Employee Selection and Placement Summary

Personnel Selection

  • Process where organizations decide who joins.
  • Starts with recruitment, reduces candidates to the best.
  • Ends with placing selected individuals in jobs.

Selection Process Steps

  • Screening applications and résumés.
  • Testing and reviewing work samples.
  • Interviewing candidates.
  • Checking references and background.
  • Making a selection.

Strategic Approach

  • Selection supports job descriptions.
  • Identifies candidates with necessary KASOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics).
  • Requires measuring the effectiveness of selection tools.

Practical Value and Utility

  • Validity, reliability, and generalizability add value.
  • Cost should be less than benefits.
  • Utility: economic value exceeds cost.

Legal Standards

  • Must conform to laws.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991.
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.
  • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991.

Consequences of a Bad Hire

  • Lost productivity.
  • Lower morale.
  • Recruiting/training expenses.
  • Worsened client relations.
  • Lower sales.

Gathering Background Information

  • Application Forms: Low-cost, standard data collection (contact info, experience, education).
  • Background Checks: Increasingly common; internet facilitates searches for convictions.

Employment Tests

  • Aptitude tests: assess learning potential.
  • Achievement tests: measure existing skills.

Types of Employment Tests:

  • Cognitive Ability Tests
  • Job Performance Tests
  • Personality Inventories
  • Work Samples
  • Medical Examinations
  • Physical Ability Tests
  • Drug Tests
  • Honesty Tests

Five Major Personality Dimensions

  • Extroversion: Sociable, assertive.
  • Adjustment: Emotionally stable.
  • Agreeableness: Courteous, cooperative.
  • Conscientiousness: Dependable, organized.
  • Inquisitiveness: Curious, imaginative.

Rules for Administering Drug Tests

  • Systematic administration.
  • Use for safety-sensitive jobs.
  • Report results with appeal information.
  • Respect privacy.

Interviewing Techniques

  • Nondirective Interview
  • Behavior Description Interview
  • Structured Interview
  • Situational Interview

Interviewing Effectively

  • Be prepared.
  • Put applicant at ease.
  • Ask about past behaviors.
  • Listen.
  • Take notes.
  • Inform candidate about next steps.

How Organizations Select Employees

  • Multiple-Hurdle Model: Eliminates candidates at each stage.
  • Compensatory Model: High score in one area compensates for low score in another.

Communicating the Decision

  • Offer includes: job responsibilities, work schedule, pay rate, start date, other details.