Personnel Management Discussion

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PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook The University of West Alabama

Chapter 6 Employee Testing and Selection

Part Two | Recruitment and Placement

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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WHERE WE ARE NOW…

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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The purpose of Chapter 6 is to explain how to use various tools to select the best candidates for the job. The main topics covered include the selection process, basic testing techniques, background and reference checks, ethical and legal questions in testing, types of tests, and work samples and simulations.

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Explain what is meant by reliability and validity.
Explain how you would go about validating a test.
Cite and illustrate our testing guidelines.
Give examples of some of the ethical and legal considerations in testing.
List eight tests you could use for employee selection and how you would use them.
Give two examples of work sample/simulation tests.
Explain the key points to remember in conducting background investigations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Why Careful Selection is Important

Organizational performance

Costs of recruiting and hiring

The Importance of Selecting the Right Employees

Legal obligations
and liability

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Once you review your applicants’ résumés, the next step is selecting the best candidates for the job. This usually means whittling down the applicant pool by using the screening tools we cover in this chapter.

Nothing is more important than hiring the right employees. It is important for three main reasons: performance, costs, and legal obligations.

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Avoiding Negligent Hiring Claims

Carefully scrutinize information on employment applications.
Get written authorization for reference checks, and check references.
Save all records and information about the applicant.
Reject applicants for false statements or conviction records for offenses related to the job.
Balance the applicant’s privacy rights with others’ “need to know.”
Take immediate disciplinary action if problems arise.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Avoiding negligent hiring claims means taking “reasonable steps” to avoid hiring employees with criminal records or other problems who commit crimes or other acts for which the employer can be held liable.

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Basic Testing Concepts

Reliability

Describes the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the identical or alternate forms of the same test.

Are test results stable over time?

Validity

Indicates whether a test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring.

Does the test actually measure what it is intended to measure?

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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A test is, basically, a sample of a person’s behavior. Using a test (or any selection tool) assumes the tool is both reliable and valid. Few things illustrate evidence-based HR—the deliberate use of the best-available evidence in making decisions about the human resource management practices you are focusing on—as do checking for reliability and validity.

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FIGURE 6–1 A Slide from the Rorschach Test

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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In the Rorschach Test sample in Figure 6-1, the psychologist asks the person to explain how he or she interprets an ambiguous picture. In such projective tests, it is more difficult to prove that the tests are measuring what they are said to measure, in this case, some trait of the person’s personality—that they’re valid.

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Types of Validity

Criterion validity

Content validity

Types of
Test Validity

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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In employment testing, there are two main ways to demonstrate a test’s validity: criterion validity and content validity.

Criterion validity means demonstrating that those who do well on the test also do well on the job, and that those who do poorly on the test do poorly on the job. In psychological measurement, a predictor is the measurement (in this case, the test score) that you are trying to relate to a criterion, such as performance on the job.

Employers demonstrate the content validity of a test by showing that the test constitutes a fair sample of the job’s content. The basic procedure here is to identify job tasks that are critical to performance, and then randomly select a sample of those tasks to test.

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Evidence-Based HR: How to Validate a Test

Relate Your Test Scores and Criteria: scores versus actual performance

Choose the Tests: test battery or single test

Steps in Test Validation

Analyze the Job: predictors and criteria

Administer the Test: concurrent or predictive validation

Cross-Validate and Revalidate: repeat Steps 3 and 4 with a different sample

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Anyone using tests (or test results) should know something about validation. The validation process consists of the five steps listed in the slide.

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FIGURE 6–2 Examples of Web Sites Offering Information on Tests or Testing Programs

www.hr-guide.com/data/G371.htm
Provides general information and sources
for all types of employment tests
http://ericae.net
Provides technical information on all types
of employment and nonemployment
tests.www.ets.org/testcoll
Provides information on over 20,000 tests
www.kaplan.com
Information from Kaplan test preparation
on how various admissions tests work
www.assessments.biz
One of many firms offering employment tests

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Figure 6-2 presents several Web sites that provide information about tests or testing programs.

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FIGURE 6–3 Expectancy Chart

Note: This expectancy chart shows the relation between scores made on the Minnesota Paper Form Board and rated success of junior draftspersons.

Example: Those who score between 37 and 44 have a 55% chance of being rated above average and those scoring between 57 and 64 have a 97% chance.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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If there is a correlation between test and job performance, you can develop an expectancy chart that presents the relationship between test scores and job performance graphically. The expectancy chart in Figure 6-3 shows the percentage of high job performers in each of five test score groups.

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TABLE 6–1 Testing Program Guidelines

Use tests as supplements.
Validate the tests.
Monitor your testing/selection program.
Keep accurate records.
Use a certified psychologist.
Manage test conditions.
Revalidate periodically.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Table 6-1 summarizes important testing guidelines, such as “use tests as supplements.”

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Test Takers’ Individual Rights and Test Security

Under the APA’s standard for educational and psychological tests, test takers have the following rights:

The right to the confidentiality of test results.

The right to informed consent regarding use of these results.

The right to expect that only people qualified to interpret the scores will have access to them, or that sufficient information will accompany the scores to ensure their appropriate interpretation.

The right to expect the test is fair to all. For example, no one taking it should have prior access to the questions or answers.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Test takers have rights to privacy and feedback under the American Psychological Association’s (APA) standard for educational and psychological tests; these guide psychologists but are not legally enforceable.

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Legal Privacy Issues

Defamation

Libeling or slandering of employees or former employees by an employer.

Avoiding Employee Defamation Suits

Train supervisors regarding the importance of employee confidentiality.

Adopt a “need to know” policy.

Disclose procedures impacting confidentially of information to employees.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Common law also provides some protection against disclosing information about employees to people outside the company. The main application here involves defamation (either libel or slander), but there are privacy issues, too.

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How Do Employers Use Tests at Work?

Major Types of Tests

Basic skills tests

Job skills tests

Psychological tests

Why Use Testing?

Increased work demands = more testing

Screen out bad or dishonest employees

Reduce turnover by personality profiling

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Firms test applicants for basic skills (defined as the ability to read instructions, write reports, and do arithmetic adequate to perform common workplace tasks). Many others require employees to take job skills tests and require some form of psychological measurement. Employers don’t use tests just to find good employees, but also to screen out bad ones.

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FIGURE 6–4 Sample Test

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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The short test in Figure 6-4 is intended to find out how prone you might be to on-the-job accidents.

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Computerized and Online Testing

Online tests

Telephone prescreening

Offline computer tests

Virtual “inbox” tests

Online problem-solving tests

Types of Tests

Specialized work sample tests

Numerical ability tests

Reading comprehension tests

Clerical comparing and checking tests

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Computerized and/or online testing is increasingly replacing conventional paper-and-pencil and manual tests. Many firms have applicants take online or offline computerized tests—sometimes by phone, using the touch-tone keypad, sometimes online—to prescreen applicants quickly prior to more in-depth interviews and background checks.

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Types of Tests

Cognitive abilities

Motor and physical abilities

Personality
and interests

What Different Tests Measure

Current
achievement

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Cognitive tests include tests of general reasoning ability (intelligence) and tests of specific mental abilities like memory and inductive reasoning.

Tests of motor and physical abilities measure motor abilities, such as finger dexterity, manual dexterity, and reaction time.

Personality tests measure basic aspects of an applicant’s personality, such as introversion, stability, and motivation.

Achievement tests measure what someone has learned. Most of the tests you take in school are achievement tests. They measure your “job knowledge” in areas like economics, marketing, or human resources.

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FIGURE 6–5 Type of Question Applicant Might Expect on a Test of Mechanical Comprehension

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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The Test of Mechanical Comprehension in Figure 6-5 tests applicants’ understanding of basic mechanical principles.

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The “Big Five”

Extraversion

Emotional stability/ Neuroticism

Agreeableness

Openness to experience

Conscientiousness

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Industrial psychologists often focus on the “big five” personality dimensions: extraversion, emotional stability/neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.

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Work Samples and Simulations

Work
samples

Management assessment centers

Video-based situational testing

Measuring Work Performance Directly

Miniature job training and evaluation

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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With work samples, examinees are presented with situations representative of the job for which they’re applying, and are evaluated on their responses.

Experts consider these (and simulations, like the assessment centers we also discuss in this section) to be tests. However, they differ from most test forms, because they measure job performance directly.

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FIGURE 6–7 Example of a Work Sampling Question

Checks key before installing against:

___ shaft score 3

___ pulley score 2

___ neither score 1

Note: This is one step in installing pulleys and belts.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Figure 6-7 shows one of the steps required for installing pulleys and belts—“checks key before installing.” As the figure shows, possible approaches here include checking the key against (1) the shaft, (2) the pulley, or (3) neither. The right of the figure lists the weights (scores) reflecting the worth of each method. The applicant performs the task, and the observer checks off the approach used.

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TABLE 6–2 Evaluation of Assessment Methods on Four Key Criteria

Note: There was limited research evidence available on applicant reactions to situational judgment tests and physical ability tests. However, because these tests tend to appear very relevant to the job, it is likely that applicant reactions to them would be favorable.

Assessment Method	Validity	Adverse Impact	Costs (Develop/ Administer)	Applicant Reactions
Cognitive ability tests	High	High (against minorities)	Low/low	Somewhat favorable
Job knowledge test	High	High (against minorities)	Low/low	More favorable
Personality tests	Low to moderate	Low	Low/low	Less favorable
Biographical data inventories	Moderate	Low to high for different types	High/low	Less favorable
Integrity tests	Moderate to high	Low	Low/low	Less favorable
Structured interviews	High	Low	High/high	More favorable
Physical fitness tests	Moderate to high	High (against females and older workers)	High/high	More favorable
Situational judgment tests	Moderate	Moderate (against minorities)	High/low	More favorable
Work samples	High	Low	High/high	More favorable
Assessment centers	Moderate to high	Low to moderate, depending on exercise	High/high	More favorable
Physical ability tests	Moderate to high	High (against females and older workers)	High/high	More favorable

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Table 6-2 summarizes the validity, cost, and potential adverse impact of several popular assessment methods.

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Background Investigations and
Other Selection Methods

Investigations and Checks

Reference checks

Background employment checks

Criminal records

Driving records

Credit checks

Why?

To verify factual information provided by applicants

To uncover damaging information

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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To avoid negligent hiring mistakes, employers must check the candidate’s background thoroughly.

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Background Investigations and Reference Checks

Former Employers

Current Supervisors

Written References

Social Networking Sites

Commercial Credit
Rating Companies

Sources of
Information

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Most employers check and verify the job applicant’s background information and references. Commonly verified data include legal eligibility for employment (in compliance with immigration laws), dates of prior employment, military service (including discharge status), education, identification (including date of birth and address to confirm identity), county criminal records (current residence, last residence), motor vehicle record, credit, licensing verification, Social Security number, and reference check.

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Limitations on Background Investigations and Reference Checks

Background Investigations and
Reference Checks

Supervisor Reluctance

Employer Guidelines

Legal Issues: Privacy

Legal Issues: Defamation

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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In practice (as most people instinctively know), giving someone a bad reference can drag you into a legal mess.

A communication is defamatory if it is false and tends to harm the reputation of another by lowering the person in the estimation of the community or by deterring other persons from associating or dealing with him or her.

Employees can sue employers for disclosing true but embarrassing private facts about the employee.

In practice, many firms have a policy of not providing any information about former employees except for their dates of employment, last salary, and position titles.

To avoid potential invasion of privacy issues, employers should obtain the applicant’s written permission before checking into the applicant’s background information, even if that information is publicly available (e.g., published on social networking sites).

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Making Background Checks More Useful

Include on the application form a statement for applicants to sign explicitly authorizing a background check.

Use telephone references if possible.

Be persistent in obtaining information.

Compare the submitted résumé to the application.

Ask open-ended questions to elicit more information from references.

Use references provided by the candidate as a source for other references.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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To obtain better information on an applicant’s background, employers can follow these guidelines.

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Using Preemployment Information Services

Notice of adverse action to applicant/employee

Employer certification to reporting agency

Acquisition and Use of Background Information

Disclosure to and authorization by applicant/employee

Providing copies of reports to applicant/employee

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Various federal and state laws govern how employers acquire and use applicants’ and employees’ background information. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is the main directive. Compliance with these laws essentially involves these four steps.

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The Polygraph and Honesty Testing

Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988

Generally prohibits polygraph examinations by all private employers unless:

The employer has suffered an economic loss or injury.

The employee in question had access to the property.

There is a reasonable prior suspicion.

The employee is told the details of the investigation, as well as questions to be asked on the polygraph test itself.

Private business exceptions:

Private security employees

Employees with access to drugs

Ongoing economic loss or injury investigations

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988. This law severely restricts the polygraph (or lie detector) and other mechanical or electrical devices that attempt to measure honesty or dishonesty for honesty testing. Federal laws don’t prohibit paper-and-pencil tests and chemical testing (as for drugs).

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Honesty Testing Programs:
What Employers Can Do

Antitheft Screening Procedure:

Ask blunt questions.

Listen, rather than talk.

Do a credit check.

Check all employment and personal references.

Use paper-and-pencil honesty tests and psychological tests.

Test for drugs.

Establish a search-and-seizure policy and conduct searches.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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With or without testing, there’s a lot a manager or employer can do to screen out dishonest applicants or employees. Honesty testing still requires some caution. Having “failed” an “honesty test,” the candidate may feel his or her treatment was less than proper. Some “honesty” questions also pose invasion-of-privacy issues.

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FIGURE 6–9 “The Uptight Personality”

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Graphology refers to the use of handwriting analysis to determine the writer’s basic personality traits. Graphology has some resemblance to projective personality tests, although graphology’s validity is highly suspect.

According to a graphologist, the writing in Figure 6-9 exemplifies traits such as “independence” and “isolation.”

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Physical Examinations

Reasons for preemployment medical examinations:

To verify that the applicant meets the physical requirements of the position.

To discover any medical limitations to be taken 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.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Once the employer extends the person a job offer, a medical exam is often the next step in the selection (although it may also occur after the new employee starts work).

The Americans with Disabilities Act permits a medical exam during the period between the job offer and commencement of work if such exams are standard practice for all applicants for that job category.

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Substance Abuse Screening

Types of Screening

Before formal hiring

After a work accident

Presence of obvious behavioral symptoms

Random or periodic basis

Transfer or promotion to new position

Types of Tests

Urinalysis

Hair follicle testing

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Many employers conduct drug screenings to test candidates before hire, to test current employees after specific work incidents or on a random or periodic basis, while others require drug tests when they transfer or promote employees to new positions.

Substance tests have become increasingly more accurate in detecting a broader spectrum of substances over longer periods of past use.

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Substance Abuse Screening Issues

Safety:
impairment vs. presence

Recreational use vs. addiction

American with Disabilities Act

Drug Free Workplace Act of 1998

Intrusiveness of testing procedures

Accuracy of tests

Ethical and Legal Issues

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Many factors impact on the detection of employee substance abuse and the subsequent actions that employers can, should, or must take.

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FIGURE 6–10 Procedure in Complying with Immigration Law

Hire only citizens and aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United States.
Advise all new job applicants of your policy.
Require all new employees to complete and sign the verification form (the “I-9 form”) designated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to certify that they are eligible for employment.
Examine documentation presented by all new employees, record information about the documents on the verification form, and sign the form.
Retain the form for three years or for one year past the employment of the individual, whichever is longer.
If requested, present the form for inspection by INS or Department of Labor officers. No reporting is required.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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To comply with this law, Figure 6-10 outlines the steps employers should follow in completing the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form and complying with federal immigration laws.

Employers can avoid accusations of discrimination by verifying the documents of all applicants, not just those they may think suspicious.

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Improving Productivity Through HRIS:
Using Automated Applicant Tracking
and Screening Systems (ATS)

“Knock out” applicants who
do not meet job requirements

Allows employers to extensively test and screen applicants online

Benefits of Applicant Tracking Systems

Can match “hidden talents” of applicants to available openings

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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The applicant tracking systems do more than compile incoming Web-based résumés and track applicants during the hiring process. They should also help with the testing and screening.

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FIGURE 6–11 Checklist: What to Look For in an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

The employer thinking of adopting an ATS should seek one that meets several minimum functionality requirements. Among other things, the ATS should be:

Easy to use.
Capable of being integrated into the company’s existing HRIS platform, so that, for instance, data on a newly hired candidate can flow seamlessly into the HRIS payroll system.
Able to capture, track, and report applicant EEO data.
Able to provide employee selection performance metrics reports, including “time to fill,” “cost to hire,” and “applicant source statistics.”
Able to facilitate scheduling and tracking of candidate interviews, email communications, and completed forms, including job offers.
Able to provide automated screening and ranking of candidates based upon job skill profiles.
Able to provide an internal job posting service that supports applications from current employees and employee referral programs.
Able to cross-post jobs to commercial job boards such as www.monster.com.
Able to integrate the ATS job board with your company’s own Web site; for instance, by linking it to your site’s “careers” section.
Able to provide for requisition creation and signoff approvals.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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Figure 6-11 lists what the effective ATS should do.

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K E Y T E R M S

reliability

test validity

criterion validity

content validity

expectancy chart

interest inventory

work samples

work sampling technique

management assessment center

situational test

video-based simulation

miniature job training and evaluation

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

Human Resources Management 12e Gary Dessler

Human Resources Management 12e
Gary Dessler

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