Reading

MANG 1005: The Individual and the Organisation

• Chapters 4 and 5 of core text - Arnold, J. et al.
(2010). Work psychology: Understanding human
behaviour in the workplace (5th ed.) London:
Week 4: Selection: Foundations of Financial Times/Prentice Hall.

Personnel Selection

Dr Michelle Luke
School of Management
University of Southampton

1 2

Overview Learning Outcomes

• Formative Assessment
• Introduction • Create a competency model for a specific job

• Job Analysis
• Compare and contrast the different sources of job
– Definition and Functions
analysis data
– Competency Analysis
– Sources of Job Analysis Data
• Announcements

3 4

Introduction
Introduction The Selection Process
Job Analysis
• Personnel selection is
used to… Develop a Competency Model, Create Person Specification

– Match people to jobs

Identify Selection Criteria
– Ensure the best
possible performance
Choose Selection Methods
– Provide a method of
estimating future
performance Attract Implement Selection Methods and Make
Candidates Selection Decisions
– Enhance job
satisfaction of Evaluation & Validation
employees
9 10

1
 Question Time Job Analysis

• Definition
Any Questions? – Procedures designed to create
information about jobs, including
type of work, responsibilities,
working conditions, etc.
• Functions
– Gives an understanding of the job to
candidate
– Provides relevant information for
training and future job evaluation
– Provides advertising material for
11 recruiting personnel 12

Job Analysis Job Analysis

• Job Description (Job Oriented)
• Job analysis identifies the… – What the job entails, main tasks,
duties and responsibilities
– Job Description

– Person Specification

– Competency Model

13 14

Job Analysis Job Analysis

• Sample Job Description
– Head of HR - £80k + bonus + benefits • Job Description (Job Oriented)
– The role will take responsibility for the entire HR function which – What the job entails, main tasks,
currently includes a team of 6 structured on a regional basis duties and responsibilities
working in specific specialisms such as recruitment, training and
development etc. The first job will be to review this structure in
line with business objectives and create a new target operating
model developed which will need to be implemented and • Person Specification (Worker-
embedded.
Oriented)
The organisation is very customer focused and is constantly
looking at initiatives in these areas to improve customer – Necessary qualifications to perform
experience but recognises the importance of employee branding to the job
reflect these values. Employee relations are an essential part of the
role as is the ability to be able to drive continuous operational
improvements through effective people management. The role
works for the General Manager who controls all operational
activity over multiple sites but it will also provide support to Head
Office in matters of HR. 15 16

2
 Job Analysis Job Analysis
• Sample Person Specification • Competency Analysis
– Candidates, ideally CIPD qualified, should have worked
either at Divisional level in an HR function in a corporate – Identifies essential
environment or have been the head of HR in a small competencies
medium sized organisation. The role requires the ability
to work at both operational and strategic level, the – Required knowledge, skills and
ability to contribute to the senior management team and behaviours to perform a job
experience of best practice in change management.
– Derives a competency model
– Comprehensive list of
competencies
– Shown in behaviours: Positive or
Negative

17 18

Job Analysis Job Analysis

• Sample Competency Model for GPs • Competency Model for Students
COMPETENCY Example of Positive Behaviours COMPETENCY Example of Positive Behaviours
1. Empathy Sensitive to feelings
1.
Patient is treated confidentially

2. Communication Skills Demonstrates active listening skills

2.
Is not patronising

3. Clinical Expertise Gives clear decision and diagnosis

Prescribes and checks medicines 3.

19 20

Job Analysis Question Time

• Competency Model for Students
COMPETENCY Example of Negative Behaviours Any Questions?
1.

2.

3.
21 22

3
Sources of Job Analysis Data
• Written Material
– Written job descriptions
– Advantages & Disadvantages?
• Job Holder’s Reports
– Job holders describe their jobs
– Advantages & Disadvantages?
• Colleagues’ Reports
– Job descriptions provided by
supervisors, peers and user
groups
– Advantages & Disadvantages?
• Direct Observation
– Observation of the job holder’s
behaviour
– Advantages & Disadvantages?
Sources of Job Analysis Data
• Job Holders’ Report: Position
Analysis Questionnaire
(McCormick et al., 1972)
– Structured and standardised
questionnaire
– Worker-oriented approach with
a focus on general behaviour
– Consists of 200 job elements or
statements in the following 6
categories
– Information Input
– Mental Processes
– Work Output
– Relationships with Other
Persons
– Work Situation and Job Context
– Other Job Characteristics
– Advantages & Disadvantages?
Question Time
Any Questions?
Sources of Job Analysis Data
• Job Holders’ Report:
Critical Incidents Technique
(Flanagan, 1954)
– Focuses on specific
behaviours deemed critical to
successful job performance
– Critical Incident
– Observable human activity
that allows one to make
inferences about the actor
– Advantages & Disadvantages?
23 24
Sources of Job Analysis Data
• Criteria for Choosing a Job
Analysis Method
– Worker or task orientation
(precise tasks or psychological
factors)
– Level of knowledge required for
researcher
– Qualitative vs quantitative data
– Job proximity (self-report vs
observed)
– Capacity to generate usable
outcomes
– Cost (time and resources)
– Sensitivity and access
25 – Sample size 26
Session Summary
• There are many functions of personnel selection
• Personnel selection begins with a job analysis to
identify key aspects of the job and person
specification
• A competency model is devised from a job analysis
– List of key competencies and corresponding behaviours
• There are four main approaches to collecting job
analysis data
– Written Material
– Job Holders’ Reports
– Colleagues’ Reports
– Observation
27 28
4
Announcements
MANG 1005: The Individual and the Organisation
• Week 3-5: Online Blog
– Imagine that you are on the hiring
committee for a particular
organisation and can only
recommend one personnel selection Week 4: Selection: Personnel
method to the rest of the committee.
Which personnel selection method
would you recommend? Give
Selection Methods
reasons for your view and examples
where possible.
– Essential: Include your name at the
end of your entry Dr Michelle Luke
– 350 words max School of Management
University of Southampton
– Access via Blogs link in Blackboard
– Due Thursday 4/11/10 at 3.30pm
29 30

Reading Overview
• Chapters 4 and 5 of core text - Arnold, J. et al. • Introduction
(2010). Work psychology: Understanding human • Selection Methods
behaviour in the workplace (5th ed.) London:
Financial Times/Prentice Hall. – Psychometric Tests
– Work Sample Tests
– Assessment Centres
– Biographical Data (Biodata)
– Handwriting Analysis (Graphology)
– Interviews
– References
• Evaluation of Selection Methods
• Announcements
31 32

Introduction
Learning Outcome The Selection Process
Job Analysis

Develop a Competency Model, Create Person Specification

• Compare and contrast the different selection Identify Selection Criteria

methods

Choose Selection Methods

Attract Implement Selection Methods and Make

Candidates Selection Decisions

Evaluation & Validation

33 34

5
Introduction Selection Methods
• Goal of Personnel • Psychometric Tests
Selection – Cognitive Ability
– Select qualified – Personality
applicants • Work Sample Tests
• Selection Criteria • Assessment Centres
– Cognitive Abilities • Biographical Data (Biodata)
– General Abilities • Handwriting Analysis
– Specific Abilities
(Graphology)
– Experiences • Interviews
• References
– Personality
35 36

Selection Methods Selection Methods

• Psychometric Tests
• Work Sample Tests
– ‘A standardized sample of
behaviour which can be – Consists of job related tasks
described by a numerical scale
or category system’ – Past behaviour predicts
future behaviour
(Cronbach, 1984)
– Types of work samples
– A quantitative assessment of include:
some psychological attribute
– Psychomotor Tasks
– Cognitive Ability Tests
– General intelligence and specific – Individual Decision-Making
abilities
– Personality Tests
– Based on the trait-model (Big 5, – Group
Integrity) Discussions/Decisions
– Sample Tests
– http://www.southampton.ac.uk – Job-Related Information
/careers/employability/successf Tests
ulapps/psychometrictests.html
37 38

Selection Methods Selection Methods

• Biodata
• Assessment Centres
– Biographical information
about a candidate’s life
– Combination of measures history
– Identify key biographical
– Rigorously trained assessors information
– Past behaviour predicts
– Ratings from multiple
future behaviour
assessors – Uses ‘hard’ & ‘soft’ items
– Hard items = verifiable data
39 – Soft items = nonverifiable 40
data

6
Selection Methods Selection Methods
• Graphology • Interviews
– Most popular form of
– Analysis of one’s
personnel selection
handwriting
– Consists of questions about
– Inferences are made about a
the candidate and
candidate’s characteristics
experiences
from a sample of his/her
handwriting – Structured interviews
consist of preplanned job
– It is based on the premise related questions
that handwriting reveals
personality traits and – Good interviews include…
tendencies
– Questions based on the job
– Widely used in France and analysis
Israel – Consistent questions
41
– Consistent evaluative 42
criteria

Selection Methods Question Time

• References
– Solicit information from Any Questions?
past employers

– Requested information
may be general or specific

– Past employers rarely give

a bad reference

43 44

Reaction Time Evaluation of Selection Methods

• Imagine that you are recruiting applicants to work
• Evaluative Standards
at your pub. What types of people would you like to
work for you? – Discriminate b/t good and bad
candidates
• What selection method would you use to evaluate – Reliability
the job candidates? Why? – Does the method yield consistent
results?
• What would you place more emphasis on abilities
– Validity
or attributes?
– Does the method yield
appropriate information
(construct validity)?

– Does the selected method predict

future job performance
45
(criterion validity)? 46

7
 Evaluation of Selection Methods
Validity
1.0 Perfect prediction (1.0)

Evaluation of Selection Methods 0.9

• Criterion Validity 0.8

0.7
Assessment centres - promotion (0.68)
Structured competency interviews (0.62)
0.6
Work samples tests (0.55)
Cognitive ability tests (0.54)
0.5

0.4 Assessment centres - performance (0.41)

Biodata (0.40)
Personality tests (0.38)
0.3 Unstructured interviews (0.31)

0.2

References (0.13)
0.1

47 0 48
No Prediction (0.0)

Reaction Time Evaluation of Selection Methods

• How would you react if… • Evaluative Standards
1. You went through an Assessment Centre and were not
selected because you did not meet the person – Legality and Fairness
specification requirements?

– Applicant Reactions
2. You went through an Assessment Centre and were not
selected because the assessor did not like your clothes?

49 50

Evaluation of Selection Methods Evaluation of Selection Methods

• Types of fairness perceptions • Evaluative Standards
– Distributive Justice
– Fairness of the outcome of the
selection procedure – Administrative
– Procedural Justice
Convenience/Practicality
– Fairness of the procedures that are
used in the selection process
• Factors influencing applicant
– Cost and Development Time
reactions
– Relevance to the job
– Level of intrusiveness
– Degree of fairness
– Opportunity to meet assessors
51 52

8
 Evaluation of Selection Methods Evaluation of Selection Methods
• Financial utility of • Calculating the utility
selection methods of using a selection
– Selection methods with method
high criterion validity are
not necessarily cost – Financial Benefit =
effective
(Zs)(r)(T)(N)
– Factors determining
financial utility Zs = average selection score
r = validity of selection test
– Selection ratio (no. of
jobs/candidates) T = number of years a
– Financial benefits of candidate will stay
improved job N = number of candidates
performance take in one year

53 54

Evaluation of Selection Methods

Summary
Selection Method Evidence for Validity Applicant Reactions Extent of Use Question Time
Structured Interviews High Moderate to positive High

Cognitive Ability High Negative to moderate Moderate Any Questions?

Personality Tests Moderate Negative to moderate Moderate

Biodata Can be high Moderate Moderate

Work Sample Tests High Positive Low

Assessment Centres Can be high Positive Moderate

References Low Positive High 55 56

Session Summary Announcements

• Selection methods are used to select job candidates based on
abilities, experiences and personality • Week 3-5: Online Blog
• There are a variety of selection methods available
– Imagine that you are on the hiring
– Psychometric Tests committee for a particular
– Work Sample Tests organisation and can only
– Assessment Centres recommend one personnel selection
– Biographical Data (Biodata) method to the rest of the committee.
– Handwriting Analysis (Graphology) Which personnel selection method
– Interviews would you recommend? Give
– References reasons for your view and examples
• There are several criteria to evaluate a particular selection method where possible.
– Discrimination – Essential: Include your name at the
– Reliability and Validity end of your entry
– Legality and Fairness – 350 words max
– Applicant Reactions
– Access via Blogs link in Blackboard
– Administrative Convenience/Practicality
– Cost and Development Time – Due Thursday 4/11/10 at 3.30pm
57 58