge tests Work sample tests Simulators Situational interviews Unstructured interviews Assessment centers Recommendations Many others….. Applications Resumes Biographical information Background investigations Checking references Credit reports Polygraph tests Honesty tests Graphology Drug testing Cognitive ability tests

3. Why Use Selection Tests?

4. Individual judgment is poor and inconsistent  Perceptual biases  Individual biases Match applicant KSA’s with job requirements Ensure that new hires will perform well on the job.

5. Selection Bias White Sounding Names The professors at U. of Chicago and MIT sent about 5,000 resumes in response to want ads in The Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune. “White" names received 1 response for every 10 resumes mailed, while "black" applicants with equal credentials received 1 response for every 15. Texas Accents Y’all Study by U. of North Texas researchers has found that Texas hiring managers look favorably on applicants with pronounced Texas accents. Speakers from California and Minnesota, whose regional accents are less distinguishable, generally do better with managers all across the country.

6. Choosing Selection Methods Multiple factors need to be considered.  Specificity of skills required  Risk of bad hire or mistakes made by employees  Employee reactions  Level of adverse impact  Cost  Administration time  “Screening-in” vs. “Screening out” methods

7. Developing A Selection Plan List each of the KSA’s required for the job  Does it need to be assessed?  What are the minimum qualifications? List potential selection mechanisms for those KSA’s that need to be assessed along with costs and benefits.  Validity and reliability  $$$ Costs  Level of adverse impact Detail the selection sequence  Data to be collected at each point  Criteria to be used to move applicants through the sequence

8. Most Common Methods Application Reference checks Interview Education level Training and experience Resumes Licensing and certification Personality testing Biodata Assessment Centers

9. Applicants Candidates Finalists Offers Hires Initial Substantive Substantive Discretionary Discretionary Contingent Contingent Methods and Applicant Flow

10. Initial Selection  Application Forms  Resumes  Reference Checks Initial / Contingent  Background Checks  Drug Tests

11. Application Forms Only ask info related to job KSA’s  Link to job performance  Use thorough job analysis and validation techniques  Consider potential adverse impact  Use “knockout” questions Careful collecting personal characteristics  Race, National Origin, Gender, Age etc.  Law assumes all questions are used in hiring  More is not necessarily better  Rules differ state to state Different applications for different jobs Provide Instructions and Disclaimers Not particularly valid (r =.10 -.20)

12. Application Forms How to ask non-discriminatory questions?  You are always permitted to ask if applicant is qualified and able to perform primary job duties.  You should never ask questions that indicate protected class status.  Allow people to “self-select” as much as possible. What if you need to collect demographic information for EEO purposes?  Race, National Origin, Gender, Age etc

13. How to ask… Do you have child-care for your children? Do you own a car? How old are you? Do you have a physical or mental disability? Height? Weight? What is your maiden name? Are you a U.S. citizen? Have you every been arrested? Do you smoke or use tobacco?

14. Resumes Applicant controls the information  Many examples of fraud or omission  Up to 50% contain some inaccuracy  What are possible indicators of resume fraud? Jobs and education should be verified  One question honesty test Requirements for education and experiences should be job-related.

15. Potential Problems AP May 11, 2004 WASHINGTON “At least 28 senior-level federal employees in eight agencies have bogus college degrees, including three managers at the office that oversees nuclear weapons safety, congressional investigators have found.” MSNBC June 24, 2004 WASHINGTON “More than 100 federal air marshals have been fired or stripped of their flight status in recent weeks for problems stemming from their security clearance background investigations”

16. Potential Problems NY Times Sept 12, 2005 Ronald L. Zarrella, the chief executive of Bausch & Lomb, claimed to have had a master's in business administration from New York University. Shares in the company dropped 3 percent the day the company divulged Mr. Zarrella's resume- fudging. David J. Edmondson, the chief executive of RadioShack, was fired after a newspaper investigation showed that his resume was padded with two degrees in psychology and theology, degrees he never got from a university that was not even accredited. The Rutgers University Career Services office did an audit last year and found that 20 percent of students submitting resumes had inflated their grade-point averages.

17. Reference Checking Relatively low reliability and predictive validity  Used primarily as a “screening out” mechanism 80% - 95% of organizations attempt Two-thirds of organizations limit info they will share.  Companies decline to report negative information to protect from defamation suit.  What type of questions are more likely to get good responses? Should ask for applicant permission Failure to conduct reference check may create negligent hiring liability.

18. Reference Checking 1. Verify resume or application information  Education  Work history 2. Information on personality or character 3. Motivation and job performance 4. Willingness to rehire

19. “Qualified Privilege” Aimed at protecting companies that provide “good faith” reference information  Information must be given without malicious intent  Information can be substantiated  Information given is limited to specific inquiry  Information must be given at proper time, through proper channels, with proper methods. Is the employee eligible for rehire?

20. Potential Problems FW Star-Telegram 2.12.04 ARLINGTON - A University of Texas a Arlington official voiced regrets that a part-time lecturer's background was not checked after he talked about his personal life in class and alarmed students….Ronnie Robert Molina was fired after his first lecture on communications law. In August, Molina was fired as an attorney for Dallas for inappropriate behavior. Shorthorn 1.28.04 Several students in the class said Molina spent the first day discussing a range of personal topics and that many in the class were appalled and disturbed….After arriving 25 minutes late, Molina started a monologue about religious values, sexual orientation and drug use…Students said Molina wrote the initials of the attorney that he previously worked for and distinguished his initials D.L., as devil and Lucifer.

21. How can organizations encourage honesty in applications and resumes? Training and Experience Evaluations (Checklists)  Holistic Judgment  Point Method  Task-based and KSA-based  Grouping (high med low)  Behavioral Consistency (tied to high performers) Weighted Applications Methods to Improve Initial Selection Validity

22. Weighted Application Blanks High Tenure Low Tenure Score Weight Education Level Some H.S.5% 0 H.S. Diploma85%15%+2 Some College5%20%0 College Degree5%60%0 Experience None5%70%0 1-2 Years60%20%2 2+ Years35%10%1

23. Developing WAB’s 1. Choose criterion  Performance characteristics of the job 2. Identify groups  Typically high performers and low performers 3. Select application items and response categories  Select characteristics that are relevant to performance  Test the relationship with performance 4. Determine weights based on group differences 5. Validate weights using a holdout sample 6. Set cutoff scores based on validation results

24. Biodata Inventories Reliable – Valid (r =.32 to.37) Series of questions on a wide variety of subjects  Background (e.g. hobbies, jobs, and education)  Situational questions  Personality and Values Compared to a profile generated from successful employees or database for occupations.

25. Examples of Biographical Questions How many jobs have you held in the last five years? Were you ever class president? Have you ever repaired a broken radio so that it later worked? While growing up, did you collect coins? When you were a teenager, how often did your father help you with schoolwork? About how many fiction books have you read in the past year? How many hours a week do you spend studying? By the time you were 18 had you traveled at least 500 miles from home by yourself?

26. Profile Matching D 2 = Σ (P(ideal) – P(applicant)) 2 1. Develop a set of target or “ideal” scores by sampling high performers. 2. For each item subtract the applicant’s scores from the ideal score and square the result. 3. Sum the squares of the difference scores. 4. Smaller D scores more closely resemble the “ideal” candidate.

27. Why use Biodata? Why not use Biodata?

28. Why use Biodata?  Good predictor of behavior  Targets candidates similar to your best employees Why not use Biodata?  Largely atheoretical approach to selection  Social desirability responses  Legal challenges  Can you “profile” your best performers?

29. Initial / Contingent Assessment Background Checks  Criminal record  State and federal records  Sex offender databases  Credit check  Consent required  Fair Credit Reporting Act (the "FCRA") requires notification Drug Tests

30. Criminal History Checks Employers can obtain criminal background information by: (1) Asking applicants for certain information during the interview process or on a job application (2) Obtaining criminal record information from a state agency (with the consent of the applicants) (3) by hiring an investigator or security firm Before the information is gathered, employers should have specific guidelines for how they will use the information.

31. U. of Texas Background Checks It is the policy of The University of Texas at Arlington to obtain: a. Criminal history record information on an applicant who is the finalist for a position designated by System Administration or a component institution as security- sensitive position. b. Criminal conviction record information available to the public on an applicant who is the finalist for a position that is not so designated as security-sensitive. As of 09-17-2002 this policy does not apply to current or prospective employees with faculty titles.

32. Security Sensitive Positions All senior level administrator positions including all executive officers and System administrative officials. Positions that have responsibility for providing patient care or for providing child-care in a child-care facility, as that term is defined in Texas Human Resources Code § 42.002(3), as it may be amended from time to time. Positions that have direct access to, or responsibility for, pharmaceuticals, select agents, or controlled substances.

33. “Many are worried that these checks will hamper efforts to attract the most qualified employees.” UTA Shorthorn 9/18/02 “What kind of statement are we making when we, at UT System, require these checks when other schools in the state don’t have the same policy,” University Provost George Wright. Currently, the university pays a flat monthly rate of $450 to have the checks conducted.

34. Decision Criteria The hiring official will determine on a case-by-case basis whether the individual is qualified based on factors such as:  Specific duties of the position;  Number of offenses;  Nature of each offense;  Length of time intervening between the offense and the employment decision;  Employment history;  Efforts at rehabilitation; and  Accuracy of the information that the individual provided on the employment application

35. Negligent Hiring 1. The person causing harm was an employee. 2. The person was incompetent (rather than a competent employee acting negligently). 3. Employer knew or should have known about the incompetence. 4. Injury or harm was a foreseeable consequence of hiring the incompetent employee. 5. Hiring of the unfit employee was proximate cause of the injury or harm.