MGT3045 WK 3 Discussion

HR PERSPECTIVE: Behavioral Assessments

© 2017 South University

Testing and Selection HRM chooses from a wide array of tests and processes in hiring. Commonly used tools for most positions:

• Application/resume • References from previous employer • Interview(s)

Low skilled and low paid positions may only require the applicant's resume, references and an interview. Labor supply and demand influences HRM's selection tools. A more intensive selection process is needed for a highly skilled, highly paid position or when the labor supply is high. For example, when hiring for a cashier at McDonald's during a period of low labor supply, an applicant may be hired based on an application and interview. Selectivity is a good practice, but specific skill/pay level and the current supply and demand of labor determine the process. Criteria used in intensive selection processes:

• Ability/cognitive/skills-based tests • Personality and psychological tests • Credit and background checks • Honesty and judgment tests • Medical exams, particularly in the healthcare industry or physically demanding work • Fingerprinting, bonding, and polygraphs, especially in security-sensitive jobs • Certificates and license checks

Firms don’t typically spend much time or money finding the perfect applicant for a position that pays minimum wage. HRM must use valid and reliable tests. Valid means tests measure what they are supposed to measure.

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Testing and Selection

One drawback to testing is it can inadvertently lead to discrimination. For example, there are several test questions on the SAT exam for high school students that have been deemed invalid. These questions refer to cows, pastures, and agriculture issues. Urban students, which include a larger number of minorities, tend to find such questions difficult. Such questions have been removed from the standardized test because they do not measure intelligence, but instead measure familiarity with topics. Reliability means measuring consistently over time and among various individuals. The problems of reliability and validity often occur in personality testing. Regardless, using personality tests is a growing trend. The use of behavioral assessments is an emerging trend in the selection practices of many organizations. These assessments focus on determining candidates' suitability for jobs based on a range of attributes. The following explains how several companies are benefiting from their use. (Mathis et al., 2017).

Companies attempt to assess job candidates on a wide range of attributes to improve P/E fit Testing knowledge or hard skills can often be done in a relatively straightforward and easy way by asking candidates questions about the job content area or having them perform a sample of the job duties. Such ability tests help ensure that those hired will be capable of successfully performing the tasks involved in the job. But there is much more to P/E fit than a good match between the applicant and the job requirements. Employers also need to determine whether applicants will work well with their designated teams or work units and if they will be a good long-term fit for the organization as a whole. Assessing the applicant's fit with the organization's culture, their work style, and their potential are much more difficult. That's where behavioral assessments come into play. A company usually works with experts in Industrial/Organization Psychology to identify the competencies that have proven to lead to successful job performance. This often involves studying top performers to see what differentiates them from average or poor performers. Those qualities are then built into an assessment tool, which is often administered online early in the screening process. Each company can customize its assessment to measure employee performance elements that are most critical to success. Two companies in the same industry may value different aspects of employee performance. AMC Theaters found that using a behavoral assessment to determine applicants' friendliness, service orientation, and dependability reduced turnover to well below industry averages and improved employee engagement by 40%. This led to increased customer satisfaction scores, which in turn resulted in higher revenue at its theaters. Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center, Inc.

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Human Resource Management

©2017 South University

3 HR Perspective: Behavioral Assessments

Testing and Selection

in Boston instituted a 20-minute behavioral assessment in its online screening process and reduced turnover to single-digit levels. The assessment focused on determining each job candidate's cultural fit for a particular job in the hotel. These powerful results have led to an uptick in the use of behavioral assessments. While skill and knowledge tests are used by over half of U.S. companies, over a third are now using behavioral assessments to refine their selection process and generate better organization results. Considering the popularity of behavioral assessments, discuss the following questions: 1. What ethical and legal concerns does the use of behavioral assessments raise?

Do you believe that these assessments might be more subject to bias than skill and knowledge tests might be?

2. How do you think applicants might react to being asked to complete a behavioral assessment? Would you personally hesitate to participate in this type of screening for a job? (Mathis et al., 2017)

Mathis, R.L., Jackson, J.H., Valentine, S.R. & Meglich, P. (2017). Human resource management. (15th ed.).

Boston, MA: Cengage Learning

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Human Resource Management

©2017 South University