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EMPLOYEE SELECTION

Chapter 7

Human Resource Management

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Objectives

• Explain strategic selection.• Understand the need for validation of employee

selection procedures.• Describe sone of the major research findings on

selection.• Evaluate the use of psychological tests in selection• Appreciate the factors that make for successful

selection interviewing.• Discuss two approaches to making the selection

decision.

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What is Selection?

• The hiring and retention of key human resources

• Choosing the right people for the right job

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Strategic Selection

• The linking of selection activities to the organization’s strategic business objectives and culture.

• An organisation’s ultimate success depends on the best applicants being selected.

• Jobs and people must be matched to ensure employee satisfaction and organisational effectiveness.

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The Cost of a Poor selection Decision

DIRECT COSTS

Employee may not complete probationary period

Re-advertising costs

Panel time and effort

Personnel staff time and effort

INDIRECT COSTS

• Disruption to work routines

Frustration

Quality issues

Colleague investment

• Loss of investment

•Difference in performance levelOptimum level performance sought

- Marginal performance achieved =Performance gap

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Selection Policy

• Selection decisions must accord with organisational policy

• Issues to be considered include:

- Equal employment opportunity

- Quality of people

- Source of people

- Management roles

- Selection techniques

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Selection PolicyEqual employment opportunity

- Means giving people a fair chance to succeed without discrimination based on unrelated job factors such as age, race, sex or nationality

Quality of people: how would the “suitability” of candidates be measured?

Source of people: Internal/external/domestic/international people

Management roles: Who make final decision on hiring? Role of HRM?

Selection techniques: interviews/tests/medical examination?

Legal issues: licensed person for the professional?

Costs: Budget? Which department is responsible for the costs?

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TYPICAL SELECTION STEPS IN LARGE ORGANISATIONS

1 Reception of applicant

2 Preliminary interview

3 Application form

4 Tests

5 Interviews

6 Background investigations

7 Preliminary screening by human resource department

8 Final selection by line managers

9 Medical examination

10 Placement on the job

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Application Form and EEO Requirements (Questions not to ask)

Questions not to ask on an application form:• Marital status• sex• Age• Residential status• National or ethnic origin• Photographs• Race or colour• Relatives

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Tests

• Employment tests: assess the match between applicant and job requirements

• Interest tests: compare applicant’s interest patterns with successful people in a particular job

• Aptitude tests: measure special abilities that are required in specific jobs

• Intelligence tests: measure an applicant’s intelligence or ‘IQ’

• Personality tests: measure basic aspects of a person’s personality

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Testing and EEO

• Tests must be proven as being able to predict job performance

• Tests must not discriminate

• Tests must be job related

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Selection Interviews

• Selection interviews confirm/reject information in the application

BUT…• The selection interview is a subjective process and

prone to– bias– stereotypes– initial impressions– poor memory

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How to interview successfully

• Know the job• Know the personal attributes, experience, skills

and qualifications• Set specific objectives• Provide the proper setting for the interview• Review the application form or résumé• Beware of prejudices• Don’t make snap decisions

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How to interview successfully (cont)

• Put the applicant at ease• Watch the body language• Encourage the applicant to do most of the talking• Keep control of the interview• Explain the job• Close the interview• Write up the interview• Check references• Evaluate the interview

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Listening

There are three types of listening

• Listening to understand

• Listening to empathise

• Listening to evaluate

• Listening is not easy. Many learn to be passive listeners, merely accepting what is said. This is not good enough for an interviewer.

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Non-Verbal ActionsNon-verbal actions complement words, add meaning and feelingsNon-verbal actions may be used instead of words. Silence is not a void that has to be filled.Non-verbal actions may contradict words, convey a different message from what is being said.Some non-verbal may give a positive or negative impression.

Some examples of non-verbal interactions:• Head nods, shakes• Facial expressions• Voice inflection• Posture

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Interview Questions

Questions should be clear and concise, should follow a natural conversational sequence, and be in words the candidate can understand.

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Questions

Types of Questions to Use• Open questions - those requiring more than one

word answers• Closed questions - when you want specific

information, or wish to limit or close discussion of a topic, eg, How many? How long? When?

• Comparative questions - these save time and also give assessment information, eg, ‘Which job did you prefer?’; then ‘Why?’ or ‘How do/did these two jobs differ?’

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Types of Questions to Avoid1 Vague or Ambiguous:

eg, ‘How did you find that job?’

2 Direct:eg, ‘I take it you are good with people?’

3 Double or Triple:eg, ‘What made you choose that job, how did you like it; was it

all you had hoped it would be?’Ask one question at a time, using the others as

supplementary questions if necessary.

4 Leading or Loaded:eg, ‘When are you going to settle down to a real career?’

5 Trick Questions:These could land you in trouble and make you look foolish, with no

useful knowledge gained in the process.

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Other Selection Techniques• Biographical information blank (BIB)• Panel interviews• Group interviews• Computer interviewing• Video interviewing• Assessment centres• The polygraph• Honesty tests• Graphology

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The Selection Decision• Compensatory approach: the manager considers

all of the selection data for candidates who have successfully passed the initial screening. This allows a better overall impression of the applicant.

• Successive hurdles approach: the selection predictors are ranked according to their effectiveness (from most valid to least valid). For example, if an intelligence test has the highest correlation with job success, it will be the first hurdle in the selection process.