Week 8: External Recruitment

Staffing Organizations Model

Organization

- Vision and Mission

- Goals and Objectives

Organization Strategy – HR and Staffing Strategy

Staffing Policies and Programs

Support Activities

- Legal compliance
- Planning
- Job Analysis

Core Staffing Strategy

- Recruitment (External, Internal)

- Selection (Measurement, external, internal)
- Employment (Decision making, final match)

Staffing System and Retention Management

Recruitment Planning

 Organizational Issues
- Many companies do recruiting in-house
o Recommended approach for large companies
o Smaller companies may rely on external recruitment agencies
- Individual vs. cooperative recruitment alliances
o Cooperative alliances involve arrangements to share recruitment resources
- Centralized vs. decentralized recruitment

 Administrative Issues

 Requisitions

o Personnel Requisition

 Number of contacts
 o Yield ratio - Relationship of applicant inputs to outputs at various decision points

 Types of contacts

o Qualifications to perform job must be clearly established

o Consideration must be given to job search and choice process used by applicants

 Recruitment budget
 Process flow and record keeping
 Selecting recruiters
 Training recruiters
 Rewarding recruiters

Considerations Related to Recruiters: Selection

 Desirable characteristics of recruiters

- Strong interpersonal skills

- Knowledge about company, jobs,

and career-related issues

- Technology skills

- Enthusiasm

 Various sources of recruiters

- HR professionals

- Line managers

- Employees

Considerations Related to Recruiters: Training and Rewards

Training
o Traditional areas of training
 Interviewing skills, job analysis, interpersonal skills, laws, forms and reports,
company and job characteristics, and recruitment targets
o Nontraditional areas of training
 Technology skills, marketing skills, working with other departments, and
ethics
Rewards
o Performance must be monitored and rewarded
 Effective recruiter behaviors
 End results
Strategy Development

- Open vs. targeted recruitment

- Recruitment sources

- Choice of sources

- When to look

Open vs. Targeted Recruitment

 Open recruitment

o Open to the public

 Targeted recruitment

o Key KSAO shortages

o Workforce diversity gaps

o Passive job seekers

o Former military personnel

o Employment discouraged

o Reward seekers

o Former employees

o Reluctant applicants

Recruitment Sources

- Unsolicited
- Employee referrals and networks
- Advertisements
- Recruiting online
- Colleges and placement offices
- Employment agencies
- Executive search firms
- Professional associations and meetings
- State Employment services
- Outplacement services
 - Community agencies
- Job fairs
- Co-ops and internships

Approaches to Recruiting Online

- Job postings on Internet job boards

- Searching Web-based databases
- Job postings on organization’s Web site
- Mining databases

Innovative Recruitment Sources

- Religious organizations
- Interest groups
- Realtors
- Senior networks

Strategy Development: Criteria Affecting Choice of Sources

- Sufficient quantity and quality

- Cost
- Past experience with source
- Impact on HR outcomes
o Satisfaction
o Performance
o Retention
Effectiveness of Recruitment Sources

- Effectiveness
o Involves assessing impact of sources on increased employee satisfaction, performance,
and retention
- Research results
o Most effective
o Referrals, job postings, rehiring of
former employees
o Least effective
o Newspaper ads, employment agencies

Strategy Development: When to Look

- Lead time concerns

o Goal -- Minimize delay in filling vacancies
o Effective planning requirements
 o Establishment of priorities for job openings
o Prepared recruiters
- Time sequence concerns
o Staffing flowchart
o Time-lapse statistics
Searching: Communication Message

- Job requirements and rewards matrices

- Type of messages
o Realistic recruitment message
o Branding
o Targeted messages
- Choice of messages
o Nature of labor market
o Vacancy characteristics
o Applicant characteristics
Searching: Communication Medium

- Recruitment brochures
- Videos and videoconferencing
- Advertisements
o Types of ads
o Classified ad
o Classified display ad
o Display ad
o Online ad
- Telephone messages
- Organizational Web sites
- Radio
- E-mail

Applicant Reactions

- Reactions to recruiters
o Influence of recruiter vs. job characteristics
o Influence of recruiter on attitudes and behaviors
o Demographics of recruiters
o Influential recruiter behaviors
- Reactions to recruitment process
o Relationship of screening devices to job
o Delay times in recruitment process
 o Funding of recruitment process
o Credibility of recruiter during recruitment process
Transition to Selection

- Involves making applicants aware of

o Next steps in hiring process
o Selection methods used and instructions
- Expectations and requirements

Week 9 Lesson 9: External Selection 1

- Preliminary Issues
o Logic of prediction
o Nature of predictors
o Development of the
selection plan
o Selection sequence

Logic of Prediction: Past Performance Predicts Future Performance

Past Situations New Situation (job)
HR OUTCOMES
- Previos jobs Person - Attraction
- Current Job KSAOs - Performance
- Nonjob Motivation -Satisfaction
- Retention
Sample Predict - Attendance

Nature of Predictors
- Content
o Sign: A predisposition thought to relate to performance (e.g., personality)
o Sample: Observing behavior thought to relate to performance
o Criterion: Actual measure of prior performance
- Form
o Speed of test vs. power of test: How many versus what level
o Assessments
Development of the Selection Plan: Steps Involved- Avey
1. Develop list of KSAOs required for job
- KSAOs are provided by job requirements matrix
2. For each KSAO, decide if it needs to be assessed in the selection process
3. Determine method(s) of assessment to be used for each KSAO

Selection Sequence

Resumes and Cover Letters

 Information provided is controlled by applicant

o Information needs to be verified by other predictors to ensure accuracy and
completeness
 Major issues
o Large number received by organizations
o Falsification and misrepresentation of information
 Dates, education
 Lack of research exists related to
o Validity or reliability
o Costs
o Adverse impact
Overview of Application Blanks

 Areas covered
o Educational experience
o Training
o Job experience
 Key advantage -- Organization dictates information provided
 Major issue -- Information requested should
o Be critical to job success and
o Reflect KSAOs relevant to job
 Sample application blank

Application Blanks

• Areas of special interest

• Educational requirements

• Level of education

• GPA

• Quality of school

• Major field of study

• Extracurricular activities

• Training and experience requirements

• Licensing, certification, and job knowledge

Biographical Information / Biodata

• Personal history information of applicant’s background and interests

• “Best predictor of future behavior is past behavior”

• Past behaviors may reflect ability or motivation

• Measures

• Development of a biodata survey

• Choose the criterion

• Identify criterion groups

• Select items to be analyzed

 • Specify item response alternatives

• Weight items

• Cross-validation

• Develop cutoff scores

Biographical Information: Accomplishment Records

• Survey past accomplishments of candidates as they relate to dimensions of work that are part of
effective performance

• Includes written statement of accomplishment, when it took place, any recognition, and
verification

• Emphasis on achievements rather than activities

• Scoring Key Excerpt for an Accomplishment Record

Evaluation: Biographical Information / Biodata

• Issues

• Generalizability beyond first group?

• Although predictive validity exists, it is not clear

what these inventories assess

• Falsification can be a big problem

 Suggestions to reduce faking?

• Applicant reactions?

Reference Reports: Letters of Recommendation

• Problems

• Inability to discern more-qualified from

less-qualified applicants

• Lack of standardization

• Why are these of such limited use?

• Suggestions to improve credibility

• Use a structured form

 • Use a standardized scoring key

• Other suggestions?

Reference Reports: Reference Checks

• Approach involves verifying applicant’s background via contact with

o Prior immediate supervisor(s) or

o HR department of current of previous companies
• Roughly 8 of 10 companies conduct reference checks

• Problems

• Same as problems with letters of recommendation

• Reluctance of companies to provide requested information due to legal concerns

• Sample Reference Check

Reference Reports: Background Testing

• Method involves assessing reliability of applicants’ behavior, integrity, and personal adjustment

• Type of information requested

• Criminal history

• Credit information

• Educational history

• Employment verification

• Key issues

• Limited validity evidence

• Legal constraints on pre-employment inquiries

Evaluation of Reference Reports

• Validity depends on source providing information

• HR department, coworker, or relative

• Supervisors

• What sources do you think work best?

• Cost vs. benefit of approach must be considered

Initial Assessment Methods

 - Literacy testing
- Psychological testing
- Other assessments
- Discuss the value & limits of these methods

Initial Interview

• Characteristics

• Begins process of necessary differentiation --

“rough cut”

• Purpose -- Screen out most obvious cases of

person / job mismatches

• Limitation -- Most expensive method

of initial assessment

• Video and computer interviews

• Offers cost savings

Evaluation of Initial Interview

- Minimal evidence exists regarding usefulness

- Guidelines to enhance usefulness
o Ask questions assessing most basic KSAOs
o Stick to basic, fundamental questions suitable for making rough cuts rather than
subjective questions
o Keep interviews brief
o Ask same questions of all applicants

Choice of Initial Assessment Methods

• Criteria

- Use

- Cost

- Reliability

- Validity
 - Utility

- Applicant reactions

- Adverse impact

Evaluate the following

• Education level

• GPA

• Quality of school

• Major field

• Extracurricular activity

• Training & experience

• Licensing/certification

• Weighted app. Blanks

• Biodata

• Letters of recommendation

• Reference checks

• Background testing

• Resumes, cover letters

• Initial interviews

Legal Issues

• Disclaimers - Organization clearly identifies

rights it wants to maintain

• Employment-at-will

• Verification consent

• False statement warning

• Reference checks

• Preemployment inquiries - PIs

Week 9 Lesson 10: Competency Based Selection

Typical Recruitment Process

Typical Recruitment Funnel

- Screening and Testing

- Job Simulations
- Interviewing (Competency Based)
- Job Offer

Common Selection Problems

- Interviewers fail to seek complete and consistent information from applicants on the specific
competencies needed for success in the job.
 - Interviewers misinterpret applicant information.
- Interviewers ignore job fit motivation.
- Interviewers ignore organization fit motivation.
- Interviewers’ judgments are affected by biases and stereotypes.
- Interviewers allow applicants to control the interview.
- Interviewers make quick decision about applicants.
- Interviewers focus on negative information about applicants.
- Interviewers’ judgment is affected by pressure to fill the position.
- Interviewers take insufficient notes during the interview.
- Interviewers use different rating and evaluation standards.
- Applicant information is not discussed systematically.
- Interviewers don’t put their best effort into interviews.
- Interviewers’ skills diminish over time.
- They are not trained to interview the systematic way.

Why Use Competencies?

- Competencies define the required skills or behaviors that an individual needs to demonstrate to
perform the job successfully.

Targeted Selection

- A highly disciplined approach to assessing applicants. Selection criteria are identified and
assessment techniques chosen to measure these criteria. A scoring system is used to integrate
the results from the assessments into a recommendation.

Success Profile
Targeted Selection Process

• Review Candidate Materials

• Plan the interview

• Open the interview

• Conduct the interview

• Close the interview

• Evaluate and integrate the data on the candidate

• Make the hiring decision

• Ensure a strong start

How Can Targeted Selection Help

- Focus on job-related behaviour

- Use past behaviour to predict future behaviour
- Assess motivational fit
- Organize selection elements into a comprehensive system
- Apply effective interviewing skills and techniques
- Use data integration to make a better hiring decision
- Make a positive impression on applicants.

Week 10 Lesson 11: Internal Selection

Cover letter/resume
Preliminary Issues

- Logic of prediction
- Types of predictors
- Selection plan

Initial Assessment Methods

- Skills inventory
- Peer assessments
- Self-assessments
- Managerial sponsorship
- Informal discussions and recommendations

Skills Inventory

 Traditional

 List of KSAOs held by each employee

 Upgraded

 Managers systematically enter latest skills acquired by employees in database as soon as

they occur

 Customized

 Specific skill sets are recorded for specific jobs

 SMEs identify skills critical to job success

Peer Assessments

 Methods include peer ratings, peer nominations, peer rankings

 Strengths

 Rely on raters who presumably are knowledgeable of applicants’ KSAOs

 Peers more likely to view decisions as fair due to their input

 Weaknesses

 May encourage friendship bias

 Criteria involved in assessments are not always clear

Initial Assessment Methods

 Self-assessments
  Job incumbents asked to evaluate own skills to determine promotability

 Managerial sponsorship

 Higher-ups given considerable influence in promotion decisions

 Informal discussions and recommendations

 May be suspect in terms of relevance to actual job performance

Choice of Initial Assessment Methods

 Effectiveness of initial internal methods

 Skills inventories and informal methods used extensively

 Peer assessments methods very promising in terms of reliability and validity

Substantive Assessment Methods

 Seniority and experience

 Job knowledge tests

 Performance appraisal

 Promotability ratings

 Assessment centers

 Interview simulations

 Promotion panels and review boards

Overview of Seniority and Experience

 Definitions

 Seniority - Length of service with organization, department, or job

 Experience - Includes not only length of service but also kinds of activities an employee
has undertaken

 Among the most prevalent methods of internal selection

 Why so widely used?

  Direct experience in a job content area reflects an accumulated stock of KSAOs
necessary to perform job

 Information is easily and cheaply obtained

 Promoting senior or experienced employees is socially acceptable -- viewed as

rewarding loyalty.

Evaluation of Seniority and Experience

 Relationship to job performance

 Seniority is unrelated to job performance

 Experience is moderately related to job performance, especially in the short run

 Experience is a more valid method than seniority

 Experience is better suited to predict short-term rather than long-term potential

 Experience is more likely to be content valid if past or present jobs are similar to the future job

 Employees typically expect promotions will go to most senior or experienced employee

Job Knowledge Tests

 Job knowledge includes elements of both ability and seniority

 Measured by a paper-and-pencil test or a computer

 Holds promise as a predictor of job performance

Performance Appraisal

 A possible predictor of future job performance is past job performance collected by a

performance appraisal process

 Advantages

 Readily available

 Probably capture both ability and motivation

 Weaknesses

 Potential lack of a direct correspondence between requirements of current job and

requirements of position applied for
Overview of Assessment Centers

 Elaborate method of employee selection

 Involves using a collection of predictors to forecast success, primarily in higher-level jobs

 Objective

 Predict an individual’s behavior and

effectiveness in critical roles, usually managerial

Other Substantive Assessment Methods

 Interview simulations

 Role-play: candidate must play work related role with interviewer

 Fact finding candidate needs to solicit information to evaluate an incomplete case

 Oral presentations: candidate must prepare and make an oral presentation on assigned
topic

 Promotion panels and review boards: use multiple raters, which can improve reliability and can
broaden commitment to decisions reached.

Week 10 Lesson 12: Decision Making

Relevant Factors: Selecting the Best Weighting Scheme

- Do decision makers have considerable experience and insight into selection decisions?
- Is managerial acceptance of the selection process important?
- Is there a reason to believe each predictor contributes relatively equally to job success?
- Are there adequate resources to use involved weighting schemes?

Exh. 11.5: Combined Model for Recruitment Manager

Hiring Standards and Cut Scores

- Issue: What is a passing score?

o Score may be a
 Single score from a single predictor or
 Total score from multiple predictors
- Description of Process
o Cut score - Separates applicants who advance from those who are rejected.

Methods of Final Choice

- Random selection
o Each finalist has equal chance of being selected

- Ranking
o Finalists are ordered from most to least desirable based on results of discretionary
assessments.

- Grouping
o Finalists are banded together into rank-ordered categories.

Decision Makers

- Role of human resource professionals

o Determine he process used to design and manage selection system
o Contribute to outcomes based on initial assessment methods
o Provide input regarding who receives job offers.

- Role of Managers
o Determine who is selected for employment
o Provide input regarding process issues.

- Role of employees
o Provide input regarding selection procedures and who gets hired, especially in team
approaches.