BMAN10872 Selection 2024 LS PDF

SELECTION DR LINA SIEGL [email protected] Lecture Outline Why is selection important? Pre-selection processes Job analysis Person specification Selection methods Pseudo-scientific Less scientific More scientific Assessment Centres Fairness and applicant reactions Intended Lectu...

SELECTION DR LINA SIEGL [email protected] Lecture Outline Why is selection important? Pre-selection processes Job analysis Person specification Selection methods Pseudo-scientific Less scientific More scientific Assessment Centres Fairness and applicant reactions Intended Lecture Learning Outcomes ❑ Identify different methods used in recruitment and selection ❑ Review criteria used to evaluate effective and fair selection methods ❑ Use criteria to critically evaluate example methods used in selection processes ❑Consider wider and contemporary issues in selection What happens if you hire the wrong person? Why is selection important? Recruitment and Selection Costs Average spend for recruiting senior manager = £3,000 Other posts = £1,500 How much does it cost to replace an £8/hr worker? ◦ £3500!!! This is the lowest figure calculated ◦ 30-40% of annual wage for entry level positions – rising to 150-400% depending on seniority and specialism ◦ Includes training, payment of recruiters, etc Replacing staff who left is the single largest expense to UK employers: £2.6 billion annually + £12.2 billion in production loss as replacement catches up Unfair selection can also result in lawsuits, bad publicity, and loss of revenue (ACAS, 2021; CIPD, 2022: Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey 2022) The selection process Organisational Needs Analysis Job Analysis Job description & Person specification Identify selection criteria & choose assessment methods Administer Selection Methods Interpret Results & Make Decision Evaluation & Ethics Attract Candidates Job analysis A job analysis produces systematic information about jobs, including the nature of work performed, position within the organisation, and relations the job holder may have with others Job analysis Many ways to perform a job analysis, here are the 4 most common: ◦ Written material ◦ E.g., contracts, manuals ◦ Rarer these days ◦ Job holders’ reports ◦ Current employees interviewed, describe main tasks in detail ◦ Very common ◦ Colleagues’ reports ◦ Interview peers for information similar to the above ◦ Direct observation ◦ Watch employees and note down behaviours/tasks Task Analysis HIERARCHICAL TASK ANALYSIS Divide jobs or job components into tasks and subtasks, forming a hierarchy Best suited for tasks with stable, clear, and observable components Less suited for capturing cognitive tasks COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS Examine mental activities necessary to perform a role Use methods including interviews, focus groups, and simulations where the subjectmatter expert details how they analyse information, make decisions, and cope with unexpected problems Best suited for jobs with predominantly cognitive tasks Job Analysis Competency analysis “A cluster or specific characteristics and behaviour patterns a job holder is required to demonstrate in order to perform the relevant job’s tasks with competence” Used to identify knowledge, skills, and behaviours, which forms a competency model “A comprehensive list of all the relevant competencies associated with a job role” (Arnold & Randall, 2020) Bartram (2005) Competency Model Leading and Deciding Adapting & Coping Organising & Executing Supporting & Cooperating “Great Eight” Creating & Conceptualizing Link to white paper on Blackboard Link to UK Civil Service Competency Framework on Blackboard Interacting & Presenting Analysing & Interpreting Enterprising & Performing Job analysis ✓Provides clear idea of what is expected of employees ✓Outlines skills, traits, characteristics necessary for job success ✓Documents other important things: ✓Work hours ✓Title ✓Hierarchy ✓Pay Person specification Job Analysis Job description & Person specification With information from job analysis, a person specification can be written. A person specification is a statement in which job demands are translated into human terms Lists essential and desirable characteristics Task: Review Job Descriptions Open Prospects.ac.uk Click “Jobs and work experience” Click “Search graduate jobs” Choose your preferred sectors Type of work: Graduate job + Graduate scheme Choose your preferred location Look at different graduate jobs, and identify knowledge, skills, and behaviours identified in the advert Your Experiences Selection methods Job Analysis ✓ Job description & Person specification ✓ Identify selection criteria & choose assessment methods Reliability in Selection Assessment Internal consistency reliability Whether tests and assessments are consistently or accurately measuring the attribute of interest Interrater reliability The extent to which different assessors agree in their assessments of a particular job candidate Validity in Selection Assessment Face validity A test appears plausible/looks relevant Does not guarantee that its is actually related to job performance Construct validity A test measures what its claims to measure Often established by correlating a new measure with a wellestablished measure Content Validity The content looks relevant to experts A test accurately represents the subject matter Different types of validity Criterion validity A test is related to job performance (or other criterion) Concurrent (links to job performance now) Predictive (links to future job performance Good practice needs both Selection Method Criteria ❑ Reliability ❑ Legality ❑ Expertise required for analysis & interpretation of information generated by the tool ❑ Scalability for high volume recruitment ❑ Positive applicant perceptions ❑ Efficiency ❑ Assessor/interview training ❑ Validity ❑ Utility Selection Methods Pseudo-scientific methods: Graphology Less scientific methods: Unstructured interviews CVs & Application Forms References Scientific Methods: Structured Interviews Psychometric Testing Situational Judgment Tests Work Samples Bio-Data Assessment Centers THE CLASSIC TRIO A Dancing Salesman Reliable and valid tool for selection? Pseudo-scientific methods Graphology: The study of personality via handwriting analysis ◦ Still going in France, Israel, etc Graphology Not scientifically supported … Our criteria: ◦ Reliability: Very low (Keinan, Barak, & Tramati, 1984) ◦ Validity: Horrible, r = 0.02 (Hunter & Schmidt, 1998; Rafaeli & Klimoski, 1983) ◦ Fairness: No real research, but probably not fair at all Less scientific methods: The classic trio Most common in selection: (Scholarios, Locyer & Johnson, 2003) 1) Applications/CVs (94%) 2) References (88%) 3) Interviews (72%) Applications and CVs Benefits: Ease of use, ease of comparison, can be used again and again (CVs) Disadvantages: Timely, biased, may not be accurate, may not predict job success References Usually obtained from current or past employers Benefits: Participants react positively to them, very popular method Disadvantages: full of bias, creates expectations of candidate if read before meeting (Tucker & Rowe, 1979) References Our criteria : ◦ Reliability: Poor (Mosel & Goheen, 1959) ◦ People rarely say the same thing or agree! ◦ Validity: Poor (Hunter & Hunter, 1984) ◦ Fairness: Very poor! ◦ Who would YOU choose as a reference? Lots of possible issues: ◦ Do reference writers know the job requirements? Are they articulate? Do they even reply? Response rates as low as 35% sometimes! (Carroll & Nash, 1972) Interviews Interviews The most popular form of selection (Wilk & Cappelli, 2003) ◦ Only 1% of organisations never use any form of interview Two main types: 1) Unstructured interviews 2) Structured interviews ◦ Situational ◦ Behavioural (Janz, 1989) Interviews Benefits: Widely accepted by candidates, able to extract large amounts of information, can possibly be good predictor of performance/success Disadvantages: Prone bias, participants can lie, may induce stress (especially if it is a panel interview), costly Unstructured Interviews Our criteria: ◦ Reliability: Rather poor (Dipboye, 1994) ◦ Validity: Middling (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) ◦ Fairness: Poor! Selection Methods Scientific Methods: Structured Interviews Psychometric Testing Situational Judgment Tests Work Samples Bio-Data Assessment Centers Structured Interviews Interviews with standardised questions (usually after job analysis), trained interviewers, evaluation Yield better results than unstructured Two types: Situational: “Verbal work samples” Applicant given work situation. Asked what they would do. Behavioural: Describing past behaviours “Think of a time when you successfully handled an angry client” etc. Improving Structured Interviews Use multiple interviewers Improves reliability May reduce bias Same interviewer for all candidates Increases standardisation Train interviewers Increases standardisation, awareness of biases & tricks Take notes during interview Increase memory retention? Increase inter-rater reliability (Campion et al., 1997) Structured Interviews Our criteria: ◦Reliability: Standardisation improves reliability ◦Validity: Much better!! (Dipboye, 1994) ◦ 0.62 vs. 0.20!! ◦Fairness: Better ◦ Standardisation evens out playing field somewhat Psychometric Testing Measuring the mind … Psychometrics are standardised tests, designed to ensure reliability and validity, aimed to measure underlying cognitive abilities or personality traits in a quantifiable, fair, and consistent manner In the UK, psychometric testing requires certification (BPS or test maker) Usually measures personality and/or intelligence (cognitive ability) Cognitive ability tests is the strongest predictor of future job performance across almost all occupations and organisations Personality Assessment Self-report Questionnaires: I see myself as someone who….. Strongly disagree Strongly agree … is talkative 1 2 3 4 5 … does a thorough job 1 2 3 4 5 … is original, comes up with new ideas 1 2 3 4 5 … is reserved 1 2 3 4 5 … is helpful and unselfish with others 1 2 3 4 5 … is a reliable worker 1 2 3 4 5 … is relaxed, handles stress well 1 2 3 4 5 How can cognitive ability be measured? Numerical 13 - - - 4 27 - - - 9 43 - - - 7 11 - - -? Z X T R N L ? If AK=10, RV=4 and JZ=16 What does MO= ? Example of Psychometric Testing INDUCTIVE REASONING Psychometric tests Benefits: Standardised, easy to access, flexible, easy data generation Disadvantages: Costly, negative candidate reaction, issues inherent in process ◦ Candidates may not like being tested ◦ Self-awareness or social desirability may lead to inaccurate results Psychometric tests Our criterion: Reliable Valid Fair Intelligence Very high High Moderate Personality Moderate Moderate-low Moderate Situational Judgement Tests (SJT) Designed to assess an applicant’s judgements in hypothetical, work-related situations Typically have four options that ranked from most to least preferred response SJT questions have predefined right and wrong answers Cost effective for large scale selection processes Consistently demonstrate strong criterion validity Example of SJT Situational judgement tests Tend to be well-received by applicants Our criteria: ◦ Reliability: Varied, but looks quite good (McDaniel et al., 2007) ◦ Validity: High ◦ Fairness: Quite good Work samples Ask candidates to do a simplified version of the job One of the most valid methods, especially when combined with other tests (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) Assessment Centres Multifaceted assessment process where applicants are assessed on multiple competencies using multiple job-related exercises + If the exercises are well designed, with high psychometric properties (reliability + validity), can be very effective - If not, can be very expensive, time consuming, and inaccurately include or exclude the wrong candidates Assessment centres Not a place! A term used to denote use of multiple assessments and methods on individual, being observed by assessors Assessment centres Assessment centres Applicants invited to complete assessments together over a day or two (sometimes online) Combination of tests (Work sample? Interviews?) Very tricky to design and evaluate but if done well, reliability, validity and fairness are high! Applicant reactions Selection is a two-way street What are the issues with too many tests? Too few? Participants should always be briefed after application process, regardless of results The selection process Organisational Needs Analysis ✓ ✓ Job description & Person specification ✓ Identify selection criteria & choose assessment methods Job Analysis Administer Selection Methods Interpret Results & Make Decision Evaluation & Ethics ✓ Attract Candidates Equality, Diversity and Inclusion The recruitment and selection process is fraught with potential bias High achieving, early career women in Mathematical subjects are three times less likely to be shortlisted for interviews than high achieving, early career men (Quadline, 2018) Making job applications anonymous has helped women and individuals from non-Western backgrounds get shortlisted, but only make women and not individuals from non-Western backgrounds more likely to be offered the job (Åslund & Skans, 2012) Biased measures of career success is an important contributor to systemic career inequity The Equality Act 2010 Became law in October 2010 Replaces previous legislations, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1795 the Race Relations Act 1976 the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Consistency in what employers and employees need to do to make their workplace a fair environment and comply the law Protected Characteristics Age Disability Pregnancy and maternity Gender Race and ethnicity Gender reassignment Religion or belief Marriage and civil partnership Sex Sexual orientation When discrimination is lawful In specific circumstances, it may be lawful for an employer to specify that applicants for a job must have a particular protected characteristic under the Equality Act Religious posts Actors When discrimination is lawful must be crucial to the post, and not just one of several important factors and Relate to the nature of the job and Be ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. If there is any reasonable and less discriminatory way of achieving the same aim, it is unlikely that the employer could claim an occupational requirement. Reasonable Adjustments Take ‘positive actions’ An employer must consider making ‘reasonable adjustments’, involving the disabled employee or job applicant if: The employer becomes aware of their disability A disabled employee or job applicant asks for adjustments to be made A disabled employee is having difficult with any part of their job Either an employee’s sickness record, or delay in returning to work, is linked to their disability Increased use of technology Organisations increasingly use technology to support the recruitment and selection process Traditional platforms such as newspapers and JobCentre Plus are in decline Recruitment: Corporate website and professional networking sites Conduct interviews (68%) Tests/assessments (35%) (CIPD, 2020: Resourcing and talent planning survey 2020) AI and Technology in Selection The pandemic has increased use of technology in recruitment and selection, but the effectiveness is limited by lack of internal skills and knowledge, and/or resources (CIPD, 2021) Use of AI in recruitment and selection can unfairly exclude applicants based on bias against disability and neurodiversity AI used by Amazon between 2014 and 2017 systematically scored female and disabled candidates lower than able-bodied men Algorithms based on biased workforce data Summary It is important for organisations to develop good selection procedures to find best candidates Job analyses and person specifications help create good selection methods So many selection methods, but quality varies! We must keep applicants and their reactions in mind Recommended Reading Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace. (Arnold et al., 2020). Chapter 3: Selection: Analysing jobs, competencies and selection methods (pp. 68-110) What are your questions? [email protected] Example of Psychometric Testing INDUCTIVE REASONING Example of SJT