Chapter 5 – Selecting Employees

• The chapter focuses on selecting employees

Key Definitions

• Applicant Tracking System (ATS) streamlines information flow among job seekers, HR, and hiring managers
• Candidate experience refers to a job seeker's perception of and response to an employer's talent acquisition process
• Reliability is the extent to which a measurement generates consistent results, free from random error
• Validity is the extent to which performance on a measure relates to what it's designed to assess, like job performance
• Criterion-Related Validity shows a correlation between test scores and job performance scores
• Predictive Validation uses test scores of all applicants to find a relationship between scores and future performance of hired applicants
• Concurrent Validation administers a test to current employees and compares their scores to existing job performance measures
• Content Validity ensures consistency between test items/problems and real job situations
• Construct Validity ensures consistency between high test scores and high levels of constructs like intelligence or leadership ability, along with successful job performance
• Generalizable refers to being valid in contexts beyond development
• Utility is the extent to which the selection method provides economic value exceeding its cost
• Negligent Hiring can occur if an employer is liable for harm caused by an employee due to inadequate reference/background checks
• Aptitude Tests assess how well a person can learn or acquire skills
• Achievement Tests measure a person's existing knowledge and skills
• Cognitive Ability Tests measure mental abilities such as verbal, quantitative, and reasoning skills
• Assessment Centre uses various specific selection programs to rate applicants/job incumbents on their management potential
• Nondirective Interview offers the interviewer discretion in choosing questions
• Structured Interview consists of a predetermined set of questions
• Situational Interview presents a likely job scenario and asks candidates how they'd handle it
• Behavioural Description Interview (BDI) asks candidates to describe how they handled past situations
• Panel Interview involves several members of the organization interviewing a candidate
• Asynchronous Video Interview (AVI) involves candidates recording responses to digital questions without live interaction
• Multiple-Hurdle Model eliminates candidates at each selection stage
• Compensatory Model allows a high score on one assessment to compensate for a low score on another
• Hiring Algorithm is a mathematical model predicting job candidates most likely to be high performers

Steps in the Selection Process

• HR reviews applications to see who meets job requirements
• Candidates meeting requirements undergo tests/work samples to assess abilities
• The best are invited for interviews
• Supervisors/team members get involved in interviews
• Decision makers start forming conclusions about top performers
• Top candidates' references are checked and background checks are conducted
• Supervisors/teams/decision makers select the candidate to receive the job offer
• Candidates may negotiate salary/benefits

Strategic Approach to Selection

• Requires measuring the effectiveness of selection tools
• Tools should provide reliable and valid information
• Information should be generalizable and offer high utility
• Selection criteria must be legal

Candidate Experience

• Is a job seeker's view of and response to talent acquisition
• It impacts reputation, employer brand, and business results

Legal Standards for Selection

• Human rights/privacy laws impact the selection process
• Interviews must assess candidates without irrelevant information
• Questions about prohibited grounds of discrimination are disallowed
• Interview notes must be non-discriminatory
• Consent is needed before background/reference checks

Guidelines for Applications/Interviews

• Avoid inappropriate questions about name, address, age, sex, marital status, family status, photographs, religion, disability, pardoned conviction, gender identity, or sexual orientation
• Focus on job-related questions and explain the work shift

Evaluating Selection Methods

• Reliability indicates the measurement's freedom from random error for consistent results, measured using correlation coefficients
• Validity is the relationship between measure performance and its intended assessment, such as job performance, also using correlation coefficients
• Information on validity and selection help identify the best employees

Summary of Selection Process

• Begins with application/résumé review, tests, and interviews
• Reference/background checks verify information
• Candidates are selected based on aligning with job requirements
• Selection must comply with human rights, private legislation, and be fair

Measuring Success

• Success relies on reliability, validity, generalizability, and utility

Obtaining/Verifying Candidate Information

• Organizations use employment applications and résumés, but information reliability varies
• References/background checks help verify accuracy

Employment Tests

• Employment tests/work samples narrow the applicant pool
• Tests must measure abilities related to successful job performance
• Cognitive and job performance tests for personality and integrity may be employed
• Medical exams should follow conditional job offers
• Structured, situational, and behavioural description interviews offer more validity than unstructured interviews
• Interviews are costly and can introduce bias, but preparation, training, and technology improve efficiency

Making Selection Decisions

• Decisions must be objective and involve supervisors, hiring managers, HR professionals, and data-driven methods
• HR notifies applicants and extends job offers
• Careful records are required and needs coordination with the hiring manager