UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(IOT)
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
SECTION: 2
PREPARED BY:
NAME ID.NO
1. ABENEZER PHILIPOS 02973/11
2. ADDISU TENA 02962/11
3. AIESHA KEBEDE 03499/11

SUBMITTED TO: MR.MEQUANENT.E

SUBMISSION DATE: 28/11/2014 E.C

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Table of Contents
1. Industrial Psychology and Job Analysis....................................................................................................1
1.1 Concept of Industrial psychology.......................................................................................................1
1.2 The Role of Industrial Psychology in the Workplace..........................................................................1
1.3 Benefits of Applying Industrial Psychology in the Workplace............................................................2
2. Concept of Job analysis............................................................................................................................2
2.1 Purpose of Job Analysis.....................................................................................................................5
2.2 Objectives of job analysis...................................................................................................................6
2.3 Methods and techniques of job analysis...........................................................................................7
2.3.1 Checklist Method........................................................................................................................7
2.3.2 Observation Method...................................................................................................................8
2.3.3 Individual Interview Method......................................................................................................9
2.3.4 Group Interview Method............................................................................................................9
2.3.5 Work Participation Method......................................................................................................10
2.3.6 Diary Method............................................................................................................................10
2.3.7 Technical Conference Method..................................................................................................10
2.3.8 Questionnaire Method.............................................................................................................11
2.4 Advantages of Job analysis methods...............................................................................................11
2.5 Personnel selection process............................................................................................................12
2.6 Common instruments for selection.................................................................................................20
Reference..................................................................................................................................................22

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 1. Industrial Psychology and Job Analysis
1.1 Concept of Industrial psychology
 Refers to the applied organizational psychology used to study, analyze and understand
human behavior in the workplace, mainly how business works and how employees
function.

1.2 The Role of Industrial Psychology in the Workplace

Industrial psychologists work with an organization's human resources department, observing
employees' behavior in the work environment, assessing organizational workflows and practices,
and identifying opportunities for improvement. The following constitute the main subject areas of
industrial psychology:

Recruitment: Industrial psychologists assist the human resources department with the development
of recruitment processes and the selection of personnel. This includes the development of job
announcements, defining key qualifications, and developing selection assessments.

Employee training and development: Industrial psychologists perform job analyses whereby the
skills and abilities necessary to perform a specific job effectively are determined. The information
and insights gained from these analyses are used to develop and evaluate employee skills
development and training programs.

Employee satisfaction and work-life: This area of industrial psychology is concerned

with employee satisfaction, motivation, health, safety, and well-being. In this respect, the role of the
industrial psychologist is to evaluate employees' well-being and happiness at work and find ways to
improve the work environment, and implement work-life balance programs, if necessary.

Performance management: Industrial psychologists help organizations with the measurement and
management of employee performance by developing and conducting performance assessments,
identifying skills gaps, and providing feedback and recommendations. The information gained from
these assessments is often used to inform decisions regarding compensation and promotions.

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1.3 Benefits of Applying Industrial Psychology in the Workplace
 Improved recruitment strategy and methods.
 Efficient personnel selection.
 Increased employee productivity.
 Higher job satisfaction levels.
 Better work environment.
 Work-life balance.
 Greater workplace cooperation.

2. Concept of Job analysis

Job Analysis: refers to various methodologies for analyzing the requirements of a job. Job
Analysis is a process to establish and document the 'job relatedness' of employment procedures
such as training, selection, compensation, and performance appraisal.

Job Analysis is a process to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties and
requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job. Job Analysis is a
process where judgments are made about data collected on a job.

The Job; not the person An important concept of Job Analysis is that the analysis is conducted
of the Job, not the person. While Job Analysis data may be collected from incumbents through
interviews or questionnaires, the product of the analysis is a description or specifications of the
job, not a description of the person.

The term Job Analysis refers to a very deep examination conducted in an organized way, to
collect information about a particular job. It is a process that aims at exploring information
regarding the nature and major requirements of a specific job through observation, research and,
study. The job analysis gives an answer to three major questions which are:

 What are the tasks performed by the job?

 How they are performed?
 What are the qualities required, in the effective performance of the job?

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 Figure 1: Process of job analaysis
Job analysis includes:

 job description
 job specification
 job evaluation
 performance criteria

Job description The job description is a brief statement that tells the general information about
the job. In plain English, it is where the nature of the job is described. The job description is
briefly taken from the job analysis, and it comprises of information about the workplace, duty-
timing, salary, responsibilities, and other general information.

 A job description is a document that states an overview of the duties, responsibilities, and
functions of a specific job in an organisation.

Job specification: The job specification derives from the job description; it is one of the most
important readable information for the job-hunter as it tells about the eligibility criteria for the

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certain post. The job specification holds information regarding the eligibilities for the vacancy. It
lets applicants know what skills, level of experience, education, and abilities are required for the
role. As mentioned in our Candidate series, a good CV (curriculum vitae) is one that is tailored
to a job’s specifications. Using a job’s specification in an application is like answering a
recruiter’s questions before they have even asked them and sets those apart from others.

 A job specification is a statement of the qualifications, personality traits, skills, etc.

required by an individual to perform the job.

Job Evaluation: Job Evaluation is an objective and logical process, which determines the
comparative usefulness of each and every job of the organization. The basic purpose of job
evaluation is to find out an appropriate base for salary, to remove the disparities in the wage
system and to implement a consistent and a justified wage differential in the organization.

There are certain pre-requisites of the job evaluation like:

 It rates the job, not the job holder.

 The criteria selected for rating should be easily explainable.
 It criteria should cover major aspects of every job to avoid clashing.
 Points are only required to be discussed with the foreman, any discussion regarding
money should be avoided.

Figure 2: Process of job evaluation

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There are two methods of job evaluation:
 Non-analytical System
 Ranking
 Grading
 Analytical System
 Point Rating
 Factor Comparison

2.1 Purpose of Job Analysis

 The main purpose of conducting job analysis is to prepare job description and job
specification which in turn helps to hire the right quality of workforce into the
organization. The general purpose of job analysis is to document the requirements of a
job and the work performed. Job and task analysis is performed as a basis for later
improvements, including: definition of a job domain; describing a job; developing
performance appraisals, selection systems, promotion criteria, training needs assessment,
and compensation plans.

In the fields of Human Resources (HR) and Industrial Psychology, job analysis is often used to
gather information for use in personnel selection, training, classification, and/or compensation.

The purpose of Job Analysis is to establish and document the 'job relatedness' of employment
procedures such as training, selection, compensation, and performance appraisal.

Determining Training Needs

Job Analysis can be used in training/"needs assessment" to identify or develop:
 training content
 assessment tests to measure effectiveness of training
Compensation
Job Analysis can be used in compensation to identify or determine:

 skill levels
 compensable job factors
 work environment (e.g., hazards; attention; physical effort)
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  required level of education (indirectly related to salary level)
Selection Procedures
Job Analysis can be used in selection procedures to identify or develop:
 job duties that should be included in advertisements of vacant positions;
 appropriate salary level for the position to help determine what salary should be offered
to a candidate;
 minimum requirements (education and/or experience) for screening applicants;
 interview questions;
 selection tests/instruments (e.g., written tests; oral tests; job simulations);
 applicant appraisal/evaluation forms;
 orientation materials for applicants/new hires
Performance Review
Job Analysis can be used in performance review to identify or develop:
 goals and objectives
 performance standards
 evaluation criteria
 length of probationary periods
 duties to be evaluated

2.2 Objectives of job analysis

The main objectives of methods of job analysis are as follows:

 Work Simplification: Job analysis provides the information related to job and this data can be
used to make process or job simple. Work simplification means dividing the job into small parts
i.e. different operations in a product line or process which can improve the production or job
performance.

 Setting Up of Standards: Standard means minimum acceptable qualities or results or

performance or rewards regarding a particular job. Job analysis provides the information about
the job and standard of each can be established using this information.

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  Support to Personnel Activities: Job analysis provides support to various personnel activities
like recruitment, selection, training and development, wage administration, performance
appraisal, etc.

2.3 Methods and techniques of job analysis

There are many different methods which may be used to obtain data for a job analysis. Some of
them are:

 Checklist method
 Observation method
 Individual interview method
 Group interview method
 Work participation method
 Diary method
 Technical conference method
 Questionnaire method

2.3.1 Checklist Method

Under this method the worker is required to check the task that he performs from a long list of
possible task statements. However, in order to prepare the checklist, extensive preliminary work is
demanded in collecting appropriate task statements. While checklists are easy for the incumbent to
respond to, they do not provide an integrated picture of the job in question. They are easily
administered to large groups and are easy to tabulate.

Instead of an essay or descriptions or rating employees against one another, the checklist appraisal
method consists of a series of statements, both positive and negative, that the evaluator answers "yes"
or "no," checks if the employee exhibits that behavior or leaves it unchecked if she does not.

The checklist includes statements about workplace habits in general, and about the employee's
specific job skills.

For example, workplace habits for all employees could include:

 Reports for work on time most days.

 Exhibits a pleasant demeanor toward colleagues.

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  Stays at work until important tasks of the day are completed.
 Tends to take criticisms personally.
2.3.2 Observation Method
A job analyst observes an employee and records all his performed and non-performed task, fulfilled
and un-fulfilled responsibilities and duties, methods, ways and skills used by him or her to perform
various duties and his or her mental or emotional ability to handle challenges and risks.

Advantages:

þ Easiest method: The simplest method of data collection is the method of observation, Very
minimal technical knowledge is required, and even though scientifically controlled
observations require some technical skills.
þ Natural surroundings: The observation method of data collection describes the observed
phenomenon precisely and does not introduce any artificiality like other methods. They
describe the phenomenon precisely as it occurs in the natural research environment.
þ High accuracy: In interview methods and questionnaire methods, the respondents'
Information provides us the information with which the researchers have to work. These are
all indirect methods, and there is no means to investigate the accuracy. But in the observation
method the information accuracy can be checked by various testing. the data collected by
observation is so much reliable.
þ Appropriate tool: There is a particular phenomenon that cannot provide information verbally
regarding their behavior, activities, feelings, etc., for this phenomenon, observations are the
best method.

Disadvantages

 Everything is not observed: There are various personal behaviors and secrets which the
researcher does not observe. Many respondents refuse to let researchers observe their
activities, and due to this reason, not everything is observed by the researcher.
 Past life remains unknown: The observation method has no technique to study the subject's
past life. It is tough to gather information about past life if the subject is not cooperative
enough. Since no other option is available, researchers have to rely on documents that are not
always accurate.

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 Time consuming: Observation is a prolonged and time-consuming method. If one wants their
observation to be precise and accurate, they must give it enough time and not hurry the
process.
 Expensive: Observation is a very costly affair. It requires plenty of time, strict and detailed
work, and high cost. Observation consists of traveling to various places, staying at the place
where the phenomenon occurred, and buying sophisticated and high-quality tools for
research, Due to the reasons mentioned above, the observation method is known expensive
data collection methods.

2.3.3 Individual Interview Method

 Interviews must be conducted by a skilled, trained interviewer who has both some
understanding of the job being analyzed and the nature of work in general, as these provide
the necessary background for asking questions and probing answers for more detailed and
complete answers from those being Interviewed.
 In this method worker, the supervisor and the trainer are selected and interviewed usually
outside or the actual job situation.
 The interview is structured and should be done with the help of experienced and qualified
interviewers. It has not been done by the single interview, but a series of individual interview
provide accurate data for job analysis.
 This technique is costly and time consuming but if done with care it provides complete
picture of the job.
2.3.4 Group Interview Method
Group interview method is an extension of individual interview method. The advantage over the
individual interview method is the savings in time obtained by the group method. Under this
technique interviewer interviews the group of respondents simultaneously. With the instruction of
interviewer respondents recall and discuss their work activity. The interviewer collects and
combines all the comments into a single job description.

Advantages

 Interviewing is a flexible method for all levels and types of job. An interview may
focus on what a hypothetical job might involve.

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  Interviews generate descriptive data and enable job-holders to interpret their
activities.
 A good interviewer can probe sensitive areas in more depth. Structured
questionnaires cannot easily do this. Jobholders can give overviews of their work
and offer their perceptions and feelings about their job and the environment.

2.3.5 Work Participation Method

Under this method, the job analyst actually performs the job himself. By doing so he is able to gather
first-hand information about what characteristics made up the job under investigation. This method
has some limitations as it fairly good for simple jobs however; in case of complex jobs advance
training of the analyst becomes mandatory. The method is also time-consuming and too costly.

2.3.6 Diary Method

In this method, information about the job is obtained through dairy or self-recording. Here, the head
of the organization or incumbent asked each employee to record his daily activities, by using some
type of log book or dairy. From this method incumbents know the time spent on various activities
during a day.

Advantages:

It is particularly useful for studying high level managerial jobs.

This method is useful, in systematically collecting information about a job

2.3.7 Technical Conference Method

In this method, services of the supervisors who possess extensive knowledge about a job are used
with the help of a conference of the supervisors. The analyst initiates discussion which provides
details about the job.

Advantages :

 This is direct data from years of experience and in most cases gives deep insight that a
researcher cannot.
 The data that is collected is comprehensive and covers all the possible aspects of the job
discussed
 The SME (subject matter expert) is chosen because he is highly competent and efficient. He
adds a lot of value to the process.

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 2.3.8 Questionnaire Method
Another commonly used job analysis method is getting the questionnaires filled from employees,
their superiors and managers. However, this method also suffers from personal biases. A great care
should be takes while framing questions for different grades of employees.

In order to get the true job-related info, management should effectively communicate it to the staff
that data collected will be used for their own good. It is very important to ensure them that it won’t be
used against them in anyway. If it is not done properly, it will be a sheer wastage of time, money and
human resources.

Advantages:

 Questionnaires are cost-efficient.

 Questionnaires are also a practical way to gather data. They can be targeted to groups of your
choosing and managed in various ways.
 Questionnaires bring Speedy results.
 Questionnaires and surveys allow the HR Manager to gather information from a large audience.
 Most survey and questionnaire providers are quantitative in nature and allow an easy analysis of
results.
 Questionnaires ensure User anonymity.
 When using mail-in, online or email questionnaires, there’s no time limit and Respondents can
take their time to complete the question.
 Questionnaires cover all aspects of a topic.

2.4 Advantages of Job analysis methods

The importance of methods job analysis is;

Planning and organizing of program.

Obtaining current information.
Conducting needs research.
Establishing priorities.
Collecting job data.
Preparing job description.
Developing job specifications.
Maintaining and updating the job description and job specification. Etc.…

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2.5 Personnel selection process
What is the selection process?

The goal of the recruitment and selection process at organizations is to find and hire the best
candidates for job openings. This process has a funnel structure. Imagine you are seeking a new
hire for a role – your current employee decided to pursue another opportunity. You need to find a
replacement. 50 people apply to your job opening. You select five of them to interview and
finally, one person gets the job offer.

Your organization’s candidate selection process always starts with a job opening. Every job
opening should have a clearly defined function profile. Based on the job description, this should
include criteria like how many (if any) years of work experience are needed, educational
background, and proficiency in certain skills.

Once you publish and advertise your job opening, candidates flow in – hopefully! This is where
the selection funnel starts. The selection process in HRM occurs via a series of steps that
candidates move through. A typical funnel consists of seven stages. Of course, not every
candidate makes it through to every stage. Let’s go over these stages one by one.

Application
Screening & pre-selection
Interview
Assessment
References and background check
Decision
Job offer & contract

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1. Application

After you’ve created a job advert – and double-checked it for any errors – it’s ready to be posted.
Candidates can now apply but the number of applications, the quality, and diversity of those who
do, can vary hugely.

Some of these factors are external and beyond your influence as HR; for example social factors
such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Depending on your country’s infection rates and
legislation put in place by the government regarding work, health and immigration, the pool of
applicants may be smaller than pre-pandemic. The field you work in HR for will impact as well.
If you’re trying to recruit nurses to a public hospital, when burnout is high, your HR
department’s role will be more challenging than a video games company seeking graduate
developers, who can work remotely.

The number of applicants can range between zero and thousands, depending primarily on the
size of the company, the type of job and the industry, and on how successful your sourcing
strategy and employer brand are. Internal factors such as pay rates, opportunities for progression
and benefits like health insurance, have a considerable impact as well. Google, for example,
receives around 3 million applications a year. This means that on average more than 400 people
apply per job opening.

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But the number and quality of applicants also depend on your job advert. The way a job ad is
written, meaning how informative, engaging and inclusive it is, directly impacts the people you
attract. All job adverts should use gender-neutral language and you should consider if higher
education is an absolute necessity for applicants.

For example, The Spectator is a widely read British weekly magazine. The publication has a no
CV policy for editorial roles and does not require a university degree. If your company does
require a CV, consider implementing a “blind review” policy; all personal characteristics such as
name, age, gender and sexuality are removed. This aims to counter implicit bias.

And how is your application process itself? Is it mobile-friendly and quick? Or fo you, on the
other hand, require candidates to manually fill in all the info from their CVs into your system?
Always test your application process yourself to understand where your applicants might
struggle. That way, you can ensure you’re providing a smooth application experience.

Channels and tools

Where you post and promote your job ads matters too. Simply posting it on your company’s
website is not enough. Requiring applicants to create a profile on your career’s site, and failing to
optimize the site for mobile are practical elements of web design which could hinder HR’s
success in the candidate selection process. Here are the five most popular sources for jobseekers:

2. Screening & pre-selection

The second step in the recruitment and selection process is the initial screening of candidates.
The goal of this second phase is to reduce the pool of candidates from a large group to a
manageable group of between 3-10 people that can be interviewed. This can happen in multiple
ways.

Resume screening: The most commonly known technique is resume or CV screening. Resume
screening helps to assess if candidates comply with the criteria needed for the job. If you require
5+ years of work experience and you see that a college graduate applied, you can easily rule out
this person.

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If you work in the HR department of a large company, CV reviewing can be time-consuming.
Using software is an efficient and cost-effective way to manage this challenge. Options range
from built-in resume screening tools that are part of an ATS to resume screeners that use
artificial intelligence to predict the quality of hire. Be careful not to overuse this kind of
technology though. You need to ensure that it is regularly reviewed for bias.

Phone screening/chatbot: After the resume screening, often a phone (or video) screening
happens. This helps to align expectations between the candidate and employer. The recruiter can
ask candidates any questions they have following the screening of resumes. The recruiter can go
through a checklist that may include topics like pay expectations, full-time or part-time hours,
flexible working options, starting date, and other potential deal-breakers. Since this is a fairly
standard procedure, having a chatbot ask these questions is also an option.

As mentioned above, technology now enables us to do these screenings in an automated way.

Chatbots ask candidates questions and make the interview interactive. An example is a large
engineering company that implemented a chatbot intended to optimize the recruitment process
and keep candidates engaged. The data showed that after the chatbot was implemented,
completion rates went up from 74% to 96%.

Pre-selection or pre-employment assessments: Pre-selection is a powerful screening method

that helps to weed out potential mismatches. Dedicated pre-selection tools provide assessments
that can include cognitive testing, a job simulation, or other tests that help to predict the quality
of the new hire. Sometimes the resume screening is included in these tools. A job simulation
provides a realistic job preview. This shows both the most enjoyable and interesting aspects of a
role but also the challenging elements, resulting in an authentic insight. This helps align
expectations between employer and employee and leads to hires who are a stronger fit. Pre-
selection tools are another aspect of the increasing role of AI technology in the recruitment
landscape.

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3. Interview

The third step in the candidate selection process funnel is the best known and most visible of
them all: the job interview. A job interview involves the candidate being interviewed by their
direct manager or the recruiter (or both) to assess how well-suited they are for the role.

The interview offers some insight into a person’s verbal fluency and sociability. It also provides
the opportunity to ask the candidate questions related to the job and it presents the opportunity to
sell the job to the candidate.

Interviews may be carried out virtually over the internet, or in person. Many companies
nowadays carry out a first stage remote interview, with a final in-person interview as the last
stage in assessment. The company and candidates benefit from lowering costs, and more
efficient time management. The pandemic and shelter-in-place orders have pushed many
companies to conduct all interviews remotely, which will likely continue well into the future.

Types of interviews

There are two main types of interviews, an unstructured and a structured interview. In a
structured interview, a standardized set of questions is used. This provides the interviewer with a
uniform method of recording information and standardizing the rating of the applicant’s
qualifications.

Other interview types include candidates being interviewed by peers or a panel. These interviews
aim to gain insights into a candidate’s personality, behavior, and approachability among team
members, or with those they will be supporting in a job.

In scientific literature, the structured interview has proven to be almost twice as reliable as the
unstructured interview (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). The structured interview enables the
interviewer to accurately compare candidates and to make the best decision purely on data.

Evaluating interviews

Besides having standardized questions, a common method used in interviews is the STAR
method. This method offers a structured way to retrieve information from the candidate. STAR is
an acronym for:

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  Situation Have the candidate describe the situation that they were in.
 Task What goal was the candidate working towards?
 Action Have the candidate describe in detail what actions they took to make the best of
the situation and complete their task.
 Result Have the candidate describe the outcome of the action and ask what the candidate
learned.

The STAR method is great to test the candidate’s experience in different situations that are
relevant to the job. If a candidate needs experience in managing different shareholders, an
example question could be: Describe a situation in which you had to manage different
shareholders. Using the STAR method you can then easily test the candidate experience in these
situations.

Using this method to test for the key competencies of the job is highly recommended. Indeed,
asking multiple candidates the same question enables you to easily compare how much
experience they have in these key competencies from their previous jobs.

It is considered best practice to use interview guides, as this makes the recruitment and selection
process more fair and consistent.

4. Assessment

We’ve briefly discussed assessments in the second step. Where the pre-selection, or screening, is
used to roughly weed out the least suitable candidates, the full assessment is usually more
accurate.

Common assessments are a General Mental Ability (GMA) test (also known as an IQ test) and a
Five-Factor Model of Personality test. Higher IQ is associated with faster learning and higher top
performance. This means that for high IQ candidates the Time to Optimum Productivity is lower
and candidates are likely to perform better. While these assessments can be a part of your pre-
selection process, many organization choose to conduct them in later stages of the hiring process.

When it comes to personality, more conscientious candidates perform better in their job.
Candidates who score high in conscientiousness are often described as hard-working, dutiful,

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achievement-oriented, and detail-oriented. Research shows that conscientiousness is the
strongest noncognitive predictor of job performance.

Other assessments include work sample tests, integrity tests, and job knowledge tests. The
scientific literature shows that assessments in a form of work sample tests are among the best
predictors of job performance. Good practice is to have candidates do a case study or solve a real
problem during their interview. It is possible to compare the quality of a candidate’s work with
the other applicants, as well as against the expected, or ideal performance.

Not all jobs include a job task-style simulation. And not all job roles or applicants benefit from
this approach; if you’re hiring someone for a mid-career role, their CV and references will
provide a huge amount of insight. The applicant has already advanced considerably in their field,
and will likely have reached a point of expertise in some areas. A full assessment is most useful
for hiring graduates, who do not have much work or life experience.

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5. References and background check

By this point, you have reduced the long list of candidates to a shortlist of one to three
candidates. An essential step in the candidate selection process is reference checking.

Reference checks are a way to confirm the accuracy of what a candidate has told you, and your
impressions of them. Ask the candidate to give you references and follow up on these. If during
the interview you have doubts about a certain competency or skill, the reference check is an
excellent way to gather more information from a different perspective.

A background check is commonly used for government departments and other jobs that involve
access to highly confidential information, such as healthcare roles. Countries like the US carry
out more reference checks than most European countries, for example.

The background check can be a prerequisite before applying, and be a part of the pre-selection.
An example is a confirmation of good conduct or other criminal record checks for teaching
positions and other roles that involve a high responsibility for others. These checks help to
eliminate people who have done or may abuse their duty of care over vulnerable people.
However, unless absolutely necessary, you should conduct background checks as late in the
selection process as possible.

In the US, employers typically use private companies to conduct background checks.
Background checks in hiring are subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and
they need to fulfill the requirements of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC). That’s why you need to select an FCRA-compliant provider to conduct the background
checks on your behalf.

6. Decision

The next step in the recruitment and selection process is making the decision; choosing the
candidate with the greatest potential for the organization. Sometimes this means picking
someone less qualified at the moment – but who is committed to growing and staying with the
organization for longer.

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You should use a data-driven approach to make the hiring decision to make your selection
process as fair as possible. In practice, this means pre-defined criteria by which every candidate
is rated against during the selection process. The best candidate is then chosen and given an
offer. Usually, the hiring manager makes the final decision. It may also involve input from other
managers, and colleagues.

7. Job offer & contract

After your company has made a decision, the selection process isn’t over. The (ideal) candidate
still needs to accept the offer!

At this point, the organization should have all the information that will make the candidate likely
to say yes. Hopefully, you will have gleaned this information from the various screenings (if
applicable) and job interviews.

The offer is then made to the candidate. If they accept the offer, you draw a contract and have
both parties sign it. Only when the employment contract is signed by all parties, is the selection
process complete.

2.6 Common instruments for selection

There is a huge range of pre -employment assessments, tests, and tools which employers can use
to help them through the hiring process. Whilst I certainly don’t advocate using all of them (you
would be spending much more time and money than is necessary), I do suggest using an
appropriate mix of the right tools for your organisation and the specific role. So to ensure that
your next hire is the best possible fit for your team, what other tools are available to assist you?

Interviews – whilst not always the most reliable, interviews remain the most widely used
recruitment and selection tool. Phone interviews and face to face interviews should form some
part of your recruitment process. The key to making interviews a success for you is in asking the
right questions, keeping the process consistent across all applicants and remaining impartial
throughout the process.

Skills Testing – particularly useful for positions which require a level of competency in any
specific software programs, computer operations or ‘testable’ skills such as customer service

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responses and alike. These assessments are regularly used by recruiters and are available to you,
generally at a fee, through any number of recruitment and HR service providers.

Personality / Psychometric Assessments – perfect for assessing team fit, motivation, and work
styles around customer service, sales and a range of other industry specific skills. Whilst many
employers still see these assessments as unnecessary and unreliable in our experience they can be
an excellent tool to help hone your interview questions and assess appropriateness for your
current team.

Aptitude and competency based assessments – similarly to the two types of testing and
assessment listed above these tests are great for industry specific skills. This may include
numerical reasoning assessments for accountants.

Reference Checks – it’s an oldie but a goodie, past behaviour predicts future behaviour. Ensure
you are conducting your reference checks with previous managers who they reported to, and ask
specific questions relevant to the skills and attitudes you need in the new recruit.

Police checks and working with children checks – depending on the industry and role, these
checks may be appropriate to have conducted. In many industries these checks are a standard and
potentially compulsory check to maintain quality ratings, and for employers they can provide
sound peace of mind.

Don’t forget your network – all of the tools mentioned so far are fairly standard, but don’t
forget to think outside the square. If you know previous employers personally, or even
colleagues, friends of customers, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask for some general
feedback (provided it doesn’t jeopardise their existing employment of course).

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 Reference
Barrick, M.R., & Mount, M.K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job
performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1-25.

Reilly, R.R., and Chao, G.T. (1982). Validity and fairness of some alternative employee
selection procedures. Personnel Psychology, 35, 1–62.

Schmitt, N., Gooding, R.Z., Noe, R.A., and Kirsch, M. (1984). Meta-analyses of validity
studies published between 1964 and 1982 and the investigation of study characteristics.
Personnel Psychology, 37, 407-422.

Schmidt, F., & Hunter, J. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational
attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,86(1), 162–173.

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