integ: iop (references & testing)

Reference

• the expression of an opinion, either orally or through a written checklist, regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential for future success

• An employer must obtain information about the quality of previous performance by relying on an applicant’s references

• References can be obtained by calling those references or asking for letter of recommendations from previous employers

• have not been successful in predicting future employee success

Strong Interest Inventory (SII)

asks individuals to indicate whether they like or dislike items such as bargaining, repairing electrical wiring, and taking responsibility

Reference Check

the process of confirming the accuracy of information provided by an applicant

Letter of Recommendation

letter expressing an opinion regarding applicant’s ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential future success

Confirms Details on Resume

Prevents resume fraud

Resume Fraud

intentional placement of untrue information on a résumé

Checks for Discipline Problems

Prevents negligent hiring

Negligent Hiring

• situation in which an employee with a previous criminal record commits a crime as part of his/her employment

• If an organization hires an applicant without checking his references and background and he later commits a what

• The employee’s criminal background that would have been detected if a background check been conducted

Job Knowledge Tests

• measures the amount of job-related knowledge an applicant possesses

• Typically given in multiple-choice fashion for ease of scoring

• Can be written in essay format or given orally in a job interview

• Excellent content and criterion validity

• Has high face validity

Ability Tests

tap the extent to which an applicant can learn or perform a job-related skill

Cognitive Ability

• dimensions such as oral and written comprehension, oral and written expression, numerical facility, originality, memorization, reasoning, and general learning

• Result in high levels of adverse impact and lack face validity

• Difficulty of setting a passing score

Perceptual Ability

consists of vision, color discrimination, depth perception, glare sensitivity, speech, and hearing

Psychomotor Ability

finger dexterity, manual dexterity, control precision, multi limbed coordination, response control, reaction time, arm-hand steadiness, wrist-finger speed, and speed-of-limb movement

Physical Ability

used for jobs that require physical strengths and stamina

Physical Agility tests

Nine Basic Physical Activities: dynamic strength, trunk strength, explosive strength, static strength, dynamic flexibility, extent flexibility, gross body equilibrium, gross body coordination, stamina

Work Samples

• the applicant performs actual job related tasks

• Directly related to job tasks, they have excellent content validity

• Tend to predict actual work performance and thus have excellent criterion validity

• Samples have excellent face validity

• Lower racial differences

• Can be expensive to both construct and administer

• if simulation does not involve situational exercise

• focus on specific tasks and provide a direct assessment of a candidate’s ability to perform job-specific duties.

• “Show me you can do the job.”

Assessment Centers

selection techniques characterized by the use of multiple assessment methods that allow multiple assessors to actually observe applicants perform simulated job tasks

In-basket Technique

• designed to simulate the types of daily information that appear on a manager’s or employee’s desk

• a metaphorical or literal pile of documents, emails, phone messages, etc.). They are asked to review the materials, prioritize tasks, and make decisions within a set amount of time.

• These tasks can include everything from solving conflicts to making quick decisions about scheduling, responding to emails, or assigning tasks to others.

• “Can you handle a manager’s workload?”

Simulations

• include diverse activities as role plays and work samples, place an applicant in a situation that is similar as possible to one that will be encountered on the job

• structured scenarios or exercises designed to replicate work tasks, challenges, or environments that are central to the job.

• broader, involving multiple tasks or scenarios that assess a wider range of skills, including decision-making, problem-solving, and interpersonal communication.

• “Act like you are already doing the job.”

Leaderless Group Discussions

• applicants meet in small groups and are given a job-related problem to solve or a job-related issue to discuss

• The candidates are free to take on leadership roles voluntarily, and the group must collaboratively address the task without any pre-designated roles or hierarchy.

• “Who naturally leads and how do you work in a group?”

Business Games

• exercises that allow the applicant to demonstrate attributes such as creativity, decision making, and ability to work with others

• These exercises are typically set up in a competitive or collaborative environment where candidates are required to make choices that affect both short-term and long-term outcomes for a simulated company or organization

• “Run a business and see your results.”

Personality Inventories

• psychological assessment designed to measure various personality traits or psychological characteristics.
  

• predict performance better than once thought

Tests of Normal Personality

• measures the traits exhibited by normal individuals in everyday life

• Can be based on a theory (MBTI), statistically based (16PF), or empirically based (MMPI)

Test of Psychopathology

determines whether individuals have serious psychological problems

Projective Tests

• provide the respondent with unstructured tasks such as describing ink blots and drawing pictures

• shown ambiguous stimuli, such as pictures, words, or scenarios, and are asked to respond by projecting their own thoughts, feelings, and attitudes onto these stimuli.

• ex: Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Sentence Completion Test

Objective Tests

• structured so that the respondent is limited to a few answers that will be scored by standardized keys

• they require individuals to select responses from a pre-determined set of options (such as true/false or multiple-choice), which are easier to score and analyze.

• ex: Big Five Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)

Interest Inventories

• tap vocational interest

• Strong Interest Inventory (SII)

• Useful in vocational counseling

• These inventories help identify the types of work activities, environments, and roles that individuals find engaging or fulfilling.

• By understanding an individual's interests, employers can make informed decisions about career development, job placement, and employee satisfaction.

Integrity Tests

honesty tests; tell an employer the probability that an applicant would steal money or merchandise

Conditional Reasoning Test

• to reduce the inaccurate response and get a more accurate picture of a person’s tendency to engage in aggressive or counterproductive behavior

• It checks how people justify their reasoning—not just what answer they choose.

Graphology

handwriting analysis

Unadjusted Top-Down Selection

• applicants are rank-ordered on the basis of their test scores

• selecting candidates for a position based primarily on a ranked list of applicants.

• The ranking is typically based on objective criteria, such as scores on a cognitive ability test, interview performance, or work sample results, with the top-ranked candidates being selected first.

• Hire the highest scorers first, in order—no adjustments, no exceptions

rule of three

• the names of top three scorers are given to the person making the hiring decision

• The decision maker will then choose among the three

passing scores

• means for reducing adverse impact and increasing flexibility

• Determines the lowest score on a test that is associated with acceptable performance on the job

• Allows to reach affirmative action goals

• The most common method in determining the what is to require job experts to reach each item on a test and provide an estimation about the percentage of minimally qualified employees that could answer the item correctly

Multiple-cutoff Approach

• all tests are administered at one time

• Costly

Multiple-Hurdle Approach

• to reduce the costs associated with applicants failing one or more tests

• Applicant is administered one test at a time

• May bring unintended adverse impact, and affirmative action goals may not be met

Banding

• attempts to hire the top scorers while still allowing some flexibility for affirmative action

• Consider the degree of error associated with any test score

• groups individuals with similar test scores, treating them as equally qualified for a given position or role. Instead of ranking candidates purely based on their exact scores