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Pre - employment testing
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Pre employment testing policies
The written policy should specify the :
Objective
Organization commitment to compliance laws
Which applicants to be tested Who analyses and interprets the results
Format of declaration
Description of all the tests used
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Testing categories
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Definition of Ability Tests
Ability Tests
Are standardized measures of knowledge (e.g.,
physical, mental, mechanical, and clerical abilities)
that results from formal learning experiences Traditional Forms of Ability Tests
Aptitude tests
Measure knowledge acquired without formal training
Achievement tests Measure current levels of previously acquired knowledge
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Mental Ability Tests
Development of Mental Ability Tests
Binet and Simon
Developed an intelligence test to measure the
mental age (academic achievement) of Frenchschool children
Published as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
in the U.S.
Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability
The first group-administered mental ability test to
have widespread use in industry
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What Is Measured by Mental
Ability Tests Content and Academic Achievement
Mental ability tests are validated by correlating test
scores with educational achievement as criteria.
Measured Abilities Mental ability tests measure several distinct abilities
but all tests do not measure the same abilities
Scoring of Tests
General tests provide an overall mental ability score
Other tests either provide separate scores on each
abilities, then sum scores to report a total score or
they measure separate abilities and do not combine
the scores into a general ability measure.
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Abilities Measured by Various Mental Ability Tests
Memory Span Figural ClassificationNumerical Fluency Spatial Orientation
Verbal Comprehension Visualization
Conceptual Classification Intuitive Reasoning
Semantic Relations Ordering
General Reasoning Figural Identification
Conceptual Foresight Logical Evaluation
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The Wonderlic Personnel Test
Wonderlic Personnel Test
Developed in 1938, in wide use thereafter
Is a 50 multiple-choice item test taken in 12 minutes
Contentvocabulary, commonsense reasoning,
formal syllogisms, arithmetic reasoning and
computation, analogies, perceptual skill, spatial
relations, number series, scrambled sentences, and
knowledge of proverbs.
Primarily measures verbal comprehension, with
deduction and numerical fluency being the next two
factors in order of importance.
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Example Items Similar to Items on the Wonderlic
Personnel Test
NOTE: An (*) indicates the correct response.
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Mechanical Ability Tests
Mechanical Ability
Characteristics that tend to make for success
in work with machines and equipment
Testing Methods Manual performance (assembly/manipulation)
Written problems
Abilities Measured Perceptual speed and accuracy
Mechanical information
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Mechanical Ability Tests
The Bennett Mechanical ComprehensionTest
to perceive and understand physical forces and
mechanical elements in practical situations. Uses pictures of familiar objects and scenes to ask
questions requiring logical analysis.
is best used for assessing applicant for positions that
require a grasp of the principles underlying the
operation and repair of complex devices.
Is intended to measure an individuals aptitude for
learning mechanical skills.
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Physical Ability Tests
Reasons for Physical Ability Testing More female applicants for male-dominated
jobs
Reducing the incidence of work-relatedinjuries
To determine the physical status of job
applicants
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Physical Ability Tests
Physical Abilities Analysis
Static strength
Dynamic strength Explosive strength
Trunk strength
Extent flexibility
Dynamic flexibility
Gross body coordination
Stamina
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Definition of Personality
Personality
The unique set of characteristicsthat define
an individual and determine that persons
pattern of interaction with the environment.
Characteristics
What people habitually want, say, do, feel, or
believe, and these attributes are combined
distinctly in each person.
Environment
Includes both human and nonhuman elements
(organizational demands, work conditions, physicalenvironment, etc.).
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Personality Traits
Trait
A continuous dimension on which consistent
individual differences in reactions to the same
situation may be measured (or explained) by
the amount of the characteristic the individual
exhibits.
Examples: sociability, independence, andneed for achievement
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Personality Traits for a Sample of Jobs Studied in
Selection
Job Personality Trait
Executive Conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, ambition (especially)
Supervisor Persistence, endurance, emotional stability, nurturance
Salesperson Conscientiousness, achievement (especially), ambition, extraversion
Secretary Conscientiousness, dependability (especially), emotional stability,
agreeableness
Computer Programmer Conscientiousness, original thinking, openness to new experiences
Insurance Agent Conscientiousness, extraversion, original thinking
Newspaper Writer Conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to new experiences
Carpenter Conscientiousness, dependability (especially), emotional stability
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Interaction of Traits and
Situations Powerful Situations
Cause individuals to interpret events in the same way
Create uniform expectancies of appropriate behavior
Provide incentives for the performance of a behavior Require commonplace skills
Weak Situations
Cause individuals to not uniformly interpret events in the same
way Do not create uniform expectations of desired behavior
Do not offer incentives for one type of behavior
Require a variety of skills
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Interaction of Traits and
Situations Effect of Powerful Situations
Powerful aspects of the situation influence an
individuals behavior more than the individuals traits.
Effect of Weak Situations Situational uncertainty causes an individual to act in
accordance with personal traits.
Implications
Personality is less important in powerful situationsthan in weak situations.
Personality characteristics are more important for
selection devices and job assignments in weak
situations than in powerful ones.
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Personality Measurement
Methods Inventories in Personality Measurement
Use the written responses of an individual as
the information for determining personality
Major Types of Inventories
Self-Report Questionnaires
thoughts, emotions, and past experiences.
Projective Techniques Require verbal responses to intentionally
ambiguous inkblots, pictures, or sentence stems
that provide insights into an individuals
personality.
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Personality Characteristics
Inventory (PCI) 150 multiple choice items
Each item has three possible responses
Requires 30-45 minutes to complete Measures the Big Five personality
dimensions
Extraversion Stability
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
O enness to ex erience
S l d R t ti It f Bi Fi
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Scales and Representative Items of Big Five
Personality Dimensions
*Based on the revised Personality Characteristics Inventory by Murray P. Barrick
and Michael K. Mount, published by Wonderlic, Inc., Libertyville, Illinois.
Personality Scale* Typical Item
Extraversion I tend not to say what I think about things.
Agreeableness I tend to trust other people.
Conscientiousness I approach most of my work steadily and persistently.
Stability Whenever Im by myself, I feel vulnerable.
Openness to Experience I enjoy eating in new restaurants I know nothing about.
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When Specific Traits are Useful
Extraversion, openness to experience, and emotional
stability are associated with effective leaders.
Conscientiousness, emotional stability, and
agreeableness predict teamwork and performance in
jobs involving interpersonal interactions. All Big Five traits except openness to experience predict
success either as an expatriate or an entrepreneur.
High conscientiousness and agreeableness scores
indicate less likelihood of deviant behavior.
Motivation is the means through which personality
operates; emotional stability, extraversion, and
conscientiousness support job satisfaction, commitment,
and job performance.
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The Interview in Personality
Measurement Traits are the most frequently assessed
constructs in the employment interview.
Conscientiousness is the most frequently measured.
Interviewer ratings of applicant personality aremoderately related to job performance.
Interviewers tend to attribute others behavior to
personality rather than to situational causes.
Raters often interpret even small amounts of behavior
as signs of underlying traits and motives.
Unstructured interviews can increase the accuracy of
the raters assessment of an applicants personality.
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The Appropriate Use of the
Interview Limit the scope of the interview
Do not attempt to assess the complete
personality
Limit the number of personality traits to be
judged and identify more carefully the ones
that are assessed.
Concentrate on previous behaviors
Use the Behavior Description Interview to
assess previous instances of applicantbehavior
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Behavioral Assessment in
Personality Measurement Methods of Behavioral Assessment
Structured situations
Group interaction and individual role in solving an
organizational problem
Example: Leaderless group discussion (LGD)
Observation of behavior
Supervisors record instances of work performance
Example: the Critical Incidents Technique
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Behavioral Assessment in
Personality Measurement
Limitations of Behavioral Assessment
How job-related are the situations in which the
individuals are placed?
How clearly has the recorded behavior been
defined?
How extensively have those evaluating the
behavior been trained?
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Performance Tests
What Performance Tests Do
Ask the applicant to do a representative part of the
job for which he or she is being evaluated.
Provide directevidence of the applicants ability andskill to work on the job.
Limitations of Performance Tests
Creating work samples representative of job activities
Relying on the assumption that applicants already
possess KSAs to complete the job behavior
Costs of time, materials, and equipment required to
develop and administer performance tests
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Examples of Performance Tests
Motor Tests operating a machine, installing a piece ofequipment, or making a product.
Verbal Tests
spoken or written messages or interpersonal
interaction
Trainability Tests
for jobs that do not presently exist and
specialized jobs for which extensive training
is necessary.
Examples of Work Sample Tests Used in
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Examples of Work-Sample Tests Used in
Selection
Test Job
Motor:
Lathe Machine operator
Drill press
Tool dexterity
Screw board test
Packaging
Shorthand Clerical worker
Stenographic
Typing
Blueprint reading Mechanic
Tool identification
Installing belts
Repair of gearboxInstalling a motor
Vehicle repair
Tracing trouble in a complex circuit Electronics technician
Inspection of electronic defects
Electronics test
Examples of Work Sample Tests Used in
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Examples of Work-Sample Tests Used in
Selection (contd)
Test Job
Verbal:
Report of recommendations for problem solution Manager or supervisor
Small business manufacturing game
Judgment and decision-making test
Supervisory judgment about training, safety,
performance, evaluation
Processing of mathematical data and Engineer or scientist
evaluating hypotheses
Describing laboratory tests
Mathematical formulation and scientific judgment
Oral fact finding Customer service representative
Role playing of customer contacts
Writing business letters
Giving oral directions
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Assessment Centers
What Is an Assessment Center (AC)?
A procedure for measuring KSAs in groups of
individuals (usually 12 to 24) that uses a
series of devices (exercises), many of whichare verbal performance tests.
Uses of ACs
Selectionidentifying participants who demonstratebehaviors necessary for the position considered.
Career developmentdetermining those behaviors
each participant does well and those in which each is
deficient.
Behavioral Dimensions Frequently Measured in
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Behavioral Dimensions Frequently Measured in
Assessment Centers
Dimension Definition
Oral Communication Effectively expressing oneself in individual or group situations (includes gestures andnonverbal communications)
Planning and Organizing Establishing a course of action for self or others in order to accomplish a specific goal;
planning proper assignments of personnel and appropriate allocation of resources
Delegation Utilizing subordinates effectively; allocating decision making and other responsibilities
to the appropriate subordinates
Control Establishing procedures for monitoring or regulating the processes, tasks, or activities
of subordinates; monitoring and regulating job activities and responsibilities; taking
action to monitor the results of delegated assignments or projects
Decisiveness Expressing a readiness to make decisions, render judgments, take action, or commit
oneself
Initiative Actively attempting to influence events to achieve goals; showing self-starting actions
rather than passive acceptance. Taking action to achieve goals beyond those called
for; originating action
Tolerance for Stress Maintaining a stable performance under pressure or opposition
Adaptability Maintaining effectiveness in varying environments, with various tasks, responsibilities,
or people
Tenacity Staying with a position or plan of action until the desired objective is achieved or is no
longer reasonably attainable
SOURCE: George C. Thornton III,Assessment Centers in Human Resource
Management (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1992).
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Assessment Devices Used in
ACs Performance (Simulation) Tests
In-Basket
A paper-and-pencil test designed to replicate
administrative tasks of the job under consideration.
Leaderless Group Discussion (LGD)
A small group of applicants are each assigned
roles and charged with resolving either acompetitive or a cooperative scenario.
The group must produce a written report that
specifies the action to be taken by the company
relative to the scenario.
Types of Abilities To Be Developed in Training
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Types of Abilities To Be Developed in Training
Assessors
Understanding the behavioral dimensions
Observing the behavior of participants
Categorizing participant behavior as to appropriate
behavioral dimensions
Judging the quality of participant behavior
Determining the rating of participants on each
behavioral dimension across the exercises
Determining the overall evaluation of participantsacross all behavioral dimensions
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Rating Dimensions of Behavior
in ACs5 A great deal of the dimension was shown (excellent).
4 Quite a lot of the dimension was shown.
3 A moderate amount of the dimension was shown
(average).
2 Only a small amount of the dimension was shown.
1 Very little of the dimension was shown, or this
dimension was not shown at all (poor).0 No opportunity existed for this dimension to be shown.
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Situational Judgment Tests
Situation Judgment Tests (SJTs)
Low-fidelity simulations that present a series
of written descriptions of work situations and
multiple responses to each situation.
The participant indicates one of the responses
for each situation as being the one that the
participant endorses.
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Integrity Testing
Why worry about
employee
dishonesty?
Pressure to remain
cost-competitive in a
global marketplace
Wide differences in
perceptions of the
extent of employee
theft
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Polygraph Testing
Polygraph (lie detector)
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (1988)
Made it illegal in selection (with theexception of specific circumstances)
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Permissible Uses of the
Polygraph By Specific Employers
Private employers providing security services.
Manufacturers, distributors, or dispensers of controlled
substances.
Federal, state, and local government employers.
Under Specific Testing Conditions
Workplace theft or other incident has occurred that resulted in an
economic loss to the company.
Employee must have had access to the property that is the
subject of the investigation.
Reasonable suspicion that the employee was involved in the
incident.
Employee has been given specific written information about the
incident being investigated and the reasons for the testing.
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Paper-and-Pencil Integrity Tests
Types of Integrity Tests
Overt integrity tests
Directly ask for information about attitudes toward theft and
the occurrence of previous theft behaviors. Personality-based measures
Do not ask about theft behaviors directly.
Inventory traits linked to several related employee behaviors
that are detrimental to the organization.
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Drug Testing
Issues in Drug Use Measurement
Distinctions related to use (levels and
frequencies of consumption) and impairment
(deterioration in performance)
Drug use varies by:
Occupation
GenderAge
Education
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Types of Drug Tests
Paper-and-Pencil Tests
Resemble paper-and-pencil integrity tests
Limited by prohibition on self-incrimination
Urine Tests
Require screening and confirmation tests
Results are dependent on threshold level set
Hair Analysis
Requires screening and confirmation tests
Allows for longer detection periods
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Types of Drug Tests (contd)
Fitness-for-Duty (Competency) Tests
Compares an individuals response times and
accuracy while operating a computer game to
the individuals previous scores on the game.
Oral Fluid Test
Oral swab taken from inside of individuals
mouth is analyzed for presence of drugs.
A t f D T ti
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Acceptance of Drug Testing
Programs Drug testing is accepted when:
An advance warning of the testing is given
Rehabilitation rather than termination is whenthe presence of drugs is detected
There are fair detection procedures and
explanation of results
There is a perceived need for testing.
Either urinalysis or overt paper-and-pencil
tests are used rather than a personality
inventory.
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Graphology
Graphology The analysis of the handwriting of an
individual in order to infer personality traits
and behavioral tendencies.
Graphologist
The individual who performs the analysis of
handwriting features:
Size of letters, slant, width, zones (top, middle, and
bottom), regularity of letter formation, margin,
pressure, stroke, line of letters (upward, straight,
downward), connections of letters, form of
connection, and word and line spacing.
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Some Examples of Handwriting Features and
Their Interpretation