REAL - PSYC 245 Staffing Decisions

Staffing decisions

Decisions tied to recruiting, selecting, promoting, and terminating employees. Purpose is to hire and keep people who will be successful on the job.

Recruitment

Attracting the right people to apply. Based on job analysis; uses job postings, referrals, and recruiters at job fairs.

Selection

Collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment. Hiring the right people.

Promotion

Putting the right people in power.

Deselection

Getting rid of the wrong people (termination/layoff).

Job analysis

Identifies what KSAOs we are looking for. Job postings should be based on it.

Selection assessment

How we assess KSAOs. Gives us scores.

Four questions of selection

What KSAOs are we looking for (job analysis)? How do we assess them (selection assessment)? How do we make selection decisions? How do we evaluate the outcomes?

Clinical (intuitive) method

Combining information based on human judgment, such as an expert thinking about all the information. Weighting of factors is informal. Unreliable and may lead to biased decisions.

Statistical (actuarial) method

Using a mathematical formula to evaluate and/or combine information. More reliable, less biased, and produces superior decisions.

Total/average scores

Adding up or averaging scores across selection measures, then using a cut-off score or rank order.

Unit-weighting

Total/average score approach where each variable is assumed to be equally important in predicting performance.

Weighted average

Combining scores with different weights; can change the rank order of candidates compared to a simple average.

Multiple regression

Statistical method that weights all predictors at once and shows how much "pull" each variable has on the criterion (e.g., job performance).

Predictor

A variable used to predict the criterion (e.g., intelligence, personality).

Criterion

The outcome being predicted (e.g., job performance).

Hurdle system

Sets cut scores for each selection method to screen out candidates sequentially. Used to narrow a large applicant pool; more expensive hurdles (e.g., interviews) are placed later.

Score banding

Grouping candidates with similar scores into a category so everyone in the range is treated as the same. Removes meaningless rank-order differences caused by measurement error. Can sometimes increase diversity.

Subgroup norming

Developing separate ranked lists for people within a certain demographic, so each group is compared only to its own members. Intended to increase diversity but often backfires. Illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Compensatory selection system

Candidates can make up for a weakness in one attribute with strength in another. Example: multiple regression, where requirements are considered simultaneously.

Noncompensatory selection system

Weaknesses cannot be overcome. Example: hurdle system, where requirements are considered stepwise (a legally blind applicant is not eligible to be a bus driver).

Validity

The extent to which we are hiring the correct people. How well we can predict job performance from selection scores.

Criterion-related validity

Establishing that a selection system works by correlating selection scores with job performance scores.

Correlation (r) in validity

r = 1.0 is perfect prediction (not possible); r = 0 means the predictor is useless; 0 < r < 1.0 is what is actually observed.

Selection ratio (SR)

The proportion of applicants actually selected into positions. SR = number of hires / number of applicants (100 applicants for 10 positions = .10).

Base rate (BR)

The proportion of employees considered successful performers (40 of 100 satisfactory = .40).

Cut score

A predictor score below which candidates will not be hired. Raising the cut score makes the selection ratio smaller.

Criterion-referenced cut score

Cut score that corresponds to a desired level of performance (uses multiple regression to find the minimum predictor score for proficient performance).

Norm-referenced cut score

Cut score based on how test takers score compared to other test takers; does not formally consider performance.

True positive

Selecting someone who performs acceptably well (correct decision).

True negative

Not selecting someone who would not have performed well (correct decision).

False positive

Selecting someone who does not perform acceptably well (incorrect decision).

False negative

Failing to hire someone who would have performed acceptably well (incorrect decision).

When base rate increases

More true positives and false negatives; fewer true negatives and false positives.

When selection ratio increases

More true positives and false positives; fewer true negatives and false negatives.

Utility

The economic return on investment of HR interventions like staffing or training. Addresses the cost/benefit ratio of one staffing strategy versus another.

Utility considerations

Cost of selection procedures per candidate; number of candidates vs. positions; effect of lower performance overall; how well current procedures work.

Fairness

A subjective judgment, so what counts as a fair selection process is largely defined by law and professional guidelines.

Adverse treatment

Employer knowingly and willfully treats minority applicants differently than majority applicants. Intentional and direct discrimination.

Adverse impact

Employment practice incidentally treats minority applicants differently than majority applicants. Unintentional, but still creates unequal outcomes.

Adverse impact ratio

Minority group's selection ratio divided by majority group's selection ratio.

80 percent (4/5ths) rule

If the protected group receives less than 80% of the desirable outcomes the majority group receives, there is evidence of possible adverse impact. Crude guideline affected by sample size; courts decide based on the whole case.

Adverse impact example

10 of 20 men promoted (50%), 3 of 10 women promoted (30%). 30/50 = 60%, which is under 80%, so there is evidence of adverse impact.

Burden shift in adverse impact cases

After adverse impact is shown, the employer must demonstrate the practice was job related and therefore valid. I/O psychologists often serve as expert witnesses.

Predictor weight combinations

Strategy to reduce adverse impact by combining predictors (e.g., cognitive ability and conscientiousness).

Diversity/minority recruiting

Strategy to reduce adverse impact by increasing the minority applicant pool. Recruiting on demographics alone is not enough; need to improve quality and quantity.

Affirmative action

Programs that seek to rectify the effects of past employment discrimination by increasing representation of certain groups (women, minorities, individuals with disabilities).

Weak preferential treatment

Affirmative action approach that uses group membership as a tiebreaker.

Strong preferential treatment

Affirmative action approach that uses differential criteria to meet diversity goals.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)

Required selection processes to be job-related, made adverse impact a standard, and created the EEOC to enforce the law.

EEOC

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to enforce it.

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures

Selection guidelines published by the EEOC in 1978.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

Allows gender, religion, or race-based decisions when there is a genuine business necessity. Examples: towel attendant in a ladies restroom, male-only Catholic priests, mandatory retirement ages for pilots and bus drivers.

Civil Rights Act of 1991

Made race- or gender-norming illegal: no separate cutoffs, no separate norms, no bonus points for race/gender/ethnic membership.

Equal Pay Act (1963)

Men and women doing equal work in an organization must be paid the same. "Equal" is defined by skill, effort, responsibility, and work conditions.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA; 1967)

Prohibits discrimination against anyone over age 40. Provisions match Title VII. Protects older workers, who are often the highest paid.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA; 1990)

Prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities.

ADA definition of disability

A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (e.g., blindness), or a record of such an impairment (e.g., cancer survivors). Obesity and drug and alcohol abuse are not covered.

Family Medical Leave Act (1993)

Federal law listed for pregnancy as a protected class.

Protected classes and federal law (U.S.)

Age (over 40): ADEA 1967. Disability: ADA 1990. Race, national origin, religion: Civil Rights Act 1964/1991. Sex: Civil Rights Act 1964/1991 and Equal Pay Act 1963. Pregnancy: Family Medical Leave Act 1993.